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Registered counsellor membership

Being on the ACC register is a mark of quality standards and professionalism. We welcome applications from eligible individuals to become a registered counsellor member. You can find out more about our register here.

If you know you meet the requirements, apply now.

Otherwise, please read through the requirements carefully before applying. The registered membership FAQs may also be useful.

Are you newly qualified? 

Our newly qualified registered counsellor membership is for all counsellors who meet the registered counsellor requirement and have completed their qualification in the last six months. We offer 50% reduction in price (for the first year) whichs include all the benefits of being a registered counsellor. To join via this membership, please select “Newly qualified registered counsellor” on the application form.

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How to become a registered counsellor/psychotherapist?

You will need a recognised level 4 diploma or higher in counselling or psychotherapy which has: 

  • a minimum duration of two academic years
  • a curriculum that equips and assesses students in the necessary knowledge and skills required to practise safely and ethically as a counsellor/psychotherapist (minimum SCoPEd column A competences)
  • a minimum of between 300-400 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) in line with SCoPEd column A
    • a minimum of 70% of these must be face to face
    • any online learning must be synchronous. (i.e., in real time with a tutor leading the training as a live, taught session)
    • GLH below level 4 cannot be counted towards registration
  • an integrated supervised clinical counselling placement of a minimum of 100 hours in an appropriate setting, for example, a managed counselling service
  • a recommendation that students have their own personal counselling (normally at least 30 hours) during their training

Validation of qualifications can be by Ofqual, CCEA, SQA, Qualification Wales, or a UK university or higher educational establishment. Additionally, some organisations can award validated qualifications, such as AIM Group, Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB), Open College Network (OCN), and/or a professional counselling/psychotherapy membership body, for example, the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).  

From 2026, qualifying courses must evidence the training delivery and assessment of SCoPEd column A competences. Distance learning courses at any level, i.e. diploma, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate, are not accepted as qualifying counselling training. 

If you have any concerns about whether your course meets all requirements, please contact us at registrar@acc-uk.org.

ACC is a Christian charity and exists in part to provide an accredited register of qualified and accountable counsellors/psychotherapists who are Christian. We know that it is important for some members of the public to have available to them the services of counsellors who are Christian, whether or not they are themselves Christian, follow another religion or have no faith position. 

By lawful exception, we restrict our membership to counsellors and psychotherapists who are Christian. Our membership is open to those who place themselves within one of the main Christian faith traditions: Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. 

All applicants will therefore be asked to agree to ACC’s Statement of Faith and provide a reference from a Christian sponsor. Please see FAQs for more information about who can be a Christian sponsor and what questions will be asked of them. 

Being on the ACC register brings with it a commitment to safe practice and continuous professional development. These include:

  • adhering to registered counsellor membership’s Terms and Conditions
  • following ACC’s Ethics and Practice
  • maintaining professional indemnity insurance
  • undertaking supervision appropriate to your practice and level of registration/accreditation
  • completing at least 25 hours of continuous professional development activities each year
  • being subject to ACC’s complaints process

Each year when you renew your membership, you will need to reconfirm your commitment to working within ACC’s professional standards and ethics. You must also inform us of anything that could call into question these commitments, for example, if a complaint is made against you. 

Holding (or having previously held) the following registered memberships indicate that your training and qualifications meet the standard required by ACC’s register: 

  • Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP): Registered Full Member 
  • British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP): Registered or Accredited, Senior Accredited Member 
  • British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC): Full Member 
  • National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS): Accredited Registrant, Accredited Professional Registrant, Senior Accredited Professional Registrant 
  • United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP): Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Psychotherapist 
  • Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC): Art Therapist, Practitioner Psychologist (counselling or clinical psychologists)
  • Members of other counselling and psychotherapy bodies are welcome to apply for membership, e.g., Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland (COSCA), and in these cases, your application will be assessed against the registered counsellor membership requirements as set out. 

Overseas training. We have an equivalence process for non-standard qualifications where training and qualifications have been gained outside of the UK. 

To find out which criteria apply to your situation, please read this document. If you would like to apply for an equivalence decision, please complete this form and pay the qualification equivalence assessment fee. If you have questions, you can email us at registrar@acc-uk.org. 

Non-standard/interrupted training. We are adapting our equivalence process for non-standard qualifications to ensure it complies with the SCoPEd framework. This route considers applications from counsellors whose circumstances have caused them to have a non-standard/interrupted training journey, but who can otherwise demonstrate training and supervised practice that is a close match to the required standard. If you would like to be notified when this process is available, please email us at registrar@acc-uk.org. 

Please note that any of ACC’s equivalence routes may not be recognised by other PCPB partners for registration and accreditation with those bodies.  

Counsellors/psychotherapists who are eligible for the register and who are on a practice break may be able to join the register in preparation for commencing practice. If this applies to you, please contact us at registrar@acc-uk.org to discuss this.

Anyone applying to ACC for the first time after a significant break will need to meet with us to discuss and agree a plan to return to practice. See ACC’s guidelines on practice break.

Register applications normally take between seven and ten working days to process. Please note that these timescales are partly dependent on satisfactory references being received in a timely manner.