UK commission calls for statutory regulation of counselling and psychotherapy

The independent Commission for the Future of Counselling and Psychotherapy, set up by the Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies (PCPB), has published its report. It recommends statutory regulation and stronger professional standards, better commissioning and funding, and a new Counselling and Psychotherapy Federation, and argues the UK is under-using its existing therapy workforce.

What happened

The Commission, co-chaired by Andrea Sutcliffe and Phil Hope, was asked to examine the issues facing the profession and the barriers to people getting therapy. It drew on evidence from more than 4,000 practitioners, employers, commissioners, researchers and people with lived experience across all four UK nations.

The report sets out six connected priorities: improve commissioning and funding; strengthen public protection through statutory regulation and stronger professional standards; build a sustainable and diverse workforce; strengthen the evidence base; raise public and political recognition; and give the profession a stronger collective voice through a Counselling and Psychotherapy Federation. Recommendations are tailored to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Commission found around 82,000 qualified counsellors and psychotherapists on registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Practitioners across the six PCPB partner bodies reported capacity for an extra 370,000 therapy hours a week. The report estimates that using 10% of that spare capacity could give more than 150,000 additional people therapy each year, at a cost equivalent to 0.56% of the UK mental health budget.

Why it matters

Counselling and psychotherapy are not currently statutorily regulated professions in the UK; practitioners typically join voluntary registers, some of which the PSA accredits. The report puts statutory regulation on the agenda, but it is a recommendation: publishing it does not change the law or any current requirement.

The report also shifts the access debate from training more therapists to using the ones already qualified, which would depend on changes to commissioning, funding and how counsellors are placed in health, education, workplace and community services.

Private certification, membership of a professional body, entry on an accredited register and statutory regulation are different things. A Therapy Council credential is a private educational certification and is none of the others.

What happens next

The PCPB says it will work with governments, policymakers and the sector to develop the recommendations. Whether any become policy or law depends on decisions by the UK and devolved governments.

Sources

• Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy BodiesCommission for the Future of Counselling and Psychotherapy report launched
• Commission for the Future of Counselling and PsychotherapyFull report (PDF)