What does the Introduction of Regulation mean for me?

As the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board has worked through the feedback it received as part of its consultation process and prepared its revised Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes, it has been mindful of the potential impact the introduction of statutory regulation might have on existing students or those who have recently graduated from an education and training programme.

When publishing its Standards and Criteria, the Board also provided an update for education providers on the timeline for alignment with these regulatory requirements.

Recognising the need to give education providers sufficient time to make the necessary adjustments to their curriculum and assessment strategies, along with ensuring provision of quality assured practice placement experiences for students, the Board has provided 4 years to complete this alignment process.

Following this, the multi-year project of programme approval will commence. The conclusion of the programme approval process will be the establishment of an Approved Qualifications Bye-Law that needs to be in place before either of the registers, for counsellors or psychotherapists, can be opened.

Included in the Board’s thinking in providing this timeline were the pathways to future registration for currently enrolled students who will graduate during this period of alignment and those who have recently graduated.

In deciding the next phase of introducing regulation for the counselling and psychotherapy professions, the Board carefully designed a process that allows students who have recently graduated and currently enrolled students time to graduate to gain experience to apply for registration under grandparenting provisions when the registers open. It also allows education providers to make necessary adjustments before seeking programme approval for students enrolling during this transitional period.

CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health regulator. Our role is to protect the public by promoting high standards of professional conduct, education, training and competence through statutory registration of health and social care professionals.

CORU was set up under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended). CORU’s legislative remit, as defined in the Act, is a fundamental concern to ensure public protection.

In contrast, professional bodies are voluntary organisations and act, principally, as advocates for the profession. In the case of multiple professional bodies in the field of counselling and psychotherapy, professional bodies also often advocate for specific modalities/ approaches used by practitioners.

The establishment of Registration Boards is required under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended). Each Registration Board is established by the Minister for Health. Currently, CORU has 12 Registration Boards, each of which holds responsibility for the registration for a specifically designated profession or professions.

Established by the then Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, on 27 February 2019, the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board has responsibility for:

• Establishing and maintaining a Register of members of the profession
• Setting the threshold level of knowledge, skills and professional behaviours required for entry onto its registers
• Assessing, approving and monitoring training courses for the health and social care professions under the Act
• Establishing the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics and standards of performance to which counsellors and psychotherapists must adhere.

Information about the membership of the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board can be found on the CORU website.

The then Minister for Health, Simon Harris, confirmed on 27 February 2019 the establishment of and appointment of members to the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended) to regulate the professions of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

These were the first professions to be designated under the 2005 Health and Social Care Professionals Act by regulation, having not been listed in the original 2005 Act.

At the time of designation by the Minister, following public consultation, regulations proscribed by the Minister designated that there was to be one Registration Board that would be responsible for two registers – one for counsellors and one for psychotherapists. It is CORU’s role to implement this direction, as set out by the Minister.

It will be possible for practitioners to register on both registers if they can demonstrate they meet all the Board’s requirements for eligibility to apply to both. A person will need to be registered on the relevant register to use the protected title of that profession once the grandparenting period ends.

Membership of any professional body will have no impact on the outcome of an application to register with CORU. It is not a requirement to hold membership of a professional body to be registered with CORU and use the protected title. A registrant may be a member of a professional body, but this is not connected to statutory registration with CORU. 

CORU regulates by protection of title, in line with other Irish regulatory bodies, not by scope of practice. The Standards of Proficiency set by the Board for each of the professions articulate the threshold knowledge and skills required to enter into practice as a counsellor or a psychotherapist.

The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended) does not make provisions for regulating specialisms or different modalities of practice within the professions of counselling and psychotherapy.

When the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registers are opened, they will serve to protect the designated professional titles. There will be no differentiation or annotation within the registers to reflect specific modalities, specialisms, or service user groups. Whether a practitioner enters the register as a new graduate or an existing practitioner, the register will not acknowledge individual practice focuses or areas of specialisation.

While it is recognised that many education and training programmes are designed around particular modalities or specialisms, the Board's focus is on ensuring that all education programmes meet the minimum threshold for safe practice. Education providers can continue to develop programmes that focus on a particular modality or specialism, but these programmes must be structured to ensure that they meet all of the Board’s Standards of Proficiency. These Standards outline the essential knowledge and skills required for safe practice. Once these requirements are met, education providers can offer training that emphasises specific specialisms, service user groups, or modalities within the broader framework of safe practice.

