BPC Registration – FAQs
Further Q&As will be added as they arise.
1.
A. Yes if you can meet the requirements. If you are uncertain, you are welcome to contact a member of the scrutiny committee to discuss your situation.
2.
A. No. You will need to apply through the scrutiny committee as described on the previous page. If you meet the requirements for clinical experience, you may do this as soon as you can provide evidence of your graduation (e.g. your degree certificate or a formal letter from Birkbeck).
3.
A. Yes. You may be a member of BACP (or another professional body) as well as of BPC.
4.
A. Your application advisor or the chair of the scrutiny committee will explain the decision and advise how you might be able to meet the required standard. There will be a period during which you may re-apply without paying a further fee. There will also be an independent appeals procedure.
5.
A. Yes, but you must not imply that you are a BPC registered psychotherapist and should describe your BPC registration category as Psychodynamic Counsellor.
6.
A. No, but your reference(s) must be from (an) appropriately qualified and experienced supervisor(s). F
rom 2025 onwards, student trainees who have started their course and other applicants will need to utilise therapists and supervisors who are BPC registered Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists (or Psychoanalysts). This is a more specific requirement than Birkbeck’s own requirement. The current requirements apply until 2025.
If you are unsure, you will be welcome to discuss this with a member of the scrutiny committee before you apply.
7.
A. Not necessarily. Once you are registered with BPC there is a requirement for your annual CPD return to be counter-signed by an experienced psychodynamic/psychoanalytic practitioner (normally your supervisor) who has heard you present your work over a period of time. Your counter-signatory must be either a BPC registrant, or registered with UKCP’s Psychoanalytic and Jungian College, or a BACP accredited psychodynamic practitioner. A proportion of CPD returns is audited in detail each year and, if your counter-signatory is not BPC registered, you will need to seek special permission as described on the BPC website and your return will significantly be more likely selected for audit.
8.
A. Yes, your registration category will depend on which of the MSc courses you graduated from. Graduates in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy will be registered to work with adults, and graduates in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents, will be registered to work with children and adolescents. Your CPD return will need to be signed off by a BPC member who is registered to work with either adults, or children and adolescents as appropriate to your registration category.