Re-accreditation Statement for Members

Re-accreditation of psychotherapists will take place every five years as prescribed by the UKCP. The full re-accreditation procedure is detailed below and the CPD Group can help with any questions that you might have about this process. Please contact any member of the CPD Group (Tori Settle, Jane Parkinson and Julie Hopper) for further clarification should you need it. The responsibility for reading and agreeing the submission for reaccreditation will lie with the CPD group. (For members of the CPD group, the responsibility for their reaccreditation will lie with the Clinical Training Committee.)

Purposes of re-accreditation are:

  1. To underpin and promote reflective and informed practice and continuing professional development.
  2. As a result, to underpin and support best practice in a way that is beneficial to both practitioners and service-users.
  3. To meet UKCP requirements.

Requirements for being re-accredited are: (see below for further details)

    • Supervision records
    • CPD records
    • Insurance cover
    • A reflective process
    • Fully paid-up fees

In addition to general reflections on their work, each practitioner needs to show that their practice and CPD reflects the Diversity and Equality Policy of UKCP. This will include such things as demonstrating an understanding of power, prejudice and the impact of oppression, and the needs of the diverse group of clients with whom they work.

Procedures for re-accreditation are as follows:

The CPD Group will send out letters to members detailing the re-accreditation policy and requesting their reaccreditation submission within a particular timeframe. These will then be read and if agreed, the therapist will then have been successful in their reaccreditation. The CPD Group will endeavour to complete this process in as short a time as possible.

Exemptions for re-accreditation:

If you are planning on retiring within a year of being due, there is no need to reaccredit. Please let us know if this is the case.

If you have been on a sabbatical, then your re-accreditation date can be pushed back. Please let us know when your sabbatical started and when it ended/will end.

Unsuccessful Reaccreditation Application:

If concerns are raised about the submission of any member, the CPD Group will attempt informal resolution regarding the issue/s. If, after informal attempts at resolution with the CPD Group the reaccreditation application is unsuccessful, the therapist will then be invited to a meeting with the Chair of Executive (or Chair of the CTC) and the CPD Group Convenor to discuss what needs to be done to remedy the omissions or problem areas.  A period of time will be agreed, at the end of which the therapist will submit further evidence for the reaccreditation application.

If the therapist disputes the outcome, they will be given access to their College Appeals Procedure.

The Chair of the  Executive will report to UKCP whether the person has successfully completed the reaccreditation process or not.

If the application is not successful this time:

  • The therapist will not be eligible to remain on the UKCP register.
  • If they decide not to reaccredit with TBC, they will have to move to UKCP’s non-clinical membership, or retired membership categories.
  • To rejoin the UKCP register, they will be required to undertake TBC reaccreditation process from scratch, which will involve a modified RAPP process with 2 interviews. If successful they will be referred back to the UKCP to be reinstated on the UKCP Register.

Procedure for an independent appeal:

If any member is unhappy about their re-accreditation being turned down by the CPD group they have the right to appeal to the Chair of the Clinical Training Committee.

Appeals must be made in writing and must clearly state the grounds for appeal.

The decision of the Chair is final.

Re-accreditation requirements in more detail:

Supervision records:

This is a confirmation of supervision hours per year for the five required years. We already have a record of the statutory10 hours on the CPD forms, and we require that all supervisors sign a declaration confirming that these hours have been met. We recommend that members keep a log of all supervision sessions attended.

CPD records:

These are not held by the Centre, members must keep a copy each year to refer to for their reaccreditation.

Insurance Cover:

Evidence for the current year will need to be provided.

A Reflective Process:

Based on UKCP guidelines we would like members to write a short (1000 words) reflective description of your practice over the previous 5 years and how this has evolved. This should include the nature and context of your clinical work in all its aspects. You might like to consider the following:

  1. An awareness of the UKCP’s Diversity and Equality Policy in its understanding of the complexity and range of the challenging issues of diversity and equality of access.
  2. A description of supervision received over the previous 5 years and an assessment of the impact this has had on you and your work.
  3. A description of how your practice has developed and been maintained through your continuing professional development.
  4. An evaluation of your future CPD needs and an indication of how these will be met.
  5. A statement confirming your adherence to the Codes of Ethics and Practice.
  6. Details of your professional Will.
  7. A declaration of any complaints made in the period since last accreditation and details of their outcome or current status.  

From the perspective of The Bowlby Centre, we would like this process to be useful and meaningful for you, so these criteria are guidelines only and we do not wish them to be too prescriptive – what is important to us is that you have the opportunity to reflect on your work and its development and that you gain some benefit in so doing.

Criteria for being re-accredited:

  1. That you have a live and active psychotherapy practice of current clients (minimum of two clients) or a compelling reason why you are not seeing clients. Reasons might be maternity leave, serious illness or a sabbatical.
  2. That you meet all of the requirements outlined above.
  3. That you meet all the normal CPD requirements.
  4. That there are no major unresolved or outstanding grievances or complaints made against you by clients or other professionals going on at the time of re-accreditation.
  5. All fees must be paid up to date before reaccreditation.

 April 2020