If a practitioner has been practising as a counsellor or psychotherapist for at least 2 of the 5 years prior to the opening of the registers, they can make an application under Section 91 to register as either a counsellor or psychotherapist (or both) in order to continue using these professional titles. It is essential for practitioners to be registered on the appropriate register in order to continue using a protected title while they work.

It should be noted that this scenario is only applicable to existing practitioners during the grandparenting period. Following the close of the 2-year grandparenting period, only those individuals who hold an approved qualification can make a registration application as a Section 38 applicant. 

The Psychologists Registration Board, separate to the work of the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board, is progressing the establishment of statutory regulation for psychologists and the protection of the title ‘psychologist’. As part of this work, it will establish a division for counselling psychologists and will protect the title ‘counselling psychologist’. More information on the work of the Psychologists Registration Board is available here.

The education and training standards set by a Registration Board require that all practice placement takes place within a training programme. Once a student graduates and gains an approved qualification, they will be eligible to apply for registration and practice using the protected title as autonomous practitioners.

The Registration Board has no legislative remit to require any post-qualifying training for registrants. In order then to ensure the protection of the public and the integrity of the professional register by guaranteeing that all registrants have met the threshold level of safe practice, all approved programme graduates must demonstrate achievement of all the Board’s Standards of Proficiency upon completion of their education and training programme.

Professional bodies can continue to set out their own membership requirements, but this will not be linked with eligibility to apply to join a register and work using a protected title. 

Professional bodies may continue to have their own Code of Conduct for their members, but all registered professionals will be required to follow the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics, that will be set – in advance of the registers opening – by the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board. The Code sets out the standards of conduct, performance and ethics which a member of that profession must adhere to throughout the course of their work. It is a statutory requirement for all registered professionals to adhere to their Code.

All registrants of the Register for Counsellors and Register for Psychotherapists – when these are opened – will be required to adhere to their Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. Once registered, a complaint may be received against any professional who may be deemed to be in breach of their Code.

In line with commitments made under the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics, each registrant of the Register for Counsellors and Register for Psychotherapists – when these are opened – must maintain their continuing professional development. This is the responsibility of individual registrants.

Registrants across all CORU regulated professions are required to demonstrate completion of 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period, with one credit corresponding to one hour of new or enhanced learning. More detail on the CPD model operated by CORU is available on our website here. 

CORU is responsible for auditing registrants to ensure registrants have a system or process to maintain their skills and knowledge. Registration Boards also provide their registrants with CPD support and guidance documents.

A professional body may continue to set its requirements for CPD as a condition of membership of that body and/or offer supports to its members to engage in CPD. However, the statutory requirement to complete CPD – required as a registered professional – is distinct and separate to any CPD requirements a professional body may have.    

The Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board will set its Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics in advance of the opening of its registers. The Code will apply to all registered practitioners and will set out the standards of conduct, performance and ethics which a member of that profession must adhere to throughout the course of their work.

While not yet set, it is important to highlight that the Code is designed as a principles-based document and, therefore, is not prescriptive in the articulation of its requirements, including around supervision.

It is not within CORU's responsibility to establish employment criteria for employers. Employers should understand that anyone using a protected title must be registered on the relevant register. Individuals who use a protected title without being registered will face enforcement actions after the grandparenting period ends (and if a Section 91 registration application has not been made by this stage). However, CORU registration alone may not guarantee employment in all settings. Employers have the right to set their own employment criteria as they deem necessary for the services they offer.

The area of online provision of services is a growing area of practice. All regulators are keeping up to date with developments in this field, in light of the EU Directive and national policy/legislation with regard to regulation of provision of online or AI services. 

Currently, health and social care professionals are subject to the regulations of the country in which they are providing the service from. For example, a practitioner offering services from the United States would be subject to the professional licensing requirements of the particular state in which they were based. 

In contrast, any practitioner using a protected title and offering services from the Republic of Ireland must be registered on the appropriate register to allow for use of a protected title. Practitioners using a protected title that are not registered will be subject to enforcement under Fitness to Practise.