Information, news and debate about psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapies
The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) is a professional association, representing the profession of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The organisation is itself made up of twelve member institutions which are training institutions, professional associations in their own right and accrediting bodies. Individual psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapists are members of these organisations and are ‘registrants’ of the BPC.
There are around 1300 registrants of the BPC, working across the public, voluntary and private practice sectors. Many of our members are senior consultant psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and leading figures in the field of mental health.
• How do I become a registrant?
We are a voluntary regulator
One of our functions is to act as a voluntary regulator of the profession. We publish an annual register of those practitioners who meet our fitness to practice standards. This is in line with the recommendations made by the Government’s report The regulation of the non-medical healthcare professions. The report states that the function of a regulator is to:
• Set and promote the standards that all in the profession should meet
• Publish a register of all those who meet these standards
• Ensure that everyone on the register continues to meet the standards (through periodic checks and procedures for resolving concerns/complaints).
The BPC accredits the trainings of its member organisations, ensuring that they meet our minimum training standards (pdf). An individual who qualifies from one of these trainings is then eligible for entry into the BPC’s register.
BPC registration is governed by a range of fitness to practice requirements. These are:
• A code of ethics (Word doc)
• A policy on continuing professional development (pdf)
• A statement on confidentiality (pdf)
• A complaints procedure (Word doc).
Failure to meet these requirements will mean that the practitioner’s registration will be suspended or terminated. Our over-riding priority is to protect the public and maintain public confidence in the profession we regulate.
We are a leading voice of the profession
The BPC acts as a leading voice for the psychodynamic and psychoanalytic sector of psychotherapy. Whilst not the only representatives of this sector, we are seen as an authoritative and influential ambassador for this therapeutic approach, at the same time as working in close partnership with other representative organisations.
Recently, we have made significant responses to, for example, the Department of Health’s review The regulation of the non-medical healthcare professions and the Skills for Health consultation on National Occupational Standards. We worked closely with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, British Psychological Society and others around a profession-wide response to the Government’s White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety – the Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century.(PDF)
We aim to build strong links between research, clinical practice and public policy. The Tavistock Clinic’s Psychotherapy Evaluation Research Unit provides an important bridge between research evidence and clinical practice for us, though we have a range of links with other research institutions. BPC works with these and other institutions to advance a scientific, evidence-based practice for psychodynamic psychotherapy.
We are one of the co-organisers of the annual conference, Psychological Therapies in the NHS. In June 2009 we organised the first Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy NOW conference, which has been acclaimed as marking a 'turning point' for the profession.
We are a service to the public and our profession
Finally, our role is to provide a service both to members of the public and to our profession.
One of the key services we provide is information. Our annual Register is part of that, as is our brochure What is Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy? (Download PDF - 3MB) Both of these can be ordered using the publications order form (PDF). Our website provides a key service with the Finding a Therapist section.
But we are keen to develop our website as a crucial forum for information and debate in the world of psychotherapy, contemporary psychology and mental health. We are keen to hear from you if you have any thoughts about how we can improve our service to the public and our profession.
How we are run
The BPC is a Company Limited by Guarantee governed by a Council of Institutions, made up of representatives from the member institutions. The Council provides the broad strategic direction and monitors how successfully the strategic aims are being achieved. It meets four times a year.
The detailed strategy and overall management of the business is the responsibility of the Executive which meets every month.
The day to day running of the organisation is the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer.
The BPC is a Member Society of the European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector (EFPP).
Please note we are an administrative office, and do not have psychotherapists on the premises to give psychological help. If you urgently need to talk to a therapist these helplines may be able to assist:
Mind - 0845 766 0163
Samaritans - 08457 909090
Sane - 0845 767 8000
Breathing Space Scotland - 0800 838587
CALL Helpline Wales - 0800 132737