Closed petition Fully regulate Counselling and Psychotherapy, to properly protect the public.

Closed on 3 May 2017

Anyone can call themselves "counsellor" or "psychotherapist", even with no qualifications at all.

Such people are a potentially fatal danger to clients, yet are currently free to practise.

There are societies to belong to, accreditations to gain and registers to join, but all are optional.

Successive governments have promised to regulate counselling for over a decade, but none have done so.

The "Accredited Register" scheme was created in 2013, and is like "CORGI" for counsellors. It sets minimum standards of training, insurance etc. However, you don't have to join a register and clients do not necessarily even know of its existence.

Regulation would protect the titles "counsellor" and "psychotherapist" and prevent those who do not meet minimum safety standards from practising.