The chair of BACP’s Private Practice Executive Committee has clarified the view of the committee on SCoPEd.
Lesley Ludlow said: “It’s great that one member of the committee wanted to express their views, but, as stated in the article, they are her own personal views. They are, however, not representative of the committee.
“We as a division continue to be supportive of SCoPEd and are committed to working with the BACP team closely on the project.
“I have spoken to Hadyn Williams, BACP’s CEO, and Fiona Ballantine Dykes, BACP’s Chief Professional Standards Officer, and I understand the need for SCoPEd, as does the majority of the committee.
“It is part of the bigger picture.
“BACP have acknowledged that SCoPEd is nowhere near complete and is still in consultation, but I am supportive of the project and its intentions and will continue to work with BACP to create a project that is acceptable to our members.”
It follows an open letter regarding the project by Caz Binstead, a member of the committee, with her personal opinion.
BACP Board
While individual BACP governors have recently set out their personal opinions on SCoPEd, the Board also continues to be supportive of the project.
Fiona Ballantine Dykes, BACP’s Chief Professional Standards Officer and Chair of the SCoPEd Technical Group, has also responded to the letter.
She said: “We’ve tried from the very start of the process to encourage members to share their views on the project, so we thank you for taking the time to do this.
“We have been consulting with members and will continue to do so: we carried out a full member consultation, we have responded to hundreds of questions, we have spoken at multiple events and have taken part in various discussions (online and in person). Consultation with members will continue. If members support the intention of the project - to get greater recognition for therapists and the opportunity for paid employment for all members in the counselling and psychotherapy workforce by addressing the confusion in the current landscape - then we will continue to listen to and work with our members, and other key stakeholders, throughout this project.
Panel discussion
“I’d encourage everyone to watch the full panel discussion that Hadyn, Andrew (Reeves, BACP Chair) and I took part in recently, when we were grilled on the project by Faisal Mahmood. In that Hadyn explains that the driving force was to ensure that our members are adequately represented as highly-skilled individuals adding determined value into society.
“If the framework were adopted, we would have to find mechanisms to recognise the skills and experience that current members have gained since first qualifying. Not to do so would be irrational. Any agreed mechanisms (which we would further consult on) would give members the opportunity to demonstrate their experience.”
“I would also like to reiterate what I said in the panel discussion recently, that the names used to head up each of the columns have not been decided. In the same interview, Andrew Reeves, our Chair, says that they were descriptive terms - a point that was set out in the consultation document. These are being looked at again along with all the other feedback from members.”