ABSTRACT
A key feature of the development of the national occupational standards has been the involvement of practitioners, employers, professional bodies, awarding bodies, trade unions and national qualifications regulatory bodies. The funding bodies have been reorganised and their targets have been changed; the national qualifications regulatory bodies have also changed and taken wider responsibilities. The building blocks are all available to move towards a regulated profession that has clear entry and progression points. What is less certain is the willingness of all counsellors to be regulated and the form such regulation might take; this is perhaps why the newly formed UK Health Professions Council is reluctant to make counselling a regulated profession. The development of the national occupational standards involved a steering group, with members coming from a range of counselling backgrounds with different expectations and demands. The counselling national occupational standards have been revised and have widespread support from professionals, representative bodies and trainers.
