The annual review and financial statements focuses on our work between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 and how that fits in with the goals in our strategy. You can read the highlights below or download the full review.
From our Chair
In a particularly difficult year, I’m encouraged by how much we have delivered and achieved as an Association on behalf of our members.
2022 was a tough year for many people, with 2023 beginning in the same way.
As we came out of the grip of COVID-19, we faced a cost of living crisis, spiraling mortgage rates and financial uncertainty, as well as political instability and war in Europe.
Over the past 12 months we've seen change internally at BACP as well, with departures from our senior executive team and Board and the arrival of a new Interim CEO.
Our staff, volunteers, committees and Board of Governors have delivered a huge volume of work on our members’ behalf – from day-to-day operations to projects that will influence the future of BACP and the profession.
I want to thank everyone who has contributed to these achievements in the past 12 months.
The commitment, dedication and passion of the people who work for BACP has been incredible, as always. This year we have taken huge strides in becoming a more diverse and inclusive Association and profession, and in addressing shared standards within the complex landscape of the profession.
The implementation of the SCoPEd framework and the tactical steps outlined in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy will be a continued focus for us going forward.
Reflection on what has been accomplished
While this annual review celebrates the work achieved in a one-year period, it also gives us a moment of reflection on what has been accomplished over the course of the four years since we launched this strategy.
I’m pleased with how we’ve listened to members, equipped them to work in a fast-paced world, built a community, strengthened the confidence and credibility in the profession and campaigned for better provision of counselling and psychotherapy.
Counselling changes lives and we're there to support our members to best support their clients.
We couldn't do any of our work without the contributions of our members – their skills, expertise and knowledge are at the heart of our Associations’ achievements.
The Board is excited to lead the organisation into our next five-year strategy, building on the work already achieved over the past few years. This will be a huge moment in the Association’s history and I’m looking forward to reporting back on how we're progressing with it in our member communications during the coming months, and in next year’s annual review.
Natalie Bailey
Chair of the Association
"This year we have taken huge strides in becoming a more diverse and inclusive Association, and in addressing shared standards within the complex landscape of the profession."
Natalie Bailey, Chair of BACP
Highlights
1. We'll listen to, learn from and work with our members to inform the work of the Association
Key achievements from this year:
Our EDI strategy was launched to members along with updates on the work that has already been achieved in this area. The strategy and key pieces of work were developed with the support of a member-led EDI task and finish group.
Working with Hackney Borough Council, we recorded a series of podcasts on race, racial trauma and anti-racism. The podcasts aim to encourage more conversations about systemic racism, its impact, and the action required of individuals and organisations to produce lasting change.
Supervisors’ event
We held our first in-person event solely for supervisors, in response to members’ requests. The event had a collaborative feel and attendees had the opportunity to network, learn from presenters and share knowledge with each other.
We launched an online form to make applying for accreditation more straight forward for members. We also improved guidance available on our website.
"Working as part of the task and finish group to develop the EDI strategy has been a fascinating way to contribute as a member to BACP’s work. Inclusion, and understanding difference, are such integral parts to the work we do as therapists. It felt important to get involved in helping BACP develop a strategy which was thought through, rigorous and far-reaching, for BACP itself and for its members."
Carolyn Lee, member of our EDI Task and Finish Group, psychotherapist and culture consultant
2. We will equip our members to be able to work in a fast-changing world, to be able to influence and contribute to the wellbeing of society
Key achievements from this year:
Our grant scheme has funded two organisational members to work on projects to remove barriers to therapy for people from marginalised and racialised community backgrounds.
We increased our ability to deliver the certificate of proficiency (CoP) with our Approved Qualification partner centres. This meant 611 candidates were able to take CoP assessments at these centres in the past 12 months compared to 65 in the previous year.
We’ve expanded our set of research resources and added practical guidance for members who are interested in introducing routine outcome measures into their therapeutic work.
A couples counselling ethics consultant was recruited to provide specific support for members on ethical queries relating to this specialist area of work. In the past year, our ethics officers responded to more than 2,500 calls and 2,000 emails.
"Children North East was thrilled to receive funding from BACP to work with young people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds to engage with and access counselling. The project has provided evidence of the barriers faced by young people, and the impact different therapeutic approaches can offer, supporting further funding ambitions to reach more young people across the North East."
Rachel Leslie, Operational Lead – Therapeutic Services at BACP organisational member Children North East
3. We will be the professional home of choice for members and communities of practice, providing relevant services and opportunities to learn, develop and inspire each other
Key achievements from this year:
We launched our Communities of Practice platform – a member-only online space where therapists can connect, collaborate and network. There are currently 20 member-proposed communities, including person-centred therapy, trauma-focused psychotherapy and neurodiversity.
