A moment of truth - the PLG from a 'users' perspective

With permission of Betty Bertrand:

The true nature, or rather the true endeavour, of the HPC has finally been revealed in what initially I would have called a moment of grace. They want to invent a new profession.

During the debate on the standards of proficiency, Jeff Lucas, after much heavy silence, expressed his reservation regarding the relevance of the statutory regulation for Psychotherapists and Counsellors, at which point a whoop and applause broke out in the gallery and three people were warned against being thrown out.

The task of regulating the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy is indeed an impossible one, and the PLG had admitted it! But instead of holding on to this and facing up to the truth, the group carried on as if in the grip of obscure forces, and CREATED a new one! One that they thought they could regulate!

This new one has a vocabulary that fits perfectly with the 100 legal words allowed by the HPC solicitor. One member of the PLG said "we are creating a benchmark for the future, defining what counselling and psychotherapy is".

I am scared. I recognise myself neither as practitioner nor analysand in the standards created by this group. This Frankensteinian process will undoubtedly have serious consequences beyond even practice and ethics. The group, many of whose members' views I may respect individually, has themselves spawned a monster.

Sorry, but I did not share Annie Turner's enthusiasm when she said "until we [Occupational Therapists] laid down the Standards of Proficiency, we were unable to define ourselves as a profession".

I am sure that we do not need the HPC and/or friends of the government to tell us who we are – and not only because we constantly evolve. That is the nature of the work we do, of people, and their impact on the practice.

Day 2: and for the first time the muffled attendees sitting in the gallery were given colour handouts of the Standards of Proficiency. I wonder why. Was it some kind of gift? We were even thanked at the end by Diane Waller, apparently relieved that all the messy profession has been "tidied up" and ignoring for the moment the untidy fact that two more days in November had been scheduled.

The picture is not at all rosy - far from it. The past two days are only the beginning. The drafted papers will be circulating for wider consultation and everybody - in the profession OR NOT - should read the proposal and comment widely. Be warned - it is tedious and sickening. Meetings must take place, practical resistance should be organised. A moment of truth must be faced...

The new PLG (half of the members are liable to be replaced in the forthcoming Council appointments) will meet for two more days in November. Until then, we have some work to do.

By Betty Bertrand-Godfrey