Voluntary registers and regulation in psychotherapy | Letters

There is a lack of understanding of the role of voluntary registers in the regulation of those practising psychotherapy (MPs urge government to regulate UK psychotherapists and counsellors, 9 October). The UK Council for Psychotherapy’s registers of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors, accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), only include practitioners who meet our exacting standards, robust training requirements and abide by our ethical and professional code.

For the small minority of clients who are not content with the service they receive from a registered practitioner, we have a clear and effective process for managing and investigating complaints. We will look into cases where there is evidence that calls into question a therapist’s suitability to be on our register. UKCP also accredits training bodies that adhere to our high standards of education and training.

It is shocking to see an increase in stories about rogue and unregistered practitioners, highlighting the importance that, when seeking a therapist, everyone checks a practitioner is registered with a PSA-accredited registering body. While we believe that our register provides a high level of assurance to members of the public, UKCP remains open to working with the government and campaigners such as Ella Janneh, in exploring the benefits of statutory regulation for psychotherapists to better protect the public and safeguard the reputation of the profession.
Jon Levett
Chief executive, UK Council for Psychotherapy

Your article on bad therapy (‘A therapist shouldn’t be giving you hugs’: readers share bad counselling experiences, theguardian.com, 9 November) rightly warns readers about the red flags that can indicate a practitioner has a problem with boundaries. It would be fantastic if we had one official licensing and regulation body for the profession.

The difficulty is that the very people who need help themselves are quite likely to delude themselves that they can help others. And unfortunately, the mechanism identified by Freud in which one’s belief systems and illusions are beheld in the therapist, transference, is central to any positive – but also any destructive – relationship. It is this mechanism that does the most damage.

But until we have proper regulation and oversight, these disasters will continue. Still, they are in the minority. I have had one or two bad GPs, but have not since avoided all doctors.
Stephanie Calman
London