Each department and committee is working hard to achieve the aims and goals of BACP – your membership gives you access to the valuable products and services that we generate...

Conferences, Meetings and Events

National and Regional Conferences are held throughout the year, offering a valuable package of presentations, seminars, academic papers and workshops. Regional and national training seminars and workshops, led by skilled and experienced trainers, are held periodically on a range of professionally related topics. Accreditation Workshops (led by members of BACP’s Professional Assessment Team) and training sessions on the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy are regular events in our extensive programme, as are the information gathering Regional Consultations. Specialist Division/Faculty conferences and events are also held throughout the year. BACP events provide members with ideal local and national networking opportunities and are a firm foundation for ongoing professional development.

Members receive preferential rates on BACP events open to non-members; members of Divisions and Faculties receive special rates on their own events. Details of upcoming events are found in BACP journals and online.

Information & Directories

Information deals with enquiries on practice and careers in counselling and/or psychotherapy. Information on locating counsellors, counselling services and supervisors is available, including regional excerpts from the Counselling and Psychotherapy Resources Directory. Details of specialist organisations can also be provided to those members wishing to refer clients. The Information team co-ordinates the production of the website’s JobsOnline recruitment pages, abstracted and updated weekly from a variety of sources including additionally paid job adverts. Online information sheets offer up-to-date guidance on good practice issues and ethical support. Both of these services are free of charge and only available to BACP members.

An Ethical Helpline, staffed by our trained BACP team exists to provide guidance and objectivity on ethical dilemmas arising in professional practice. A voluntary network of experienced practitioners assist the Ethical Team on complex issues and in specialist areas. Half-day telephone ’Surgeries’ on ethics and practice issues have been introduced, staffed by Sector practice experts. This is the start of a planned programme of similar Surgeries for other occupational domains, eg schools, the workplace, etc.

Information also produces two directories, the Training in Counselling and Psychotherapy Directory and the Counselling and Psychotherapy Resources Directory. Both of these directories offer national promotion for the
contributors:

Counselling and Psychotherapy Resources Directory (CPRD)

Numerous counselling service providers, including over 3000 of our members, currently choose to enter this Directory each year. It is consulted and/or extracted when handling requests from members of the public wanting therapists’ details and is also used for referrals enquiries.

All entrants to the Directory submit their details via application form and pay an entry fee; this fee offers excellent advertising coverage at what would be considered a minimal rate for national advertising. Entrants receive a listing in the main Directory, one of the 8 regional mini-directories and a free listing in the online Directory. BACP members can enter and purchase CPRD at a substantial discount. The Directory is printed in February each year and is also available online. The online Directory can be entered and updated throughout the year and forms are available online.

Training in Counselling and Psychotherapy Directory

This is the UK’s most comprehensive index of training courses in counselling and psychotherapy. It lists contact details, core model, duration and entry requirements for each course and each section is arranged in a user-friendly format. The Directory lists courses meeting a variety of training needs, from introductory level to professional development. The introduction to the Directory offers a full brief for potential students considering counselling training. Listing in the directory is free of charge, although a limited amount of space is available for more detailed paid advertisements. Course providers may advertise any bona fide course run on a regular basis in the free listing. BACP members receive a discount when purchasing the directory, which is published annually in April.

Information Technology and BACP Online

BACP’s website is an effective communication and information service for all users. Online member services and all major documents, articles and public statements from BACP are available at www.bacp.co.uk. Here members can access information about the profession, BACP and its departments, recent media coverage of BACP and the profession, search the Association’s Directories and link electronically to a range of national and international organisations. Talk Groups and Chat facilities enable members to communicate, share information and network electronically. Members may also access the JobsOnline service.

At the BACP Shop, members can browse our comprehensive publications list and make purchases online (for the security of all customers, BACP purchasing systems are configured with data encryption technology).

The main BACP journal Therapy Today is now published online and other important publications, such as the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy, are frequently placed on the site. All BACP departments respond to emailed queries, although the answers to many frequently asked questions will be found during a thorough perusal of the website.

Practice Management Software

Based on there being very little in the way of specialist systems for the management of counselling practitioners, BACP is planning a development program to culminate in the launch of specialist software. This software will be tailored to those who need to manage therapy records and transaction details in the most efficient and user-friendly way.

