Submission on The Statutory Registration of Counsellors & Psychotherapists in Ireland

The following is the recommendation for the Counsellor category.

The ATI Level 7 degree is the only programme at present that meets all these requirements. A Diploma will no longer be acceptable for going forward as an addiction counsellor.

 

Psychological Therapist (Counsellor category)

Read below for the full submission

Content

Introduction

This is a period of growing interest in issues related to Counselling & Psychotherapy and its regulation in Ireland. The role of the Counsellor and Psychotherapist is now recognised as being part of any best practice holistic response to the health and social care needs of our population.

It is imperative that the public shall be protected by promoting high standards of conduct, education, training and competence among the professions of Counselling and Psychotherapy. This protection is currently offered through a process of self regulation. All of the bodies outlined in Appendix 1 provide codes of ethics and practice which their members must abide by. Each organisation also provides standards which a person must achieve before they are accredited as a Counsellor or Psychotherapist. Whilst this form of self regulation indeed provides protection to clients of those organizations, it falls short of optimal protection as under our common law system it is possible for any person to take the title Counsellor or Psychotherapist and practice accordingly without the required training and competence.

 

This current anomaly does not lend itself to good clinical governance and the maintenance and improvement of high standards of patient/client care. The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 creates a mechanism to drive forward the clinical governance agenda. It creates a framework through which practitioners are accountable for continually improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence will flourish and optimal protection is offered to the public.

The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 facilitates the State in providing optimal protection to clients who wish to avail of Counselling & Psychotherapy. Section 4 (3) (d) of the Health and Social Care Professional Act defines (for the purposes of the Act) a health or social care profession as: “any profession in which a person exercises skill or judgment relating to……the care of those in need of protection, guidance or support.”

This definition quite clearly allows for the professions of Counsellor and Psychotherapist to fit within the spectrum and compass of the act. The agreement of all the participating groups in this process to opt for a registration board for Counsellors & Psychotherapists is a critical milestone in achieving this objective, as is the decision of all groups to adopt the name of “Psychological Therapist” to cover both professions.

The establishment of a State registration process for “Psychological Therapists” would close the common law loophole and consequently ensure higher levels of protection for the public. Section 27 of the Act states: “The object of the registration board of a designated profession is to protect the public by fostering high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among registrants of that profession.”

This submission has been written in the context of this interest and in response to a request from the Department of Health and Children. It follows an initial Forum on regulatory issues held at the Camden Court Hotel on November 10th 2005.

No national statistics exist on the numbers of Counsellors & Psychotherapists in Ireland or on the associations that represent them. This submission gives the views of the majority of Counsellors & Psychotherapists through the associations that represent or regulate them. The Counselling and Psychotherapy organisations behind this submission (Appendix 1) have a combined membership of over 5000 professionals and thus the recommendations from the group carry an authority on behalf of the vast majority of Counsellors and Psychotherapists in Ireland and facilitates the Department of Health & Children in expediting the process of State registration.

The Group met on twelve occasions between November 2005 and June 2007. The commitment and dedication of the participating organisations to this process is evidenced by the fact that over 112,000 EURO in professional and service fees was invested by the various groups in creating this submission.

The initial meeting was addressed by Mr Tim O’Malley, Minister of State at the Department of Health & Children. The Minister expressed an enthusiasm for Counselling & Psychotherapy to structure itself in a format which would facilitate statutory recognition of both professions. He encouraged the group to formulate a submission to expedite and facilitate the professions to come under the auspices of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005.

Stepwise synopsis of the process

Conclusions & Recommendations

Sincere thanks are due to the many national organisations for Counselling & Psychotherapy in Ireland (Appendix 1) who participated actively in this process and shared of their clinical knowledge, organisational time and resources. Our thanks are due to Minister Tim O’ Malley who prompted, informed and welcomed this submission. The group would also like to acknowledge the support and expertise received from Simonetta Ryan, Maeve O’Brien and Caroline Kelly of the Department of Health & Children. Special thanks to Mr Frank Scott Lennon who facilitated the submission process.

Throughout the eleven meetings over a one and a half year period much debate and discussion took place. It has also established a clear consensus and pathway to the establishment of a state registration board for “Psychological Therapists”.

The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 facilitates the State to initiate a registration process, Section 27 of the Act states: “The object of the registration board of a designated profession is to protect the public by fostering high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among registrants of that profession.” It is also quite clear that the role of “Psychological Therapist” falls within the scope of the Act as section 4 (3) (d) defines (for the purposes of the Act) a health or social care profession as: “any profession in which a person exercises skill or judgment relating to……..the care of those in need of protection, guidance or support.”

The work of this group indicates a consensus among the 5000 Counsellors & Psychotherapists in Ireland to come under the remit of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. The group has formulated four specific recommendations which create a consensual and smooth pathway into the future, ensuring Ireland is at the cutting edge of “Psychological Therapy” whilst offering the optimal public protection.

The professional disciplines of counselling and psychotherapy be grouped together using the title "PSYCHOLGICAL THERAPIST".

“PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPIST” is added to the current list of professionals outlined and registered under the 2005 Health & Social Care professionals Act.

That there be two categories established within the Psychological Therapist registration board, with the protected titles Counsellor and Psychotherapist.

That the following criteria are adopted for recognition and registration as Psychological Therapist.

PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPIST (Psychotherapist Category)

Baseline academic qualification for entry to training is

Baseline qualification and experience for registration in psychotherapist category

Minimum four years of training in specific psychotherapy modality at master's level (1,400 hours) to include, for example:

Criteria for grandparenting practicing psychotherapists

Academic:

M.A. (or post-graduate equivalent), modality-specific psychotherapy training

Experiental:

Criteria for grandparenting practicing Counsellors

Appendix - I

Appendix - II

HETAC Fan

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