Elite pro-hpc lobby press to raise morale as PLG reconvenes

"The Times Newspaper ran a special feature last week (Friday 7 May) Should Psychotherapy be State Regulated. Mind put the Pros - “For Mind, it’s not about who regulates but about how it is done — as long as regulation is statutory and independent, then we have no preference who does the job.” The No voice came from the College of Psychoanalysts - “The HPC’s fitness for practice codes make this freedom impossible and therapists risk being struck off for conduct which no court would consider criminal. A rigid moralism reminiscent of McCarthyism lies at the core of its procedures, as witnessed in the recent “trial” of a psychologist for making sexual jokes at a private dinner”. And the Maybe from UKCP – “we are also calling for the new government immediately to organise a convention to discuss alternative futures for the profession. Because many of our members seem likely to refuse to register with HPC, we are developing an alternative approach to professional regulation”.

The Guardian ran a piece on Bank Holiday Monday (3 May) Psychotherapy Rebels consider Rebranding to Avoid State Regulation.

Malcolm Allen (BPC chief exec) has a little opinion piece in yesterday's Guardian (11 May)

And on Sunday there was also an article in the Observer

You might wonder why the regulation debate is suddenly all over the papers again. The articles contain the same old arguments and examples that appeared a year ago when the psychologists were approaching their regulatory deadline. There is no new scandal, no new news at all. But today (Wed 12 May) the Professional Liaison Group for Psychotherapy and Counselling will meet again for the first time since the public consultation overwhelmingly rejected their proposals. It seems that a little group of four or five people eager for HPC regulation have got together to lobby the health and society editors to run pro-HPC pieces.

The PLG membership remains exactly the same in spite of promises at the Dec 2009 Council meeting to expand it. I wonder how they feel to get together again after the 1,000 responses to their dreadful attempt to come up with a plan last summer. Di Waller, titular chair of the group, famously blamed (at the Confer Conference in March this year) the professionals in this group for failing to come up something that would have been less controversial. She and the Director of Policy and Standards (Michael Guthrie) have been given the power to identify new stakeholders to provide additional expertise and avoid any future embarrassment. No doubt Di will be blaming them for failing her in due course.