BACP Senior Accreditation

I’m delighted to share that I have been awarded my Senior Accreditation with BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). As I shared the news with peers and supervisees, a few questions came up, so I thought I’d share them along with my answers.

Why bother going through the BACP accreditation process?

I wrote my original accreditation seven years ago and have been practising for 17 years (gosh… where does time fly?). Like many counsellors, I attend CPD, read, talk with colleagues and often challenge myself in supervision. As a result, my counselling practice continually changes, grows and develops.

A few years ago, a trainee asked me why I do what I do. I said, “because I like to see change in people and want to help clients have a better life.” I kept pondering that and noticed this way of thinking sometimes led me to seek reassurance from my supervisor and even from clients. In recent years, I’ve become more curious about the counselling process itself and more focused on the client’s transformation through that process.

I started reflecting on how I’ve changed, how my reasons have changed, and how different my counselling model looks now. I looked at the questions for senior accreditation and felt they were a good starting point to reflect further on my practice. I saw senior accreditation as a prompt to delve deeper into my thinking and reflective practice.

Six months of critical thinking and reflection with my supervisor and peers led me to write my senior accreditation.

You are accredited, why go for senior accreditation? – will it get you more work?

Perhaps it will. Who knows? That wasn’t the reason I wrote it. I saw it as part of my professional development.

Accreditation is a personal choice. Some counsellors pursue it; some do not. I’m sure we’d all agree that part of our role is educating the public on how to choose a counsellor, and that choosing a qualified counsellor from the PSA-accredited register is important (as well as encouraging clients to ask questions). For some people, knowing a counsellor has been through a self-reflection exercise can help their choice.

For others, it may not be important. I see accreditation as a helpful tool for my development.

I’m aware there is only the client and myself in the room. There is no formal way of assessing my work—my work is experiential. I see value in critical reflection and analysis. I see value in professional development. I don’t want to get complacent. Having that critical thinking professionally recognised is an added bonus.

How long did the process take?

The thinking process took a few months. This included discussions with my supervisor and my peers in group supervision, reflective writing, and reading journals and books. The writing process took about a month. I submitted my application in late January. I received an email in early May saying it had gone to the assessor, and another email in the last week of May congratulating me that I had passed.

Do you feel superior as you have been awarded it?

No. As I say to all my supervisees, I’m no better a counsellor than them—or than those of you reading this. Yes, my experience and learning are different and I may have more client hours behind me. I may also use a different model, but this in itself doesn’t make me a better counsellor. What helps improve my work is using reflective practice as part of my development. Do I feel I have developed from writing my senior accreditation? Yes.

My counselling life is a continuous journey.

As a counsellor, I continually have successes and challenges—and I make mistakes. Accreditation is one way to show how this learning has helped me develop and to further understand who I am in the room, and how I use the counselling process to help my clients. I need to admit my mistakes and learn from them. My counselling model is continually growing and developing.

I am definitely a different counsellor than I was when I first graduated, and I have grown and developed since I wrote my original accreditation five years ago. Writing my senior accreditation has helped with this.

As a counsellor, I continually have successes, challenges, and make mistakes.  Accreditation is one way to present how this learning has helped me develop and my further understand who I am in the room and how I use the counselling process to help my clients. I need to admit to my mistakes and learn from them. My counselling model is continually growing and developing.  I am definitely a different counsellor than I was when I first graduated and I have grown and developed from when I wrote my original accreditation five years ago. Writing my senior accreditation has helped with this.