SCoPEd - A note for Trainee Supervisees

In the counselling profession, all counsellors and trainees should be aware of SCoPEd and will probably be feeling the impacts of its implementation by now.

For those of you who know me, will know how outspoken I have been against SCoPEd. It’s not because I don’t believe that our profession should be regulated, I absolutely do, however, I think there are better ways to do so and it is definitely not SCoPEd. I attended BACP consultation meetings (not that they allowed us to ask questions during it), I read the papers released, emailed BACP directly with my concerns (not that I got any replies) and I signed petitions against it, but to no avail. BACP ignored me until I stopped paying my membership (I’ll let you make up your own minds about that!) Even when they emailed me to ask why I was leaving and I explained my concerns about SCoPEd, I was met with a generic email that didn’t address anything I had said and so I voted with my feet and left them.

 So where did that leave me? I effectively lost my Accreditation status that I had worked so hard to achieve but I joined another professional body that isn’t adopting SCoPEd. It has equally as stringent checks about qualifications, CPD requirements, insurance and supervision hours. They have a Code of Ethics, Complaints and Privacy Policies just like BACP and the other ‘big 8’ professional bodies. Yet, because it is financially extremely difficult for the smaller professional bodies to gain Professional Standards Agency (PSA) approval, my new professional body is not on their approval list. As a result I was told I could no longer be listed on a particular directory, I have been unable to gain certification on some training courses and I can no longer offer supervision to trainees, something I absolutely loved doing. Yet training institutions insist that to be able to count qualifying placement hours supervision must be with a supervisor who is accredited with BACP or one of the “big 8” which have adopted SCoPEd.

So in this ‘caring profession’ claiming to offer non-judgemental, empathic support to enable people to reach their full potential, nurture their autonomy and in congruence with their own value system, this clearly doesn’t apply to the very therapists that are funding the ‘big 8’ professional bodies. I am still working professionally and ethically and upholding the high standards the profession and clients expect, but for political and financial reasons because I have a different opinion, principles and values, I have been bullied into a corner by the organisation that was meant to represent me. This is something, I believe all counsellors really need to look into and consider to make up their own minds about.

Sadly, if you are a trainee or qualified counsellor working towards accreditation, looking at my site right now, please check with your awarding body and training organisations to see what their stipulations are for your supervisor before you contact me. Odds are, you’ll have to join one of the ‘big 8’ as my experience and knowledge will be deemed as not adequate to supervise your practice! For qualified counsellors, you have more freedom of choice and I look forward to hearing from you.

P.S… I am pleased to say my practice is growing and I’m the busiest I have ever been, so despite being backed into a corner, having my practice curtailed somewhat and losing a lot, they haven’t beaten me!! There is life away from the BACP and the discriminatory, money making SCoPEd framework.