23/02/2026
When you see a therapist who’s a BACP member, you’re receiving support from a highly-trained and qualified professional.
Our members invest years of dedication and hard work into their training, so they can give you the best support possible.
As well as a tuition at college or university, trainee therapists spend a lot of time on independent study, placements, supervision and, in some cases, personal therapy.
Training doesn’t stop when they qualify and become a registered therapist. All BACP members commit to continued learning and development throughout their career.
➡️ Counselling training can take up to four years and involve three different stages of training, ending in core practitioner training.
➡️ Core-practitioner training gives the skills, knowledge and competence to work as a counsellor or psychotherapist, and is often a bachelor's degree, master's degree or doctorate.
➡️ It teaches you about psychological theories, their application, human development, medication, ethics, the law, and more.
➡️ It also includes relationship building, communications, strategies and interventions, self-awareness, reflective practice and use of supervision.
➡️ Core-practitioner training must also include being aware of and being able to analyse research.
➡️ These core-practitioner training courses are at least one year full-time or two years' part-time classroom-based tuition.
➡️ They also include supervised placements of at least 100 client hours.
➡️ To be a BACP member, therapists must have graduated from a BACP accredited course, BACP approved practitioner qualification or passed our Certificate of Proficiency exam.
You can find out more about training here ➡️ https://orlo.uk/5pTZ6
