We鈥檝e contributed to a BBC documentary which has highlighted some of the most important public protection issues within our profession.

The programme, , examines the risks of unqualified and unregistered practitioners offering online treatment for mental health issues.

The documentary features the stories of clients who鈥檝e seen some of these people and the impact it鈥檚 had on them.

Trained professional therapists

It highlights the extensive training our members have, the ethical and professional standards they鈥檙e required to meet, why people should choose a registered therapist and also explains how positive therapy from a trained, professional therapist can be.

We were invited to take part in the documentary and believe it鈥檚 important that our voice is heard on these issues; for our members, for the profession and for the public.

The documentary, which is available now to watch on the BBC鈥檚 iPlayer, was produced and presented by journalist Jordan Dunbar, and was prompted by his personal experience of therapy.

Caroline Jesper, our Head of Professional Standards, was interviewed for it and spoke powerfully on the topics.

Safe and trusting

She said: 鈥淵ou should be able to feel safe and trusting of your therapist so you can open up and explore all the things you need to talk about in therapy.

鈥淭herapists need to be authentic, genuine, grounded, and be able to offer empathy.鈥�

Caroline also spoke about the amount of training 香港六合彩精准资料 members need to go through to qualify as therapists.

鈥淭he training that I went through was really rigorous , really demanding,鈥� she said.

And she raised her concerns about unqualified therapists who aren鈥檛 members of a professional body practicing.

Concerns

鈥淚 feel angry for members of the public who are potentially being exploited by these people and harmed,鈥� she said.聽

We鈥檝e issued a statement to the documentary team setting out our position.

It said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e concerned that many members of the public don鈥檛 realise the risks of seeing unqualified, unregistered practitioners.

鈥淥ur fear is that clients working with unregistered therapists are more at risk of harm, as they鈥檝e no assurance as to the level of training and proficiency of their therapist, who will not be required to meet the standards and expectations of a professional body.

鈥淭herapy provided by trained, registered professionals can have a hugely positive impact on the lives of people, families and communities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important people choose a therapist who鈥檚 a member of a professional body that has a Professional Standards Authority accredited register 鈥� such as 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚.

Professional and ethical standards

鈥淭his means they know they鈥檙e seeing a therapist who鈥檚 highly qualified, who adheres to high professional and ethical standards, and that there鈥檚 a complaints and conduct procedure in place on the rare occasion that there鈥檚 a problem with therapy.鈥�

A number of BBC outlets have reported on the documentary and our concerns, including BBC1's Morning Live, BBC News Channel and , as well as BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat, BBC Radio 4, BBC Asian Network, and the BBC's regional radio stations Merseyside, Oxford and Ulster. Fiona Ballantine Dykes, our Chief Professional Standards Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, was interviewed live on BBC Radio Kent on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Professional Standards Authority also put out a statement on the programme. It said: 鈥淲e recommend people choose practitioners from a register we have accredited rather than from an unaccredited register or someone who is not registered at all.鈥�

Read the PSA statement.

Watch .

Video credit: Tom Beal/BBC News

Picture credit: BBC