Is the government bringing in legislation to regulate counsellors so that only accredited counsellors will be allowed to call themselves a counsellor?
The legislation refers primarily to doctors – it follows on from the enquiries into Neale, Shipman, Ayling etc. Secondly, it refers mainly to employment within the NHS, which is not somewhere our students tend to work. Thirdly, there is almost no possibility that the government would legislate out of business those thousands of counsellors who provide the basis for most counselling sessions in the UK. It is however possible that some title will be bestowed on those who conform to specific criteria, for example ‘Accredited’ or ‘Licensed’, which will be used to distinguish between the government and non government approved professionals. This being the case, I have no doubt that you will be continuing to practise effectively over the coming decades. And even if the government were, unlikely though it is, to regulate, there would inevitably be some grandparenting scheme that would allow you accreditation. We will reimburse the student’s fees in full if after gaining the Diploma, legislati
