Accreditation
What is accreditation?
One way to understand the professional development of a counsellor/psychotherapist is that of an organic process of growth through the experience of professional practice and further training. Over time a therapist may develop specialist areas of practice and/or deepen their general skills and competence. In this they will be supported by professional colleagues, especially trainers and supervisors, who play an important part in the ongoing formation of a therapist.
A counsellor/psychotherapist may choose to evidence their professional progression and have this formally recognised through the process of accreditation.
To become an accredited counsellor/psychotherapist an applicant needs to already be a registered counsellor member of ACC.
Accreditation is widely recognised within the profession, by the NHS and other employers, as a confirmation that a therapist has attained a particular standard.
ACC Accreditation is also recognised with the Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies (PCPB). The BACP and NCPS have processes which enable the recognition of ACC accreditation at the equivalent level within these membership bodies.
The various means of applying for accreditation with ACC are described in more detail below.
Accreditation and the SCoPEd Framework
With the publication of the SCoPEd Framework (January 2022, amended 2025), standards for training and accreditation have, for the first time in the UK, been mapped onto an agreed, shared competency framework. The SCoPEd partnership includes the majority of counselling and psychotherapy membership bodies who hold a Professional Standards Authority accredited register, of which ACC is one. Since April 2025, this partnership has been known as the Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies (PCPB). Further details are available on their website here.
The columns within the framework can be understood as a path for progression in the profession. One of the benefits of the framework is having these competencies set out so that clients and employers have a clear description of what counsellors and psychotherapists in each column are able to do as a minimum within the five themes of therapy practice.
ACC members currently align to column A for registered counsellors, column B for accredited counsellors and column C for senior accredited counsellors.
ACC members can practise in any area of counselling and psychotherapy if it is within their competence, and the framework is not intended to be restrictive in this way. However, members can also evidence their competence in column B and/or C, by applying for accreditation.
There are differing paths to accreditation based on training levels and practice experience.
How to become an accredited counsellor?
There are a number of different pathways to accreditation with ACC. If you’re not sure which option applies to you, please contact us at registrar@acc-uk.org.
Please select the relevant link for your training and experience:
For information on our SCoPEd column B top up training, please visit here.
How to become a senior accredited counsellor with ACC?
We will be launching senior accreditation pathways early in 2026.
What if I already have accreditation with another professional body?
ACC have an accreditation recognition process by which we recognise the equivalent accreditation of other professional counselling bodies within the PCPB partnership (BACP, BPC, HGI, NCS, UKCP).
Please use the Accreditation Recognition Application Form which can be obtained from the members’ area. This can be found by logging in via the top of the page, and you will find these on the left-hand side of the page by selecting ‘Resources’.
Please note that later in 2026 there will also be a recognition process for applicants where their accreditation is from a body outside of the PCPB. We will then be able to consider other professional bodies’ accreditation processes, for example COSCA, or specialist accreditations such as BABCP, as long as the process is demonstrably equivalent and clearly maps to SCoPEd column B or C. If you are interested in being notified when this becomes available, please email registrar@acc-uk.org.
How to become an accredited supervisor?
We have paused our process for accreditation as a supervisor in order to focus on the implementation of the revised accreditation processes aligned with SCoPEd framework. However, we continue to recognise BACP’s senior accreditation as a supervisor, gained prior to January 2026.
Please use the Accreditation Recognition Application Form which can be obtained from the members’ area. This can be found by logging in via the top of the page, and you will find these on the left-hand side of the page by selecting ‘Resources’.