Scope of Practice and Education for the counselling and psychotherapy professions (SCoPEd)

The Human Givens Institute (HGI) is one of six psychotherapy and counselling registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) which have taken the lead in creating guidelines for safe practice and training in psychotherapy and counselling – known as the Scope of Practice and Education (SCoPEd) framework.

This ground-breaking shared-standards framework was officially adopted by all partners in February 2023. The six professional bodies involved in developing, and subsequently adopting, the SCoPEd framework are:

• Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions (ACC)
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
• British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC)
• Human Givens Institute (HGI)
• National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS)
• UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)

SCoPEd aims to set out transparently the core training, practice and competence requirements for counsellors and psychotherapists to work safely with adults in the UK, providing a nationally recognised framework of counselling and psychotherapy aligning PSA-accredited registers and bringing clarity and credibility to the counselling and psychotherapy profession. It should eventually help clients and service providers to better identify properly trained and qualified practitioners.

Each individual organisation has identified appropriate pathways, agreed with partner organisations, via which their own members can transition through the SCoPEd framework’s A, B, and C columns. All correctly trained therapists meet the requirements of column A and can move to B or C in line with chosen career trajectories, should they so wish, once they have gained sufficient therapeutic practice, experience and appropriate learning and development.

The HGI has worked closely with Human Givens College to develop clear routes via which all graduates of the Human Givens Diploma may transition from Column A to Column C, should they wish to do so (read more). As a result, the HGI has made some changes to its membership levels. HGI members are offered support and guidance throughout the application processes. For more information, click here.