MPs urge government to regulate UK psychotherapists and counsellors | Counselling and therapy

MPs with experience in mental health have urged the government to introduce statutory regulation for all psychotherapists and counsellors, warning that the current system is leaving people vulnerable to harm.

Unlike most other healthcare roles, “psychotherapist” and “counsellor” are not protected titles nor statutorily regulated professions in the UK. Only art therapists and art psychotherapists, drama therapists and music therapists are protected titles. This means that anyone can set themselves up as a therapist without qualifications, and can continue to practise after misconduct.

MPs with personal experience of mental ill-health told the Guardian that appropriate regulation was more important than ever given the growing demand for mental health support.

The Labour MP Chris Webb said he backed statutory regulation as a result of his experiences as a former mental health charity trustee and supporting a family member through a breakdown.

“I’ve seen from individuals that have come to our charity, and since come into my casework bag, where they’ve gone to organisations across our town, and people who said they’re able to give that kind of mental health support, but weren’t regulated, have made things worse,” he said.

While sometimes this could be predatory, in most case the problem was “people wanting to help” but not having the training to do so, he said. He added that statutory regulation was vital to ensure protection was in place for vulnerable people.

Webb said that in his constituency of Blackpool South there had been problems with doctors informally referring patients to charities because waiting lists were so long. The patients then found out “the support they’re going to get is not up to scratch and can’t deal with the problems they have”. At the charity where he was a trustee, Counselling in the Community, people assumed they were an “extension of the NHS”.

Webb will be an officer on the all-party parliamentary group on mental health when it is reconstituted, and said statutory regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors would be one of the first items of business.

Rachael Maskell, the former co-chair of the APPG on mental health, has laid the groundwork for this by writing to the secretary of state, who has not yet responded.

The Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who has spoken out about her experience of post-traumatic stress disorder, urged the government to “legislate to ensure that all psychotherapists are regulated”.

“Anyone who has undergone psychotherapy will know just how affecting a process it can be,” she said, adding that recent lawsuits and complaints demonstrated the dangers.

“While most people will have a positive experience, the fact that the profession is not subject to statutory regulation leaves people vulnerable to malpractice, misconduct and abuse,” she said.

Several professional bodies, including the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), operate a voluntary register, requiring a minimum level of training on recognised courses, and offer complaints processes.

Danny Chambers, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for mental health, said it was “deeply distressing” that the system appears to have resulted in an increase in the number of vulnerable people being taken advantage of by unregulated therapists.

“Those seeking mental health support should be able to trust that their therapists meet a minimum safe standard of practice. The public must be assured that their wellbeing is in the hands of qualified, ethical professionals.

“The government must act swiftly, in collaboration with regulatory bodies and accredited mental health professionals, to ensure abusers are not permitted to continue practising and that patients are protected from rogue actors,” he said.

Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem health spokesperson, said this “isn’t something we should be seeing in a country that has well-regarded structures in place for other types of medical professional, and it’s really essential that we regulate in a sensible way this type of provision”.

She called for a “clampdown” on people posing as therapists without appropriate credentials, adding that the government “needs to act swiftly in order to make sure people aren’t able to continue practising where they’ve caused harm, and that patients are protected”.

While most psychotherapy and counselling bodies want to see the detail of any statutory regulation before backing it, and are concerned it could hamper practitioners’ freedom to develop relationships with their patients, other mental health professional associations have also backed calls for greater regulation.

Meg Moss, the head of policy at the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society, said statutory regulation could do significant harm to “counselling provision and diversity”, and that abusers could move “from regulated to unregulated titles with ease”.

She suggested the easiest solution would be “to enact legislation that allows for protection of title via accredited registers”, such as the NCPS and BACP.

Mike Wang, the chair of the Association of Clinical Psychologists, said the organisation was “highly supportive of greater regulation of practitioners within mental health”.

Prof John Crichton, the treasurer of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said it supported regulation “in the same way that doctors are overseen by the General Medical Council, nurses by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and practitioner psychologists and arts therapists by the Health and Care Professions Council”.

A government spokesperson said: “Taking advantage of someone who is seeking help while at their most vulnerable is reprehensible and we would urge anyone affected to come forward so those responsible can face justice.

“Anyone seeking therapy deserves to have confidence and trust in their healthcare professional, which is why we urge the use of qualified practitioners accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care. To meet the standards for PSA accreditation, an organisation must have a focus on public protection and robust processes for handling complaints against practitioners.”