BACP Accreditation is a benchmark standard for qualified therapists and a milestone achievement in your career. Put aside your fears & procrastination and get ready to apply easily and with confidence.
BACP Accreditation Mentoring
“Accreditation schemes aim to recognise the achievement of high standards of knowledge, experience and development in counselling and psychotherapy.” (BACP)
Going for accreditation is a hurdle which many therapists can put off for months or even years. You may be under pressure from your employer to become accredited or be frustrated by doors kept shut to you in private practice. But procrastination, fearful thinking and general confusion about the process can make you delay.
Just like our clients reach out for support, you may need some help in starting your application process and pushing through until you have achieved your goal.
Whatever your therapeutic approach, Accreditation Mentoring can help you:
- Access tailored 1:1 support from an experienced mentor
- Acknowledge your personal obstacles to applying and find ways to move past them
- Overcome doubts, peer fear and those horrible feelings of not knowing where to start or how to keep going
- Talk through your answers to tease out your knowledge and help shape your reflective answers
- Create a plan with SMART deadlines to keep you moving through from start to finish
- Have your own cheerleader offering motivation, reassurance and guidance throughout
The Process
- Get clarification on The Admin Section Parts A – F including how to list your training, practice hours and current diary log.
- Reflective Practice Criterion 1 Current Way of Working is where you give details of your theoretical model, the interventions you use and how you adapt these to different settings or clients. Criterion 1 is the foundation for the next question where you showcase your work with case material.
- Reflective Practice Criterion 2 Case Material is where you bring your work to life using carefully chosen case material. You are demonstrating that the way you work is effective, ethical and in line with the model you are trained to work in.
Book a free consultation to see how accreditation support can help you transform this process from daunting and fearful to straightforward and manageable. Job done!
Browse our BACP Accreditation Application E-Books
Packages and Fees
Accreditation is a one-off step in your career and it is worth investing both your time and some money to get the best result first time. Whether you choose to work on your own with a comprehensive e-book guide, or combine it with 1:1 zoom or email support, there is an option to suit you.
What My Private Practice Could Do For You
Cathleen came to work with Alex after a difficult split with a previous supervisor. Finding the right supervisor to support your clinical and practice development is such an important decision and making sure you are a good fit together can make all the difference.
“I had felt increasingly undermined by my previous supervisor and because of that difficult relationship (and intense personal stress at the time) I had decided not to apply for BACP accreditation before the October 2023 deadline, even though I had 5 months to prepare. From my first supervision with Alex, I felt enormous relief and truly supported. Crucially Alex believed in me, accepted me, respected my experience and actively supported my way of working, even when different from hers. Alex strongly encouraged me to apply for accreditation before the submission deadline (then 3 months ahead) and said she thought I could do it. She suggested engagement in the accreditation process would be a very effective support for my clinical work and for developing our understanding of each other and how best to work together.
Combining clinical supervision and the accreditation application process in that way converted what had felt impossible into a win-win situation – whether I managed to submit my application in time or not, my clinical work and developing our supervisory relationship would benefit. So we went for it. Together. I think that is the crucial point – working together taking all the circumstances into account to support my clinical work, professional development and achieving accreditation – an important professional goal. Our work together felt very holistic, consciously taking into account my personal situation and the demands of the accreditation process, while also appreciating that the limited number of hours of clinical work I was working was good for clients as well.”
Cathleen passed her accreditation first time!
“It would have been completely impossible without Alex’s strong support, professional expertise, wise guidance, depth of knowledge about what to do and what not to do for accreditation, strengths in structuring the process, motivating and reassuring me at each step.”
From there they have gone on together to focus on building Cathleen’s private practice up to a point where she feels comfortable, but with room to grow when she has more time available. There is an ongoing mixture of clinical work, professional development and support for Cathleen as a therapist and an individual with demands and stresses in her personal life.
“Because of Alex’s adaptability, flexibility, responsiveness to the presenting need, and having built a relationship of strong mutual trust, knowing we both are deeply ethical and professionally responsible for our own practice, I feel managing the time and choosing the focus has worked very well. It varies. We have also adjusted at times – for example adding in extra sessions for work on accreditation. I have had good supervisors before but none have compared to Alex who is just fantastic. My confidence in myself as a therapist has increased enormously, knowing I work at depth, and that my clients frequently make rapid progress. Basically I am going to be remaining with Alex as my supervisor for a very long time!”
Ethics & Honesty
Our support service is fully in line with BACP guidance and their honesty policy. The accreditation submission is your work, written about your practice, in your own words. You will not be told what to write, given templates to work to or be offered any text to include. It is not in your best interests to accept any support which goes against the BACP guidance:
“We ask that all your work in your application is your own unless you have fully acknowledged and referenced this. We take collusion and plagiarism very seriously and we monitor applications to ensure this does not happen. We know that colleagues and friends will work together on applications, and we do encourage this, however, sharing of work, copying or working to templates is outside both the spirit and the application of the Ethical Framework.”
Our service is not endorsed by the BACP or any other organisation or group. The support you will receive is from an accredited BACP member with over 20 years’ experience as a therapist, supervisor, mentor and coach. This support is classed as mentoring where colleagues can work together to support your accreditation application.
Take a look at our 5* Client Reviews
Are you ready for private practice?
Our profession is in changing times. Are you ready to make a change? If you are thinking of setting up your own practice but aren’t sure where to start or how to make that transition, My Private Practice offers comprehensive support to take away the fear factor and get you up and running, ready to see your first fee-paying client.
For more information or to book a free 15-minute consultation.
