The Green Party have launched their manifesto with a wide range of positive commitments to counselling and mental health, reflecting many of our own manifesto policies.   

School counsellors

We particularly welcome the clear commitment to a trained and paid counsellor in every school and sixth form college. This longstanding BACP policy recommendation is a central ask of our manifesto and provides a clearer commitment for counselling than we have seen from the other parties this election campaign. They've additionally committed to providing children in foster care or who have been adopted to have consistent access to a trained counsellor until this support is no longer required.  

Bursaries

This work will be supported by a further commitment to provide bursaries to train counsellors from underrepresented backgrounds to ensure we have sufficient culturally aware counsellors for our diverse population. This is a focus of our EDI strategy, and builds on our 2022 pilot scheme to encourage people from racialised communities into the profession.   

Marginalised communities

We're also pleased to see a greater focus on ensuring that tailored mental health support is available for marginalised and minoritised communities. This mirrors our manifesto ask calling for greater support for voluntary and community counselling providers, who are often best placed to provide this specialised dedicated support.  

Evidence-based mental health therapies

The manifesto also includes an important commitment for people to be able to access evidence-based mental health therapies within 28 days. This echoes our own call for an expansion of existing NHS talking therapies, to better utilise the counselling and psychotherapy workforce, to help address growing demand.   

Counselling clearly advocated

Our Four Nations Lead Steve Mulligan said: “It's pleasing to see counselling so clearly advocated within the Green Party manifesto and as one central plank of their mental health offer.  

“We welcome the commitment to ensure that mental health care to put it on a truly equal footing with physical health care, ensuring that everyone who needs it can access evidence-based therapies within 28 days, drawing on the expertise of our members.  

“We're also delighted to see the Greens championing our longstanding call for counsellors in all schools and colleges, addressing inadequate provision in England and in line with the rest of the UK.

“We fully support the commitment to improving the diversity of the counselling profession through a bursary scheme, which builds on our important work in this area to tackle barriers facing minoritised communities.     

“While we additionally welcome the specific emphasis on improved mental health support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA+) communities, we were disappointed that the manifesto didn’t support a ban on conversion therapy”.    

Green Party manifesto mental health commitments

The counselling and mental health measures set out in the Green Party manifesto are:   

  • A trained and paid counsellor in every school and sixth-form college. 
  • Children in foster care or who have been adopted to have consistent access to a trained counsellor until it is no longer required. 
  • Bursaries to train counsellors from underrepresented backgrounds to ensure we have sufficient culturally aware counsellors for our diverse population. 
  • More accessible and prompt mental health needs assessments for children and adolescents. 
  • People to access evidence-based mental health therapies within 28 days ensuring that everyone who needs it can access evidence-based mental health therapies within 28 days. 
  • Ensuring that tailored and specific provision is readily available for the particular needs of communities of colour, children and adolescents, older people and Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA+) communities. 
  • Encouraging the use of companion animals in therapy and other treatments, drawing on evidence showing the beneficial impact of contact with animals on human psychology. 
  • Increased funding for mental health care, putting it on an equal footing with physical health care.  

We're providing an overview of all the political party manifestos as they’re published throughout the General Election Campaign.    

You can support our General Election campaign by sharing our manifesto commitments with your local candidates via our easy-to-use online form.