Would regulating counselling and psychotherapy make a difference?

I’ve argued on this blog in favour of making counsellors and psychotherapists protected titles in the same way as nurses, social workers, occupational therapists etc. A previous survey suggested that at least one in four counsellors or psychotherapists who were struck off by the BACP or UKCP for misconduct simply carried on practising. And that’s perfectly legal to do, because neither “counsellor” nor “psychotherapist” are protected titles.

In response, some have argued that there’s no point in having protected titles. Suppose you have a practitioner who’s been struck off and doesn’t want to stop practising, or doesn’t want to submit themselves to a statutory regulator, or simply never acquired any qualifications in the first place. If protected titles were brought in, all they would have to do is change their job title. Say, to “humanistic therapist” or “Jungian analyst”. I decided to test this hypothesis.

Professional Standards Authority issues statement on transgender conversion therapy

Following a recent controversy over conversion therapy and transgender people, I contacted the Professional Standards Authority for comment. Today I received a reply.

Conversion therapy is a controversial form of psychotherapy which aims to turn gay people straight, or in some cases to revert transgender people to their birth gender. Pretty much all the research evidence suggests it’s ineffective and harmful. Most psychotherapy organisations in Britain have condemned conversion therapy for gay people, but have not done so for transgender people.