BABCP

BABCP is the lead body for cognitive and behavioural therapies (CBT) in the UK. Through its Accreditation programme, BABCP has also sought to promote increasingly higher standards of good practice amongst cognitive and behavioural psychotherapists. For this reason, BABCP continues to work closely with the Health Professions Council (HPC) regarding statutory regulation of Psychotherapists.

Furthermore, BABCP also publicly endorses the recent position statement by the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) on statutory regulation. This statement declares that the BPC Executive took a "strong and unanimous position that it had no interest in pursuing or encouraging demands for an alternative regulator" to the one being proposed by the HPC.

BABCP supports the positive stance taken by BPC. Broadly in line with the BPC position statement, BABCP also believes that psychotherapy professions and their stakeholders in the process of regulatory development will be best served by accepting that HPC is the likely regulator. BABCP therefore is in favour of constructively engaging with HPC, not supporting calls for an alternative regulator and working towards a satisfactory way of regulating both counsellors and psychotherapists.

BABCP President Professor John Taylor says: "BABCP considers that statutory regulation of this kind is important and vital. We are of the firm belief that statutory regulation requiring minimum standards of proficiency and training will ensure the ethical and professional conduct that is imperative to protect the public. In addition to the proficiencies required for statutory regulation, BABCP will continue to promote CBT-specific competencies and accredit practitioners accordingly."