How to Check a UK Therapist's Registration in 2026
In the UK, counsellor and psychotherapist are not protected titles. How to check a practitioner as of October 2026, and the NHS rules changing by March 2027.
In the UK, “counsellor”, “psychotherapist” and “therapist” are not protected titles: anyone may use them without registration or defined training. “Practitioner psychologist” and the specific psychologist titles are protected and must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. For everyone else the practical check is whether the person appears on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. As of October 2026 that gap in the law is unchanged, but NHS England has set out, for the first time in one document, which registration each psychological professions title requires in NHS-commissioned services — and expects it adopted by 31 March 2027.
What the law actually protects
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology’s briefing on the regulation of psychological professionals in mental health care, published on 28 October 2025, sets the position out plainly. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) statutorily regulates practitioner psychologists — clinical, counselling, forensic, health, educational, occupational and sport and exercise psychologists — plus art therapists, art psychotherapists, drama therapists and music therapists. Those titles are protected, and using one without registration is a criminal offence. Psychiatrists are regulated by the General Medical Council.
Outside that list there is no statutory regulation. The briefing notes that “psychologist” on its own, “psychotherapist”, “counsellor” and “therapist” carry no legal protection, and that practitioners using them need no registration or defined training. It also records that, of 5,000 adults surveyed, 48% wrongly believed “therapist” is a regulated title.
Registers such as BACP, UKCP, NCPS, BPC, ACC, BABCP and BPS are voluntary, and set their own entry, training and conduct requirements. The briefing records that in April 2025 the then Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care said there were no current plans to extend statutory regulation to therapists and counsellors.
What a PSA Accredited Register means — and does not
The Professional Standards Authority runs the Accredited Registers programme, assessing voluntary registers against standards covering governance, training, complaints handling and public protection. Accreditation judges the register, not any individual on it.
That distinction matters. The PSA does not investigate individual practitioners and cannot impose sanctions on them; complaints go to the register. Removal from a register also does not stop someone practising, because the title is not protected. The POST briefing cites research finding that of 72 people or organisations struck off by BACP or UKCP between 2005 and 2015, at least 17 continued practising with a business website. A register check is a meaningful filter, not a guarantee.
The new NHS England guidance, published 28 August 2026
NHS England’s guidance on NHS registration requirements for use of psychological professions titles is aimed at employers and commissioners rather than the public, but it is the clearest published statement of what each title should mean. It says consistent use of these titles matters for public protection and clarity, and should be consistently adopted across all sectors of NHS-commissioned healthcare in England by 31 March 2027.
In outline, the guidance requires:
- Practitioner psychologists — registration with the HCPC in the relevant occupation, using the specific adjectival title such as counselling psychologist.
- Counsellors working with adults — registration as a SCoPEd column B or column C practitioner on a PSA Accredited Register held by one of five bodies: BACP, UKCP, ACC, NCPS or BPC.
- Psychotherapists working with adults — registration with one of those same five bodies, as a SCoPEd column C practitioner.
- Counsellors and psychotherapists working with children and young people — registration with one of the five bodies plus the competencies for that age group; the guidance notes there is no SCoPEd framework for children and young people. Child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapists are registered with the Association of Child Psychotherapists.
- Cognitive behavioural psychotherapists — the BABCP CBT Register for the UK and Ireland.
- Psychological wellbeing practitioners — the BPS Wider Workforce Register or the BABCP CBT Register.
BACP’s summary describes it as the first time these details have been gathered in one document for NHS England services. Two caveats: it binds NHS-commissioned services, not independent practice, and the 31 March 2027 date is an implementation deadline for commissioners, not a change in the law on titles.
Checking a practitioner, step by step
- Establish which title they use. A “counselling psychologist” and a “counsellor” are governed differently. Ask, rather than inferring from a website heading.
- If the title is a protected one, use the statutory register. HCPC explains how to check the register; registration should be confirmable by name.
- Otherwise, search the register the practitioner names, on that register’s own website. Do not rely on a logo. Confirm the entry is current, and note the category or column shown.
- Check the register itself is PSA accredited, using the PSA’s list, not the register’s own claim.
- Ask how to complain, and about insurance and supervision. With no statutory regulator, the register’s complaints process is the main route, and neither insurance nor supervision is legally required for an unregulated title.
What the current NHS data shows
The NHS Talking Therapies annual report for 2025-26, published on 24 September 2026 and covering 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, records 1.81 million referrals, 674,683 referrals completing a course of treatment, 50.1% of referrals moving to recovery — down 0.4 percentage points on the previous year — and 89.1% accessing services within six weeks, down 2.5 percentage points.
The monthly statistics for August 2026, published on 8 October 2026, record 137,214 referrals, 91,050 referrals accessing the service, 83.4% starting treatment within six weeks, a reliable recovery rate of 47.5% and a reliable improvement rate of 67.8% among referrals finishing a course.
Read these carefully: the figures describe activity within a period and are not all drawn from the same group of referrals, so recovery rates and waiting figures are not two measures of one cohort. Monthly and annual measures also differ in definition, so the six-week numbers above are not directly comparable.
Where the evidence is firmer, and where it is not
NICE’s guideline on depression in adults sets out a menu of options in its recommendations that includes guided self-help, group CBT, group behavioural activation, individual CBT, individual behavioural activation, group exercise, group mindfulness and meditation, interpersonal psychotherapy, SSRIs, counselling and short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. Several distinct approaches, including movement-based and mindfulness-based ones, appear alongside each other.
What that list does not establish is that any one option will work for a given person, or that the differences between them are large. Trial evidence is generally stronger for structured, manualised therapies because they have been tested more often — a statement about the research base rather than about relative merit. Service-level outcome data of the kind published for NHS Talking Therapies is uncontrolled, so it cannot be read as the effect of therapy alone. Anyone promising a specific outcome is going beyond the evidence.
This article is general information, not clinical advice, and nothing here should be used to judge whether a particular treatment is right for an individual. If you are struggling now, NHS 111 can direct you to urgent mental health support, and Samaritans can be reached free on 116 123 at any time.
Frequently asked questions
Is “psychotherapist” a protected title in the UK?
No. As of October 2026 the title is not protected in law, and no registration is legally required to use it. Protected titles are held by practitioner psychologists and the arts therapies regulated by HCPC, and by doctors regulated by the GMC.
What is the difference between HCPC, BACP and UKCP?
HCPC is a statutory regulator: registration with it is a legal requirement for the titles it protects. BACP and UKCP are professional bodies running voluntary registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, so their requirements are contractual and disciplinary rather than criminal.
Does the new NHS guidance mean private therapists must now be registered?
No. It applies to NHS-commissioned services in England and is to be adopted by commissioners by 31 March 2027. It does not change the law on who may practise privately.
Who do I complain to about a therapist?
If they hold a protected title, HCPC. Otherwise, the register or professional body they belong to; the PSA accredits registers but does not investigate individuals. Where a criminal offence may have occurred, that is a matter for the police.
