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How to raise a complaint or concern about a Registrant

If you are a patient engaged in psychotherapy, you have the right to expect that your Therapist will practise in a safe, effective and appropriate manner at all times. All BPC registrants are required to practise in accordance with our Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics

If you have concerns regarding the therapy provided to you by your Therapist, or the Fitness to Practise of a Registrant in general, you can raise your concerns with us directly.

The BPC is a Professional Standards Authority (PSA) Accredited voluntary register, this means that we're responsible for ensuring that everyone on our public register adheres to our Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics and investigating complaints that put their Fitness to Practice into question.

How to raise a concern or complaint

If you have concerns about your therapy, you should speak with your psychotherapist in the first instance. If that does not work, you can raise your concerns with us directly. Alternatively, and if you wish to raise Fitness to Practise concerns, in general, in connection with a Registrant, please fill in the form below.

Unsure what to expect? Have a scroll through the slides below that give you an idea of what to expect and prepare when raising a complaint or concern with us.

  • HOW TO RAISE A CONCERN Are you considering raising a concern about a BPC registered therapist? Do you have concerns about a BPC registered therapist and are you considering raising a complaint about them? Read our step-by-step guide to learn what our process entails, what we’ll need from you and what you should prepare.
  • TALK TO YOUR THERAPIST We advise, in the first instance, you should speak with your psychotherapist about your concerns. If you’re having concerns about your therapy that you haven’t voiced to your therapist, the best first step is to talk to them about your concerns. This can often be the simplest way to resolve issues that have arisen in your sessions. However, if you don’t feel comfortable doing this or you have and it doesn’t resolve the issue, you can raise your concerns with us to investigate.
  • DUTY OF CANDOUR Do you have concerns about a BPC Registered Therapist who is not your therapist? We still want to hear from you. All Healthcare professionals have a professional responsibility to be open, honest, and trans-parent when things go wrong. This obligation is known as the professional Duty of Candour. The Duty of Candour applies to any concerns a BPC Registrant may have regarding fellow practitioners; BPC Registrants or other regulated professionals and/or any concerns regarding a patient’s safety and welfare.
  • WHAT TO PREPARE Ways you can prepare before you raise a concern with us. Once you’ve established that the therapist you wish to raise a concern about is a BPC registrant, we’ll need their registration number from you. This can be found within their profile in our ‘Find a phsychotherapist’ register. If there’s anybody you feel might be able to give us further information about your concern please make sure they’re happy to be contacted and take note of their contact details. If you have any relevant documentation that you feel may support your concern, please compile this in advance. This might include email correspondence, telephone logs, invoices or anything else that you believe is relevant.
  • If you are a patient engaged in psychotherapy, you have the right to expect that your Therapist will practise in a safe, effective and appropriate manner at all times. If you’d like to talk to us, ask us anything before raising your concern, or if require any reasonable adjustments during this process, please contact us at ftpo@bpc.org or by phone on 020 7561 9240. NEED SUPPORT? We realise that raising a complaint can be a distressing process.
  • URGENT SUPPORT If you need urgent help, please use the resources below or visit our website: bpc.org.uk/information-support/i-need-help-now CALM: The Campaign Against Living Miserably is leading a movement against suicide. Phone: 0800 58 58 58 (daily, 5pm to midnight) Website: www.thecalmzone.net MIND: Promotes the views and needs of people with mental health problems. Phone: 0300 123 3393 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm) Website: www.mind.org.uk SAMARITANS: Confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair. Phone: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline) Website: www.samaritans.org.uk

To raise a concern with us, please fill out the form below. You don’t need to know all of the information that is asked in this form but please do your best to provide us with all of the detail you can.

Before your begin, here’s everything you’ll need:

  • The full name of the Registrant you’re raising a concern about and their BPC Registration number, you’ll find this by searching their name in our online register, the registration number will be in their individual profile above their name.
  • The details of anyone you’d like to corroborate your version of events that have consented to being contacted by us if needed.
  • Any documentation that you feel supports your concern.

If this form is not accessible for you, please contact us by email or phone and we can support you with informing us of your concerns.

Raise a Complaint or Concern

Fill out this form if you wish to raise a complaint or concern about a therapist that's registered with us. Don't worry if you can't provide all of the information we ask for in this form, please include as much detail as you can and we'll be in touch.

Input the full name of the Registrant you'd like to raise a complaint or concern about here. If you are would like to raise complaints or concerns about more than one individual, please complete a separate form in respect of everyone you wish to report.
To find this number, search for the Registrant on our website through our 'Find a psychotherapist' function on our homepage. The registration number can be found above the Registrants name on their individual profile.
Does this complaint or concern relate to another complaint or concern you've raised with us in the past?
Did the events of your complaint or concern take place within the last 5 years?
A few examples are: Whether you received therapy from the Registrant. The dates and/or times the alleged conduct took place. You may wish to explain and how this has made you feel.
Only provide us with details of individuals who have given their consent to be contacted by us.
This might include things like email correspondence, telephone logs, invoices or anything else that you believe is relevant.
Drop files here or
Max. file size: 2 MB.
    State yes or no, if yes, please provide us with the name of the organisation you have reported this to and the outcome of your complaint or concern.
    If there's any other information you haven't stated above that's important for us to know at this stage, please input it here.

    Your Details

    Provide your contact information below so that we can contact you.
    Can you be described as any of the following?
    If yes, please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments. If you would prefer that a hard copy of this documentation is sent to you, notify us by telephone (020 7561 9240) or email (hello@bpc.org.uk) and we'll arrange for it to be sent out to you.

    Please note:

    For information on how long we retain Fitness to Practise documentation, please review our Retention Policy.

    Should the BPC receive concerning information during the course of an investigation which raises safeguarding concerns or suggests that a criminal offence may have taken place, we will escalate these concerns in accordance with our Reporting Concerns to Third Parties policy.

    Please be aware if you contact us for an initial conversation about a concern, a confidential note will be kept.

    Next

    What is Fitness to Practise

    The BPC quality assures that Registrants on our public register are Fit to Practise
    Read more