Journals & Publications

All BACP members receive the Association’s two main journals as part of their membership subscription:

The contemporary-styled Therapy Today magazine (TT) keeps members updated on news and views across the profession inside and outside BACP. Each edition offers a combination of longer reflective articles and in-depth reports, as well as specialist columns on training, supervision and international issues. Also containing approximately 28 invaluable pages of advertising of recruitment, courses and Continuing Professional Development, TT has ten issues per year.

The quarterly Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Journal CPR links international research to practice, environment and experience, working to bridge the ’research-practice gap’.

The quarterly Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal HCPJ is for counsellors and psychotherapists in healthcare settings, those working with them and for those concerned with the needs of service users in this field. The journal is delivered as part of the FHCP membership package and is available at a discounted rate to (non-FHCP) members of BACP, COSCA, IACT, RCN and BPS.

BACPpublishes its own journals and newsletters, directories, reports and booklets. We also retail a wide range of books, pamphlets, training packages, reports and videos for professionals, purchasers and users of counselling services. Members can order individual copies at preferential rates and obtain bulk copies at a substantial discount. BACP journal-only subscriptions are available to non-members. All publications can be purchased from the Publication department and securely online. News and reviews of new publications appears in BACP journals and at www.bacp.co.uk

BACPJournals and the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy are also available on audiocassette or computer disk, a service we offer to members or subscribers as necessary (for example, our visually impaired members).

Media

The Head of Media Relations, Phillip Hodson, has a wide-ranging and successful history in broadcasting, presenting, writing and all aspects of the media. He also has a wealth of counselling and psychotherapy experience, is a Fellow of BACP and has his own private practice in London. Continually producing articles and publications for BACP and the profession, in addition to appearing in person and on air, Phillip is constantly in the eye of the media. He continually promotes the contemporary face of counselling and psychotherapy, increasing public and professional awareness of BACP as the ’voice’ of the profession. More behind-the-scenes work involves the production of our key statements and press releases. The Head of the Media Relations can also advise BACP members on dealing with and appearing in the media.

Membership

All BACP membership applications and subscription renewals are processed by Membership Services. This department ensures that all membership applications received are complete, correct and in accordance with BACP requirements for each category and rate of membership. It is here that database records are maintained and updated, subscriptions are paid and documentary evidence for membership is collated and filed. All Membership staff can offer advice and guidance to applicants and answer member and non-member queries alike. The Membership department currently administers to a membership of just over 24,000 individuals and over 1100 organisations, in addition to processing new membership applications, re-joins and non-member enquiries. Membership Standards works alongside Membership Services to ensure that the high standards of BACP membership are constantly maintained by means of the application process. Membership Development is committed to monitoring and developing the organisation for both existing and potential members. To find out more about our membership categories, please click here.

PR & Communications/BACP External Relations

This relatively new department works closely with the Head of Media Relations. Its ongoing aim is to raise the awareness, knowledge, profile and credibility of BACP, counselling and psychotherapy to all relevant external audiences. This includes government and politicians, the general public and also the media, who deliver our message to the public through coverage in print and broadcast. As well as direct lobbying, the department has a networking function as part of BACP’s Chief Executives Office, creating alliances with other learned organisations as part of a collective effort to put counselling nearer the top of the agenda when policy is being formulated.

BACP’s message is delivered through targeted press releases and briefings to the media and political world, as well as and through specialist events. These are themed on politically ’current’ or newsworthy areas, illustrating the relevance of counselling and psychotherapy. PR and Communications monitors BACP’s existing presence in the media, publicising media activities and the coverage we receive. Information featured in articles and broadcasts is made available to members and other interested parties. This is done primarily though the gathering and posting of articles on Media News at www.bacp.co.uk. The department is proactive in raising awareness of the counselling profession through monitoring forthcoming counselling-related press articles in production. It liases with journalists in order to incorporate comment from BACP (and our message as ’the voice’ of the profession) wherever possible.

PR and Communications, in tandem with the Head of Media Relations, ensures that BACP’s external communications are consistent in the promotion of the counselling profession. In addition to this, the department also works to create and improve internal systems of communication within BACP itself. Helping to develop website and print media as both information and external marketing tools (to potential members and stakeholders), PR and Communications is responsible for management and production of the monthly BACP electronic news bulletin. Website users may subscribe free of charge to the e-bulletin.

