Introducing the understanding preferences in counselling tool (U-PIC)
News from BACP

Starting therapy can feel overwhelming especially for young people navigating it for the first time. Without a clear way to communicate their preferences, younger clients might end up in support that doesn’t quite fit.

A newly developed therapy preference tool aims to bridge that gap, making it easier for young people (aged 11 to 18) to share what matters most to them in their therapy. The tool, Understand preferences in counselling (U-PIC), was developed via a BACP funded research project led by Professor Mick Cooper at Roehampton University and supported by McPin Foundation, Open University, Grounded Learning Ltd, University of Scranton and East China Normal University.

The project was funded by the first round of BACP collaborative research grants.¹ The 2023 call for applications received proposals totalling almost £1.2 million, however this project stood out to the independent Grants Peer Review Panel (composed of leading academics, practitioners and people with lived experience of counselling and psychotherapy) due to the robust multistage, mixed methods approach incorporating a range of national and international collaborative partners, including young people with lived experience of therapy.

Andrea Anastassiou, BACP Research Fellow said: "The project was also highlighted for its relevance, specifically; meeting four of BACP’s strategic priorities and addressing an identifiable need in counselling provision for young people. This was noted as being particularly timely given the mental health needs of young people in the post-pandemic time period, creating the opportunity to generate invaluable data regarding young people’s therapeutic journeys and the potential for long term impact on practice and research within the field."

Professor Mick Cooper explains, "Therapy for young people is often about helping them feel empowered and that they can have, and have a right to have, a say in things. That can start with the therapy itself, and with the U-PIC form we tried to develop a tool that could help young people speak their mind about the very style of therapy that they wanted. Of course, therapists can’t be infinitely flexible, and we will also have our own ideas about what might help young clients, but the U-PIC aims to open up a space for dialogue: where the preferences and wants of young people are invited, legitimised, and where possible and helpful, accommodated".

U-PIC is also validated for use in research allowing researchers, for the first time, to address a wide range of important and unanswered questions.

Therapists, researchers or young people who wish to use U-PIC and find out more can access it for free on the newly established international Talking Preferences website from Friday 8 May.²

Mick Cooper will also be co-hosting an online, one-time event and training session with John Norcross of Scranton University and other colleagues involved in the development of preference measures on Friday 8 May. This will launch the website, the U-PIC form, the updated adult preference measure (C-NIP-2) and explore how therapists can use client preferences to improve therapy outcomes.³

Youth Advisor Hamalta talks about U-PIC therapy tool: empowering young people to shape their counselling experience.