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HPC Council's conclusions on the proposed statutory regulation of Psychotherapists and Counsellors - 10 December
Following consideration of the consultation document detailed above, the Council discussed the preliminary conclusions about the potential regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors which can be made at this stage. Council agreed that whilst further work was required in some areas, the HPC’s systems were capable of accommodating and meeting the regulatory needs of psychotherapists and counsellors.
The Council agreed to instruct the registrar to inform the secretary of state of the council’s conclusions and agreed that the conclusion document be published on the HPC website.
In terms of the conclusions contained within the paper, Council agreed those relating to protected titles, “eligible” registers, transitional provisions and standards of proficiency. With regards to the conclusions around the structure of the register, Council agreed that further work around differentiation was required.
It was further agreed that a work plan would be submitted to council for approval, together with recommendations for the governance arrangements of the Professional Liaison Group, whose contribution in terms of further work was agreed in principle.
Download 'Conclusions on the proposed statutory regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors'
See also links to further information below
Where are we in the process?
The deadline has now passed (16 October) for the Health Professions Council (HPC)’s consultation on the recommendations made by the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Professional Liaison Group (PLG). The group was drawn from a range of professional psychotherapy and counselling bodies plus a small number of HPC Council members.
The PLG had been scheduled to meet once more in November to consider the responses before making its final recommendations to HPC Council. This date has now been postponed due to the enormous response to the consultation. The HPC’s Council will meet on 10 December and we anticipate they will request the PLC reconsider its recommendations in the light of this response.
When finally agreed, the council’s final recommendations will be passed to the government to begin the work on drafting the necessary secondary legislation – known as a ‘Section 60 Order’. This will be undertaken by the Professional Regulation Branch of the Department of Health; we understand this is unlikely to be completed before 2012. An election and potential change of administration is also an unknown factor, though the inside view is that whilst it may impact on the timetable, it is unlikely to alter the overall parameters of regulation.
What are the main recommendations of the PLG?
The PLG recommended a differentiation between psychotherapists and counsellors and that ‘psychotherapist’ and ‘counsellor’ should both be protected titles. It had identified various criteria to help select which voluntary registers would be transferred to the statutory register. The body with the voluntary register has to demonstrate evidence that it has: definitions of the qualifications required to register; processes for assuring that applicants meet the required standards of entry, e.g., accreditation of trainings; codes of conduct and ethics; robust and transparent procedures for complaints; commitment to CPD; commitment to supervision. It is recommended that the HPC itself will make the recommendations about which voluntary registers will transfer.
The HPC will also provisionally accredit all those training programmes accredited by the body with a voluntary register that is selected for transfer. The HPC will then embark on its own process of accreditation of these training programmes using its own standards of education and training. This will take some time as there are likely to be a large number of training programmes to assess.
A ‘grandparenting’ period of two years was proposed.
The PLG outlined draft standards of proficiency (for individual practitioners), including some differential standards between psychotherapy and counselling.
The PLG recommended that the ‘normal’ threshold level of qualification for entry to the Register should be:
- For counsellors, level 5 on the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications – HE & FE diplomas, foundation degrees, higher national diplomas
- For psychotherapists, level 7 on the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications – Masters degrees, postgraduate certificates and diplomas.
It is impossible to predict the changes to these recommendations, if any, that the PLG may make after considering the response to the consultation.
Links
- Read the full FAQ from the Autumn 2009 edition of New Associations
- Our July 2009 update contains more detail on the proposals
- Our position statement on statutory regulation
- Link to the Health Professions Council Psychotherapists and Counsellors Professional Liaison Group
Other organisations: where they stand
- United Kingdon Council for Psychotherapy
- British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
- British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies
- Association of Child Psychotherapists
- British Psychological Society