Petition Funding Longer Term Counselling

In the UK at present there is no statutory regulation for the Counselling and Psychotherapy profession and this could leave the public vulnerable. People in need of emotional support should have one central reference point which lists all the qualified practitioners who are members of the main UK governing bodies - BACP, UKCP, COSCA, IACP & BPS.
The current mental health provision is not providing adequate care for individuals in need and more clients are turning to private therapy in desperation. Many need more than telephone CBT & group therapy.
This central source of information would give the DOH accurate data on the issue type clients/patients have & the frequency of these searches as well as the location. This data would be a valuable source in order to target the locations and type of help most needed.
We feel the government should initiate a scheme whereby clients can choose their own counsellor and that their counselling be paid for in full or subsidised by the government.