NHS England has published new guidance to give clear registration requirements for psychological professionals working within the service.

It’s designed for NHS employers and leaders in NHS commissioned services to ensure they’re recruiting staff with the appropriate professional registration for each role and will help guarantee consistency across services in England.

It’s the first time these registration details have been clearly outlined in one document for services in NHS England. It will help strengthen our work to ensure therapists have equity with other professions.

Key elements

The key elements of the document are:

  • Counsellors and psychotherapists must be on a Professional Standards Authority (PSA) accredited register with one of five Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies (PCPB) - BACP, UKCP, ACC, NCPS, or BPC.
  • For counsellors working with adults, therapists must be registered as a SCoPEd column B or C practitioner. It adds that, by exception, a Chief Psychological Professions Officer may approve a SCoPEd column A practitioner to work in some service pathways where there’s no national guidance to the contrary. 
  • For counsellors working with children and young people, they must be registered with one of the five listed PCPB bodies and have the competencies required to work with children and young people.
  • Psychotherapists working with adults must be registered with one of the five listed PCPB bodies and be a SCoPEd column C practitioner.

Matthew Smith-Lilley, our Policy and Engagement Lead for Mental Health, said: “We've worked incredibly closely with colleagues at NHS England for more than a decade to build up the relationships, trust and collaboration to ensure that the counselling and psychotherapy professions are an integral part of the psychological therapies programme of work.

More to be done

“This document is further evidence of the impact of that work as well as the clear commitment from the NHS in England to have counsellors and psychotherapists as a valued and established part of its psychological therapies workforce.

“We know there’s still more to be done to secure the career pathways within the NHS for all members who wish to work within the system. We recognise the gap in employment opportunities for newly qualified and registered practitioners (those in SCoPEd column A).

“Our priority remains securing job opportunities within the NHS for all members who wish to work there.”

Challenging pay inequity

The document should also further support our efforts to challenge pay inequity for members working in NHS Talking Therapy services.

The guidance must be implemented by all NHS commissioners in England by 31 March 2027.

We’re also awaiting the publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and will monitor how guidance such as this supports more opportunities for counsellors and psychotherapists to work in the NHS.

Read the Guidance on NHS registration requirements for use of psychological professions titles document.