Guidance for our organisational members

There are a number of consideration when practising with someone not in the UK:

• Your client is receiving your services in their country where they are living, therefore it is imperative you are aware of and abide by their country’s requirements for practicing in that country.
• Speak with your OM/college/supervisor to ensure you receive appropriate support for this practice, and confirm that your OM/college allows this as part of your re-accreditation client hours/practice.
• Does your professional indemnity insurer cover you to practice in that country? Please contact your insurer to confirm what they cover.
• Are you meeting the requirements to practice in that country, such as licensing or holding the European Certificate for Psychotherapy?

The European Association for Psychotherapy has resources which will provide signposting and guidance for practice in various EU countries if your client is in the EU.

If one of the requirements of that EU country is that you hold the European Certificate for Psychotherapy, you can apply for it if you have been on the UKCP Register for more than 3 years. For more information and application forms, visit our Working Overseas page.

If your client is not in the EU, then contact the local consulate or government website for more information on what is required.

Some countries have local requirements – such as in the United States, licenses are issued via each state’s government rather than US government, and so you’ll need to go to that state’s own government website.

If you are a trainee considering work with overseas clients, you must ensure that your OM and supervisor approve you to work with overseas clients, or the hours may not count towards your qualification and accreditation.

Yes, we are still undertaking the annual random audit process, as this is part of UKCP’s quality assurance processes to ensure members meet requirements to be on the Register. We are providing additional support and extensions around this, and our approach is flexible and pragmatic. Unfortunately, we cannot accept paper submissions, only electronic.

The audit may need to take into consideration lowered client hours and supervision in light of the current situation. However, we anticipate CPD hours should continue to be met as per current minimum requirements (ie 20 hours per any one year and 250 hours across 5 years). We recognise variety of CPD may be problematic at this time, but additional consideration will be given for extra reading, webinars and similar online/remote learning, recognising that external or experiential CPD may not be possible or accessible at this time. Remote-meeting peer groups could help you facilitate the social and relational aspects of CPD.

We expect colleges and OMs to be flexible, pragmatic, creative and supportive in their approach to CPD checks and re-accreditation submissions over the coming year.

This is normally set out by the OM or college, and we would expect the OMs/colleges to be flexible and realistic in their approach and supportive of members’ situations because of Covid-19.

Some training is required to ensure competence in this way of working. This can be provided by the OM/training provider or the placement, and in the current circumstances, can be delivered via blended learning. It’s up to training providers to ensure that trainees have appropriate training for the work undertaken and supervision in place for the nature of the work.

Unfortunately we are not able to accept paper applications, as our office is closed. Please contact our Membership team directly to find out about how best to manage applications. They can be reached at membership@ukcp.org.uk

UKCP’s Board of Trustees recently approved a resolution to clarify the status of online/remote client hours accumulated by trainees/graduates during the pandemic.

The resolution: ‘Online/remote working client hours accumulated by trainees/graduates since 1 March 2020 should count towards UKCP registration and be afforded the same recognition as in-person client working hours and not be regarded as inferior to in-person working client hours. This should pertain until further notice.’

Training providers will ensure safety and appropriateness for trainees to proceed working online, and that trainees have appropriate supervision in place for the nature of the work.

You should contact your college training standards committee if you are making changes to your curriculum or major changes to the structure of the programme. You don’t need to let UKCP or your college know about how you are training remotely, though we would encourage you to share your best practices and what has been working well for you so that this can be shared with the wider organisation.

If you aren’t sure, please email the Regulation team at regulation@ukcp.org.uk and we can provide support and answer questions.

As part of your review, we may ask you what your contingency plans were and how you managed the various scenarios, but we will be looking at this from a best practice perspective (ie what do our members do and what can be shared among other OMs?) and a place of support.

More information about online training, remote therapy and supervision can be found in the training standards, policies and guidance section. Be sure to check your modality college standards also.

UKCP considers the outbreak of Covid-19 as a safe and clear justification for increased or exclusive use of technology to support training programmes where appropriate. We encourage you to consider the risks and use your judgement.

You can contact your college training standards committee or relevant college officer for more information about what is required and what you can do. As well, you may contact the Regulation Team at regulation@ukcp.org.uk.