British Psychoanalytic Council

The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) is an association of training institutions and professional associations which have their roots in established psychoanalysis and analytical psychology. They bring together approximately 2000 registrants of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy (including psychoanalysts, Jungian analysts and child psychotherapists) who as individuals become registrants of the BPC.

The BPC (then the British Confederation of Psychotherapists) was formed on 8 March 1992, emerging from the United Kingdom Standing Conference for Psychotherapy (now the UKCP) as a specifically psychoanalytically-oriented organisation.

Annual register

It has an annual register of those practitioners who meet its continuing professional and fitness-to-practise standards. Promoting professional standards and acting as a voluntary regulator of the profession is a key role of the BPC.

The BPC accredits the trainings of its member institutions, ensuring that they meet published training standards. Some of these are member organisations of the International Psychoanalytical Association.

Practice requirements

An individual who qualifies from one of these trainings is then eligible for entry into the BPC's register. BPC registration then continues to be governed by a range of fitness to practise requirements:

• The therapist must be a member of good standing of their own professional institution (which is a member institution of the BPC)
• They subscribe to and are governed by the BPC's published Code of Ethics
• They are regulated by the BPC's Complaints Procedure
• They must maintain an annual programme of continuing professional development (CPD), monitored and approved by the BPC, which includes consultation on their clinical work, attending lectures and courses and a broad range of professional activity.

Training and qualifications

The preparation and training for becoming a psychoanalytic psychotherapist involves undergoing analysis.

Safeguarding the public

The individual organisations that train psychotherapists have always been self-regulating. Over the last twenty years, however, there has been an increase in the number of institutions and range of psychotherapies on offer to the public. The British Psychoanalytic Council is one of a number of bodies which exist to protect the interests of the public by promoting standards in the selection, training, professional association and ethical conduct of psychotherapists. It is the primary body for psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the UK.

The BPC, together with each of its member institutions, aims to protect the public by setting out the appropriate standards of professional conduct, and a Code of Ethics, which describes the responsibilities of psychoanalytic psychotherapists. There are also comprehensive complaints and disciplinary procedures, which include the sanction of striking a practitioner off both their organisation's membership list and the BPC's Register. The detailed fitness to practise policies are all published on its website or are available from the BPC office.

During October 2024 the British press signalled that self-regulation of therapists was not working according to investigations. They showed that some therapists and counsellors, including at least one GP, were able to set up in practice after having been struck off for misconduct by their member organisations, such as the BACP and UKCP. Misconduct was reported to include drug and sexual abuse. The majority of perpetrators were male practitioners exploiting female clients. In some cases, perpetrators had changed their names and joined other organisations where checks were inadequate, and continued to practice. Campaigners and MPs have called for stronger measures to protect the public. An undated and unsigned response by the the BPC was released online to the investigative journalist, Patrick Strudwick, in the matter of the inadequate regulation of psychotherapists.

See also

• United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

General:

• Mental health in the United Kingdom

List of BPC Member Institutions

• Anna Freud Centre
• Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector
• Association for Psychodynamic Practice and Counselling in Organisational Settings
• Association of Jungian Analysts
• Birkbeck Counselling Association
• British Psychoanalytic Association
• British Psychoanalytical Society
• British Psychotherapy Foundation
• Enfield Counselling Service
• Forensic Psychotherapy Society
• Foundation for Psychotherapy and Counselling
• Gloucestershire Counselling Service
• Manor House Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling
• North of England Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists
• Northern Ireland Association for the Study of Psychoanalysis
• Scottish Association of Psychoanalytical Psychotherapists and Human Development Scotland
• Severnside Institute for Psychotherapy
• Society of Analytical Psychology
• Tavistock Relationships
• Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
• Wessex Counselling
• West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy

External links

• The British Psychoanalytic Council
• European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector
• International Psychoanalytical Association