ABSTRACT
Surprisingly, there is presently no legal requirement for someone advertising themselves as a counsellor to have any qualifications. The Health Professions Council, (HPC) the government body that could be responsible for licensing counsellors, does not presently have a category for them. The HPC is currently in discussion with The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and other organizations to draw up the criteria for counsellors to be licensed. In practice, this is not really a problem as reputable therapists belong to one or other of the recognized professional counselling bodies, all of which have strict codes of ethics. These set out in fine detail the standards and responsibilities to which their members must adhere when counselling their clients. Because the concept of talking therapies may seem relatively straightforward, it might be thought that it does not take too much to train to be a counsellor.
