Ethics, policies and governance

Ethics and guidelines

Our ethics are made up of a number of different documents reflecting developments over time. All our registered counsellors and counselling organisational members adhere to our code of ethics.

ACC seeks to support individuals, churches and Christian organisations to develop good practice in pastoral care. We offer guidelines which can be adopted for use within various contexts in which pastoral care may be offered.

Please find the guidelines here.

ACC’s Research Ethics Policy and Procedure details the research ethics policy of the Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions for its members and staff, and any external researchers who undertake research with ACC staff or members, or research carried out with ACC data (but excludes routine, work-based, monitoring activities by ACC staff). It outlines general guidance for ethical issues that may arise in research, but is not intended to be exhaustive.

Policies

We hope that you feel welcomed and respected in all your encounters with ACC, whether you are making an enquiry about accessing counselling, coaching or spiritual direction; seeking to become a member; wanting to attend a training event or conference; or looking to explore our pastoral care resources.

Importantly, you can expect to be treated fairly, without discrimination when you apply for membership, accreditation and/or have a complaint made against you.

If you experience us otherwise, please contact us and let us know.

Please visit this page for our full statement on equality, diversity and inclusion.

The confidentiality of your personal information is of paramount concern to ACC. To this end ACC complies with the General Data Protection Regulations/Data Protection Act 2018 in the collection, processing, holding and transmitting of your personal information.

By using the ACC website and/or services you consent to the collection, processing, holding and transmitting of your personal information for the purposes set out in our Privacy Policy.

All information are held and processed under the UK GDPR legislation and ACC use the Data Retention Policy for each type of data sets.

Governance

The Board of Trustees are responsible for the strategic governance and oversight of ACC. They make sure that:

  • ACC carries out its purposes for providing public benefit.
  • ACC complies with its governing document, charity law requirements and other legal requirements that apply to ACC.
  • ACC’s resources are managed responsibly.

For documents related to the Board meetings, please visit here.

For the full list of Board members, please visit here.

The Registry Advisory Panel (RAP) are a largely independent body who serve in a voluntary capacity to hold ACC to account in relation to how they maintain the standards required to hold an accredited register. They are ‘critical friends’ who also support ACC in improving our register processes.

The notes from the RAP meetings can be found here.

RAP annual reports to the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) can be found here.

RAP policies and guidelines can be found here.

For the full list of RAP members, please visit here.