# NHS launches new guidance on registration requirements for psychological professions

News 

Politics, Government & Current Affairs 

By Meg Moss

27th August 2026

NHS England has [published new guidance](https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/guidance-on-nhs-registration-requirements-for-use-of-psychological-professions-titles/) setting out the registration requirements for the psychological professions working in NHS commissioned services in England.

> The public need to know whether psychological professionals are appropriately qualified and competent to do their job. This guidance helps by defining clear registration requirements for the use of each of the psychological professions titles within the NHS in England.

The NHS psychological professions taxonomy is the framework that defines the roles making up the psychological professions workforce. It was established as part of the [Psychological Professions Vision for England, 2021 - 2024](https://www.ppn.nhs.uk/resources-url/ppn-publications/41-national-vision-for-psychological-professions/file), and recognises 21 occupations across three groupings: psychologists, psychological therapists, and psychological practitioners. Counsellors & psychotherapists sit within the psychological therapist grouping. The new guidance sets out clearly which registration is required to use each of those titles within the NHS.

The guidance confirms that registration on a PSA Accredited Register is a recognised route to public protection and transparency, on the same footing as statutory regulation. For counselling & psychotherapy, it names five of the Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies (PCPB) as the recognised registers: NCPS, BACP, UKCP, ACC and BPC.

In practical terms, this means:

- NHS employers recognise NCPS registrants for counselling & psychotherapy roles.
- To work with adults, practitioners need to be registered as a SCoPEd column B or column C practitioner on a PSA Accredited Register with one of the PCPB bodies.
- To work with children and young people, practitioners need to be registered with one of the PCPB bodies and hold the competencies required for that work.

Regarding Column A, the guidance also allows, by exception and at the discretion of the chief psychological professions officer, for practitioners aligned to SCoPEd column A to be brought into some pathways where there's no national guidance to the contrary. This wasn't possible before, and so while we're not yet at the stage where practitioners in Column A have a straightforward route into employment within the NHS, this is something we will continue to advocate for and hope to see further progress.

The guidance is to be adopted across NHS commissioned services within 12 months of publication, and we will keep members updated on any developments.

**A note from Jyles, NCPS CEO:**

> Counselling & psychotherapy have long been part of the support the NHS offers, but the profession's place within it hasn't always been clearly defined or well-recognised. The modern era of NHS talking therapies began with the IAPT programme (which is now NHS Talking Therapies) in 2008, which saw a massive expansion of access to psychological therapy, but was built largely around CBT; counselling & psychotherapy, alongside other modalities, have spent years working to establish their place alongside it. This recognition is the result of many years of work: engaging with the NHS, building relationships across Parliament, and consistently making the case for the value that counsellors & psychotherapists bring. To see the profession, and the Society, named so clearly in national NHS guidance is a hugely positive result, and warmly welcomed by the team here who have worked so hard on this in the background.