Regulation and governance of the psychological therapies
| Date | 01 October 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17556228200600014 |
| Pages | 27-33 |
| Published date | 01 October 2006 |
| Author | Rosalind Mead |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
27
Regulation and governance of the
psychological therapies
Rosalind Mead
New Regulation Projects Manager, Department of Health
The Journal of Mental Health Workforce Development Volume 1 Issue 2 October 2006 © Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
Abstract
This paper provides a description of statutory
regulation as it applies to currently regulated
professions and as a model for practitioners of
psychological therapies. It discusses the safety
drivers for regulation, the issues involved in
identifying roles, competences and training as a
basis for regulation, and how regulation can
promote quality of practice as careers develop in a
changing workforce.
Key words
statutoryregulation; psychological therapies;
psychological therapists; standards; competencies;
workforce development
Introduction: the purpose of statutory
professional regulation
The concept of professional regulation has been
chequered throughout its history.It was originally
composed partly of setting common and widely
recognised standards to define a profession and its scope
of practice and associated training, and also to give some
measure of protection for the public who used the
services provided by its members. The original
healthcare regulator was the Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain (Pharmacy Act 1852) whose remit included
the duty to promote the profession’s interest. Recently
the policy has shifted, so current regulatory remits
specify that the main aim is to safeguard the health and
well-being of the persons using the services of registrants
(Health Professions Order 2001), or to protect, promote
and maintain the health and safety of the public
This shift in emphasis is important because it is still
reflected in the varying perceptions of the purpose of
statutory regulation. The four core functions of this are:
●to set standards of practice and training to deliver
competent practitioners
●to set standards of conduct and ethics
●to keep a register of those who are competent and fit
to practise
●to operate fitness to practise mechanisms to restrict
or prevent practice by unfit registrants.
Members of professions commonly concentrate on
regulation as the definition of their profession’s practice,
especially through accreditation of education and training.
Members of the public, service users and providers and
politicians generally look to the disciplinary side of
regulation to provide public protection by investigating
allegations that a registrant is unfit to practise and by
preventing an unsafe practitioner from practising. But
both are equally important in providing a comprehensive
structure of standards of professional quality.
Abuse by professionals in psychological
and psychotherapeutic practice
The reason for statutory regulation as a means of
protecting the public is a government response to
concerns about the damage done by poorly performing
practitioners. The Department of Health receives several
hundreds of letters of complaint a year about
psychological practitioners. Whilst not necessarily
representing genuine harm, this does indicate a measure
of dissatisfaction from service users and their families
about current standards of professional quality.
Abuse may include neglect, inappropriate treatment,
fraud, sexual, financial or emotional abuse. It may also
arise from a practitioner whose practice is impaired by ill
health, including drug or alcohol abuse or incompetence
in professional practice. Abuse may further damage already
vulnerable patients and may be long lasting or even fatal
in extreme cases. It may lead to the need for long-term
remedial treatment. Its effects may also extend to the
patient’s family, friends, colleagues or other contacts.
There will be a considerable economic cost in the case of
patients of adult working age whose social and economic
functioning is impaired because of psychotherapeutic
abuse. It is to minimise these effects that the government
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