Proper Public Protection and Psychological Services

Under current law, anyone can claim to be a psychologist, psychotherapist or counsellor and offer their services to the public irrespective of their training or experience.

This fact may come as a surprise given the potential for harm to the mental well-being of clients, especially when the professions are compared with, for instance, doctors, lawyers and nurses, who have had statutory regulation for many years, offering the public legal safeguards from the unskilled and the unprofessional.

The British Psychological Society has sought to ensure public protection for more than 40 years by means of the voluntary registration of its members, who must abide by its Code of Ethics and Conduct (formerly the Code of Conduct, Ethical Principles and Guidelines) and maintain appropriate standards of training and practice. The Society recognises however that this is insufficient and that statutory regulation, backed by the rule of law, is required for comprehensive public protection. Consequently, since the late 1960s it has been campaigning for just that.

In recent years the government has begun to consider the issue and wants an existing body called the Health Professions Council (HPC) to take charge of the regulation. The government outlined its current plans in November 2007.

• Latest updates on statutory regulation of psychologists

• Statutory Regulation FAQs

• HPC Consultations: Download documents and view responses

• S60 Consultation: Download documents or view responses