SCoPEd and Senior Accreditation - Beyond Titles: Staying True to the Work
I previously wrote about losing my Senior Accreditation with the BACP following the forthcoming implementation of the SCoPEd framework. That experience raised questions about fairness, accessibility and how our professional bodies treat long-serving practitioners.
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| Glencoe last week, having completed my application |
The process hasn’t been without its challenges. My supervisor of eleven years recently had a stroke and has been unable to provide a written report. Thankfully, my new supervisor is someone who has known me since 2007, and whom I have had peer supervision since I moved into private practice in 2011, particularly with complex and high-risk cases. She has been able to verify my application, with my previous supervisor also offering to provide an oral statement. I’ve felt well supported, and I appreciate the NCPS for responding with understanding and flexibility throughout.
The contrast with the BACP process is hard to ignore. When my BACP renewal date came around in April, my Senior Accreditation title was removed (in fact, they removed my certificate a week early). Although the BACP do have a pathway to reapply, I can’t begin that until February 2026, and I can only regain my Senior status if and when I pass under the new framework. In other words, I was demoted before being given any realistic opportunity to demonstrate my competence.
The NCPS have taken a very different approach. As long as I submitted my Senior Accreditation application by today’s deadline, I can retain my Senior status while it’s being assessed. That feels fair. It recognises the years of work, training and contribution that brought me here, and it offers continuity rather than arbitrary demotion.
In many ways, this process has involved rummaging through the past. I completed Level 7 training as a coach in 2023 and over the past few years my work has gradually been moving more in that direction. Writing this application has brought me back into contact with my professional history. Around this time last year, when the topic of counselling regulation re-emerged in the press (through iNews, Patrick Strudwick and others) I found myself unexpectedly on Sky News talking about the profession. That experience, like this application, pulled me back down the rabbit hole of my early days as a practitioner.
With my application in, I’m now looking forward. I’ve just had an article published in the BACP Coaching Journal Coaching Today, exploring my relational coaching work. That feels much more aligned with where my practice is heading; collaborative, reflective, and growth-focused.
I don’t believe that gaining this accreditation will make me a better therapist. There are many excellent therapists who don’t hold accredited status, let alone senior accreditation. What matters to me is continuing to learn, to reflect, to stay connected to the professional community, and to be able to articulate the work I do. For me, the Senior Accreditation process is about future-proofing my practice and keeping the option open to apply for employed roles at some point. I also think that engaging with the process makes me better equipped to one day supervise or teach therapists, neither of which I currently do.
I’ve stayed with the BACP mainly for the Coaching Division, which provides a sense of community for those of us who work as both therapists and coaches. But through this process I’ve learned that the NCPS have a Coaching Register too and unlike the BACP, they require specific training and supervision to be on it. They also have dedicated Relationship and Children & Young People Registers, which again require relevant training and supervision. That feels right to me. It honours the responsibility that comes with working in these areas.
It’s interesting how things have shifted. The NCPS, once seen as the less robust organisation, now seems to be setting stronger and more ethically consistent standards. The BACP, in contrast, feels to have lost sight of the compassion and fairness that should guide a professional body rooted in care and relationship.
Whatever the outcome, I’ll keep going; learning, reflecting, and doing the work I love. Titles may change, but my commitment to integrity doesn't.
You can read my earlier post about losing my Senior Accreditation with the BACP here.