Research at UKCP

Research is central to the future of the psychotherapy profession. Through our work we aim is to raise the profile of the profession, utilising the expertise of our membership.

UKCP’s strategic aims

Ensuring research supports the UKCP’s policy objectives to increase access to psychotherapy.
Improving education about research and promote its importance within the UKCP membership.
Developing an effective system for collating clinical data from our membership.
Combining existing and new research to improve the evidence base for psychotherapy, as well as promote its importance for wellbeing and mental health.
Collaborating with psychotherapy researchers to define and address the needs for future research.

How we will work towards achieving these aims

Among the UKCP members are many influential researchers. We are working to strengthen connections with our research-active members to support impactful and widespread dissemination of their work, as well as to assist us in our drive to inform policy.
Collaboration is essential the UKCP’s research strategy to develop innovative, high-impact research. We are working to enhance connections across the board with universities, the NHS and charitable organisations.
We will be collaborating both internally and externally to promote the importance of research within training programmes and across the profession as a whole.

Current research projects

University of Sheffield

UKCP has provided funding to Professor Michael Barkham and his team at the University of Sheffield to conduct in-depth analyses of longitudinal IAPT datasets. This research will contribute to the evidence base for psychotherapy in treating depression in adults.

NHS pathways project

UKCP is conducting a three-year-long research project tracking students in the NHS pathways pilot. We aim to understand students’ experiences providing therapy in the NHS and how their training translates to working in this environment. We are in year two of the project.

Special issue EJPC

We're collaborating with the European Journal of Psychotherapy (EJPC) on a special issue entitled “Decolonising psychotherapy and empires of the mind: Opportunities and debates.” A call for papers was issued to UKCP members and the selected articles have been sent for peer review. More information can be found on our webpage.

Research Events

UKCP is holding a one-day research event in June 2025 and is now accepting abstracts. The theme for this year is Connecting with self, others and the environment in a complex world. Please go to our events webpage for more information.

Get involved – connect and collaborate

We are always looking for new ways to support our members with research and to connect with non-UKCP academics and practitioners. We are actively seeking to hear more about existing research and to discuss collaborations across all modalities. Our current areas of focus include:

New ways of assessing psychotherapy and evaluating its effectiveness
Collaborating on, and supporting, studies of effectiveness across therapeutic modalities and client populations
Innovative research, investigating the therapeutic process
Practice-informed research and research-informed practice.

If you would like to get involved or discuss active research projects or proposals, please email the research team.

Research working group

As a relatively small organisation with limited resources, we have been working hard to think of ways to improve research for the organisation and the membership. To help us accomplish this, we have put together a board level Research Working Group. Members of the group include Prof Divine Charura (DCounPsych), Dr Sofie Bager-Charleson, Prof Vicky Karkou, and Dr Gella Richards.

The group will be focusing on how to better support the membership with research, whilst also addressing external research strategy.

This will include:

Improving education and guidance about conducting psychotherapy research.
Assessing how we may be able to support therapists to gain ethical approval to conduct research.
Enhancing networking and collaboration opportunities.
Promoting research funding opportunities.

Research noticeboard

Are you a UKCP member involved in a research project?

Our noticeboard aims to help psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors:

recruit participants for a study
notify members of ongoing research projects
identify collaborators.

If you’re a UKCP member interested in circulating information about research to other members, please fill out this form and our research team will be in touch. Requests to post on the noticeboard will be reviewed on the 20^th of every month. Those accepted will be posted on the 25^th of every month for a duration of four weeks.

Please note: requests may not be accepted for a variety of reasons, including the volume of requests or the research topic.

Menopause and midlife transition: an exploration of counsellor and psychotherapists’ experience and how it impacts their therapeutic practice

The purpose of this study is to explore a diverse range of counsellor and psychotherapists' lived experience of menopause and midlife transition and how this impacts their therapeutic practice.

I am seeking a diverse range of participants who are practicing therapists and who can reflect on their own menopause and midlife experience and how it has impacted their practice.

Participation will involve filling out a qualitative questionnaire to generate a rich data set for thematic analysis. Please get in touch with me at for further information jane.j.hellier@warwick.ac.uk/

Understanding existential therapists' approaches to self-esteem Issues

I am conducting a doctoral research study at Middlesex University, exploring how existential therapists interpret and prioritise existential themes when working with clients experiencing low self-esteem (LSE). This study aims to understand current existential therapy practices, investigate how existential themes are applied to self-esteem issues, and identify potential challenges therapists face in this work.

Participant criteria:

I am seeking qualified existential therapists who:-Are accredited or licensed in the UK (e.g., UKCP, BACP, HCPC, etc.)
Have at least three years of experience practicing existential therapy
Have experience working with clients presenting with LSE
Are willing to participate in a confidential interview (60–90 minutes)

What participation involves:

A one-to-one interview (via Zoom or in-person) at a convenient time-An opportunity to contribute to research on existential therapy

Participants’ insights will help advance research on existential psychotherapy and enhance therapeutic practices related to self-esteem.

Where to Find More Information:

If you are interested in participating or would like more details, please use this link to complete a short pre-screening questionnaire to check eligibility.