Professional Conduct

This department deals with all professional conduct matters and any complaints arising against members of BACP. The work is of significant importance in the protection of members of the public, the reputation of the Association and upholding standards of good practice within the profession. The Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy - as effective from April 2002 - supersedes all previous Codes of Ethics and Practice. The adoption of this Framework places our members in the best possible position with regard to ethical issues arising in practice and possible Statutory Regulation. The Framework is the result of extensive hard work by members of head office staff and some of the UK’s leading experts in ethical practice and counselling and psychotherapy.

Professional Standards

One of the main aims of BACP is to develop and improve the standards of counselling and psychotherapy in the UK. As a consequence, we have developed the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy to which all members must adhere. However, we are finding that employers and clients increasingly require their counsellors to be BACP accredited. Many people embarking on a counselling/psychotherapy career work towards BACP accreditation as an ultimate goal, the mark of a mature, ethical practitioner. Members work towards accreditation by building up their training, practice and supervision hours according to the published criteria. A sound knowledge of the theoretical base of their client work must then be demonstrated in the completion of the accreditation application form. BACP currently offers professional recognition to counsellors, supervisors and counselling training courses by means of highly esteemed, nationally recognised Accreditation schemes.

Members are likely to find their accredited status essential in the regulated profession of the future. Governmental regulation of the profession will ensure the lawful, ethical, safe and competent practice of counselling and psychotherapy. BACP is working hard towards the future protection of practitioners and the public, preparing you for a time when registered practitioners must be appropriately qualified and subject to appropriate standards of education, training and ethical accountability. There is also a planned scheme for the Accreditation of Services.

Individuals wishing to apply to become accredited must obtain the necessary forms from Professional Standards or download them, and possess current BACP membership at the time of their submission.

The United Kingdom Register of Counsellors (UKRC) is a published list of independent counsellors/psychotherapists that can be accessed by the public. It is not a trade directory. The purpose of the Register is to protect the public by providing recognition of safe and accountable practice. Counsellors accredited by the following professional bodies are eligible to become a UKRC Registered Independent Counsellor - BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy), COSCA (Confederation of Scottish Counselling Agencies) and UKAHPP (United Kingdom Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners).

Research

A very important element of the BACP research strategy is to support, promote and encourage research and to identify and review the evidence base for counselling and psychotherapy, and where possible to commission or facilitate primary research. The Research department thereby contributes to BACP’s overall aim to develop the profession and to make it widely recognised and understood by the general public, consumers, service purchasers, and by members of allied professions. The team lobbies wherever possible, providing feedback to consultations from government bodies, funding organisations, teaching institutions, etc. in order to enhance counselling and psychotherapy research. Research also deals with general research enquires on a daily basis from BACP members and members of the public.

The Annual BACP Research Conference provides a rich opportunity for debate and the evaluation of different agendas and approaches. The Conference facilitates networking and the sharing and dissemination of results.

The Research Department administers an electronic online Research Network that aims to aid the development of a research culture throughout BACP and the wider counselling and psychotherapy world. The Network provides a vehicle for members to get in touch to share information whilst promoting the value of research and minimising the duplication of effort. The online Research Network Directory offers a search facility to enable easy access to all Network members’ contact details, research interests and work, enabling direct contact between Network members and again encouraging the sharing of information. Individual and organisational BACP members may join the Research Network and Directory free of charge as part of their main membership package, whether engaged in research or merely having a keen interest.

EAC membership

BACP members can apply for membership to the European Association for Counselling through membership of the BACP. To find out more click here:

EAC Application Form EAC Application Form.doc Size: 0.17Mb Click the link above to begin downloading

BACP Committees and Forums

The Board of Governorsis the decision-making body of BACP, determining the business of the Association. Members of the Board are appointed according to the Memorandum and Articles of the Association. The Board of Governors delegates specific functions to the following expert Committees:

Auditensures that BACP is run soundly in compliance with Company Law, Charity Law and all other relevant legislation.

Remuneration and Succession advises on senior appointments throughout the organisation.

Strategic Direction Committee considers professional issues that affect all BACP members, advises policy on these and co-ordinates the work of its subcommittees:

Professional Conduct sets and monitors standards for good practice; devises and maintains rules for professional conduct; sets policy for handling complaints.

Registration advises on the strategic development of, and policy relating to, registration and regulation.

Fellows Forum provides BACP with access to the wisdom, knowledge and experience of these distinguished members.

To get in touch with a BACP department, please Contact Us