ABSTRACT
In order to become a registered practitioner in most forms of therapeutic training in the UK it is now a requirement to have had personal therapy. The great majority of member organisations of the UK Council for Psychotherapy require their members to have had personal therapy, although at least three from both cognitive-behavioural and systemic orientations do not require it. For counselling psychologists to be eligible for Chartered Psychologist status with the British Psychological Society (BPS) they must have at least 40 hours of personal therapy during training BPS (2003). Since October 1998 the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has required applicants for Individual Counsellor Accreditation to complete a minimum of 40 hours of personal counselling, or demonstrate that they have had an equivalent experience of being a client, consistent with their core theoretical model, although not necessarily during training (BACP 2003a). Applicants must describe how therapy has contributed to their development as a counsellor and how it benefits their work with clients (BACP 2003b). Currently there is no requirement for trainee clinical or educational psychologists to have any personal therapy. For the purpose of this chapter the term ‘therapy’ is used interchangeably with counselling. The term ‘therapist’ is used to refer to psychotherapists, counsellors and psychologists.
