§ Mr. Brightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made by his Department in securing agreement between the, relevant professional and academic bodies on the regulation of the profession of psychotherapy.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergIt is in the first instance for the relevant professions themselves, not the Department, to achieve a consensus about the need for and nature of any regulation of the practice of psychotherapy. As an aid to discussion, my hon. Friend the Minister for Health convened a meeting on 30 July this year to enable the bodies concerned to consider the issues involved, but no consensus on the need for registration was reached.
My hon. Friend may be interested to know that the British Association for Counselling is arranging a further meeting for representatives of these bodies early next year, and the professions joint working party on the statutory registration of psychotherapists reconvened recently to discuss the current position.