How we accredit trainings
BPC accredited trainings are known for their quality and rigour. We accredit a wide range of psychoanalytic trainings and our training organisations also offer taster courses, seminars, and university-accredited degrees.
The public is safeguarded by maintaining the integrity of the Register of practicing clinicians, with ongoing scrutiny of their trainings and continuing professional development post-qualification.
As a regulator, the BPC does not provide the training that qualifies therapists, we regularly assess the quality of the trainings to ensure they meet our high standards. These assessments include ‘site visits’ where members of our team visit each training and talk with the staff, trainees and graduates to determine if the training continues to meet the BPC’s high standards. We provide recommendations to ensure that each training maintains their high quality. We accredit training and courses designed for psychoanalytic therapists at various stages of their careers.
Accredited trainings are delivered by our Member Institutions (MIs), who are responsible for admission to the Register at the point of qualification from their training.
Our step-by-step accreditedation process
The process described below can take approximately two years
1. A training body which is running or about to run a course which they would like to be accredited by the BPC gets in touch.
2. There is communication between the training body and the BPC to understand BPC requirements as documented in the practice and theory requirements and the training criteria appropriate to the nature of the training and the professional title to be granted upon completion. An important part of the conversation is about a professional body for graduates and whether they will form their own Member Institution (MI) of the BPC or become part of an existing MI. Close attention is paid to policies and procedures for safeguarding, equality and diversity, and ethics. The organisation must agree to follow the roles and responsibilities of Member Institutions and our Ethical Framework and Guidelines.
3. Once both parties agree that accreditation is desirable and realistic, the BPC sends forms and a list of required documents to the training body and arranges a date (usually on a Saturday- it needs to be done some months in advance as it is not always easy to co-ordinate diaries) for a one-day visit from a team of experienced therapists to meet with the training body management team, the professionals involved with the training and the trainees. A fee is charged to cover the BPC’s expenses.
4. The completed paperwork from the training body is sent to the visiting team one month before the start of the visit, so they have time to read it and request further information if required.
5. The visit takes place as a series of meetings with he groups involved in the training (management team, training committee, supervisors, training therapists, trainees and, where available, graduates), from approximately 9.30 until 4.30.
6. After the visit, a report is drafted, which is sent to the training body for comments before being finalised, it being understood that responsibility for the conclusions belongs solely to the visiting team. The report may well include both recommendations and requirements for the training body, and accreditation can be dependent upon any requirements being met.
7. The report goes first to the BPC’s Registration Committee for discussion and then to the Board of trustees for approval.
8. Once approved, the BPC writes formally to the training body to confirm that the training is accredited, and they receive a copy of the report.
9. Every five years the training will be reaccredited. The method the BPC uses is that from step three of the accreditation process; if issues are identified, requirements will be made in the reaccreditation report which the training body will need to meet and if necessary a follow up visit will be made.
Central to the maintenance of the integrity of the Register is the quality of the trainings and high standards of teaching, supervising and assessment. The criteria for successful accreditation are clear and must be met before a training can be recommended to the Board.
