Commission for the Future of Counselling and Psychotherapy
The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) is excited to be working with its partners through the Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies (PCPB) to launch a new independent Commission on the Future of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
This commission will examine the current and future landscape of the professions and the key issues affecting the sector, professionals, services and clients.
The commission will bring together counselling and psychotherapy professional bodies, key providers and clinical experts, decision-makers and those with lived experience. All sessions will be independently chaired by Phil Hope, former Minister of State for Care Services and explore the following topics:
- Counselling and psychotherapy, the state of the sector
- Counselling and psychotherapy, is there a case for statutory regulation?
- Counselling and psychotherapy, the evidence base
- Counselling and psychotherapy, the future of the professions
Lee Smith and Alessandra Lemma will be representing the BPC for these roundtable discussions.
Lee Smith, BPC Chair said:
“I’m looking forward to the launch of this commission. As an initiative it represents a long overdue collaboration between the partners, and will influence both the work of the PCPB, but also the future of counselling and psychotherapy in the UK. I’m pleased that the BPC is involved, ensuring that a psychoanalytic perspective will be central to the work. We’re also incredibly grateful that Alessandra Lemma can join us. Her insight and long involvement with this initiative will be invaluable.”
Greg Ross-Sampson, BPC CEO said:
“It’s positive that this work has come together and will be launched this month. These discussions and the ultimate report will be a significant springboard for future PCPB work. I’m pleased to see that this collection of organisations have come together and aligned our goals to make something that the profession can really benefit from in the long term.”
Following each roundtable a summary of the discussions will be published and the evidence gathered will form part of a report that will be published by PCPB in summer 2026.
For more information, visit the PCPB website.
