Membership Entry Programme

Now you can have your counselling qualifications and experience independently recognised by assessment. All of that hard work and that bit extra, which you give to others and which often goes unrecognised, can now be recognised and, if appropriate, become part of your professional development programme.

You may well already be fully committed to good counselling practice and feel that you have undertaken the necessary learning and/or training and development to equip you for the role of Counsellor. However others, particularly vulnerable clients, often want more assurance of a persons abilities and professional status, and will look for more outward (and independent) demonstrations of capability, such as letters after your name. The ISPC, among its other services, provides this independent evidence. Sometimes your worth and achievements in the field of counselling are often only recognised if you have completed training that is accredited by a particular organisation or association. Often these same organisations are only interested in furthering their own importance and status, and may adjust the qualification requirements for existing members to ensure regular income through their own training process. Furthermore you may have been working hard on a counselling course or in academic study and find that accreditation by that particular organisation is not available. These circumstances lead to either elitism within the organisations or potentially can deprive the counselling fraternity of capable and committed Counsellors. The ISPC care about this and want to ensure your worth and achievements are appropriately acknowledged. Your qualifications, training and experience will be evaluated by the ISPC when we assess your portfolio (please see the application form) and your achievements will then be certified by the ISPC, thus providing evidence of your ability.

With instantly recognisable evidence of your ability and achievements, such as letters after your name, your credibility increases. Where previously you may have been ignored, or little heed paid to your opinions, you should now at least be given a fair hearing and as your credibility increases, more doors open. This is crucial for both personal development and for the development of counselling practice.

Membership of the ISPC is not open to everyone. Candidates for membership are required to demonstrate an appropriate level of attainment in their work and qualifications. This may seem, to some extent, elitist but we need to protect our clients as well as the organisation and ourselves. We will not, however, move the goal posts for current members once enrolled.

Membership of the ISPC provides independent recognition of attainment through assessment, or where appropriate, by examination.