Below please find information on:

• UKCP and its relationship with AFT
• College of Family, Couple and Systemic Psychotherapy
• Recommendation to the UKCP Register via AFT
• UKCP Annual Subscriptions
• UKCP’s Annual Random Audit
• UKCP members working in Europe - applying for ECP 
• UKCP membership - Students and Trainees

UKCP and its relationship with AFT

In the UK, counselling and psychotherapy is regulated by professional registration bodies who hold registers to maintain standards of practice and protect the public. In the UK, one of the professional bodies validated to hold a professional register which is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority, is the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, UKCP.

UKCP has a Board of Trustees and a number of committees reporting to it.

UKCP is made up of ten colleges representing different therapeutic modalities/approaches.

Each college consists of smaller organisational members, who in turn support their own members who are qualified and wish to apply for and maintaining registration with UKCP.

For Qualified Family and Systemic Psychotherapists, this would be via AFT or IFT (the Institute of Family Therapy).  After one year on the UKCP register, registrants can apply to transfer their validation from AFT or IFT to be directly registered with UKCP via college, CFCSP.

• To apply for recommendation to the UKCP Register via AFT, please see the UKCP Registration Process via AFT & FAQ's page.
  

The College of Family, Couple and Systemic Psychotherapy, CFCSP.

Family and Systemic Psychotherapy falls within the College of Family, Couple and Systemic Psychotherapy (CFCSP) and within it sit two Organisational Members, AFT and IFT. For more information on CFCSP on UKCP's website.

Both AFT and IFT are also independent organisations in their own right.

Recommendation to the UKCP Register via AFT

The Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice, AFT:

• is an organisational member of UKCP and as such is able to recommend members whom wish to apply for and maintain UKCP Registration via AFT. 
• reviews applications from members who have qualified as family and systemic psychotherapists, meet the requirements for recommendation and wish to be held on the UKCP professional register with UKCP full clinical membership. 
• is required, by UKCP, to formulate and implement a CPD policy and CPD review process.
• conducts the CPD re-accreditation of its members whom it supports for UKCP registration.
• has around 2000 members
• not all AFT members are UKCP registered or endorsed to UKCP via AFT. 
• supports approximately half of the membership with UKCP registration.
  

See the CPD for re-accreditation page for more details.

UKCP Annual Subscriptions

• UKCP contact registrants directly on an annual basis to collect their UKCP subscription.
• The UKCP year runs from 1 October to 30 September.

If your UKCP registration certificate has expired, please contact UKCP on membership@ukcp.org.uk  UKCP registrants who are recommended by AFT as their member organisation, must also ensure that they are in good standing with the Association for Family Therapy and their membership is up to date.

AFT membership is separate from UKCP annual membership. See AFT subscriptions.

UKCP’s Annual Random Audit

Each year UKCP randomly select a small sample of all its registrants, across all modalities, to be audited. The UKCP audit is a UKCP centralised process and is independent from AFT's CPD process for UKCP re-accreditation. UKCP will not have seen your CPD submission documents sent to AFT and via versa.

For more information please see UKCP’s website.

UKCP Members working in Europe & ROI

UKCP registered members who wish to work abroad may apply, for the European Certificate of Psychotherapy, ECP. This is recognised across Europe and also enables those working in the ROI, to register with the Irish Council for Psychotherapy.

UKCP registrants, residing in the UK, can apply for listing on the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP) register. 

For more information please see UKCP's Website.

UKCP membership - Students and Trainees

AFT is unable to recommend students & trainees for UKCP membership because AFT is not a training provider or training organisational member of UKCP. Therefore, AFT does not have a direct relationship with students and trainees for monitoring academic work, clinical practice and supervision nor hears clinical complaints.

Whilst students undertaking AFT accredited courses are not required, by AFT, to be AFT members, students are very welcome to join AFT to support their developing systemic skills and knowledge. See the 'Join Us’ page for more information.