We’ve made updates to our directory to help potential clients looking for a therapist and improvements to the directory contact form process. Directory subscriptions have increased by 17% between January 2022 to January 2023, compared to the previous year.
We had an incredibly positive response to the launch of our pilot bursary scheme for counselling and psychotherapy training, with more than 100 applications submitted within four weeks. The scheme aims to support underrepresented groups in the counselling and psychotherapy professions financially.
Stronger networks
We’ve enhanced our network meeting provision to offer more support to members to set up and run these groups. The meetings help members complete CPD with their peers, focusing on the topics that they’ve requested support for. They also help tackle the isolation of the profession.
"It was truly a pleasure presenting at the BACP Making Connections event in central London. I explored the psychological distress Black queer men experience and beneficial therapeutic practice with this community. I found the experience enlightening and rewarding, and an opportunity to inform practitioners of the mental health concerns among a marginalised community."
Anthony Davis, London-based therapist and Making Connections presenter
4. We will further develop confidence in and credibility of the profession by developing and upholding professional and ethical standards, informed by an evidence base
Key achievements from this year:
Along with all six SCoPEd partners, we formally adopted the SCoPEd framework. We’ve moved into an implementation period, which involves looking at agreed mechanisms and routes with partners for moving between membership categories that will be aligned to the SCoPEd framework.
A total of 30 pairs of mentors and mentees were matched together by our mentoring scheme for trainees from marginalised and racialised communities.
We worked with academics and researchers from a range of institutions to develop projects and funding bids to increase the evidence base for the counselling professions.
We identified best practice for working remotely with younger clients in our newly-published CYP-OPT competences, which are now included in the CYP competence framework and training curriculum.
"The launch of coaching competencies represents a significant milestone for BACP's coaching division and for qualified therapists interested in moving into coaching. Placing BACP as a potential thought-leader in this evolving space, the competences provide clarity; identifying the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed before counsellors practise as coaches, and offering an understanding of what integrated coaching and therapy practice involves."
Lucy Myers, BACP Coaching Division Chair
5. We will campaign for the appropriate provision of counselling and psychotherapy for all members of society and for opportunities for paid employment of our members. We will champion the skills, competence and contribution of our members to the public, employers, commissioners and policy-makers.
Key achievements from this year:
We led an influential campaign calling for mental health to be included within the remit of the COVID-19 public inquiry. Our letter to inquiry Chair Baroness Hallett was signed by 26 leading mental health organisations – including Mind, Rethink Mental Health and the Centre for Mental Health. It prompted an expansion of the terms of reference of the inquiry to include the impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the UK population.
Counselling in the media
Our Counselling Changes Lives campaign aims to raise awareness of the benefits of counselling, position our members as highly skilled and qualified experts, and signpost those in need to our members. Highlights of the campaign were our Therapy Talks video, our annual Mindometer report and our Couples Collective resources.
Our well-attended event at the 2022 Labour Party Conference discussed the long-term impacts of the pandemic on the mental health of the nation. The panel discussion looked at how mental health services, including counsellors and psychotherapists, can help steer the nation through such challenging times.
Finding a registered counsellor
We highlighted ethical counselling and the importance of members of the public
looking for a counsellor from a PSA-accredited register in national and local media. This included on BBC Panorama, BBC News, and a television piece that went across ITV regional bulletins featuring our Head of Professional Standards Caroline Jesper and seven of our members.
"I attended the Health and Wellbeing at Work conference at the NEC in Birmingham as a member of the BACP Workplace division. During the two-day event, I spoke with businesses to promote the workplace competencies, to myth bust and promote the benefits of SCoPEd, and also answered members’ questions. I also shared BACP’s mission and work with those who were meeting us for the first time."
Josephine Bey, BACP Workplace division executive and accredited member
6. We will optimise the organisation of BACP to ensure it is flexible, responsive and capable of resourcing the vision and goals
Key achievements from this year:
Staff training
A strong focus on EDI-related training has included the delivery of webinars for all staff, covering unconscious bias and neurodiversity. This has also led to us working with a new supplier for staff to have referrals relating to neurodiversity, to help provide support in the workplace.
Carbon neutral project
We reviewed our carbon footprint between 2019 and 2022, and offset the carbon with two projects, one international and one in the UK. We’ll continue to review and offset each year, and also plan to have more discussions about our buildings and larger projects to ensure that we try to move towards a reduced carbon footprint.
Measuring our impact
We put a new process in place to help us measure the impact of the work we do for the benefit of members and the profession. Project leads are reporting back on extra details relating to the outcomes and impact of their work helping us to better evidence that we’re delivering against our strategy and working for the best possible value for members and professions.
Health and safety at work
We focused on the management aspect of health and safety across BACP with the senior management team, reviewing all the policies and safe systems of work.