Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 November 2023
252. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health to respond to the concerns of an organisation (details supplied) in relation to the standards and criteria for the education and training of psychotherapists proposed by CORU; if he has engaged with the organisation on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50515/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council and Registration Boards, collectively known as CORU, are responsible for protecting the public by promoting high standards of professional conduct, education, training, and competence amongst the professions designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act (2005). The Act is being implemented on a phased basis as registration boards and their registers are being established.
Each profession designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act has its own independent registration board with statutory responsibility for:
• Establishing and maintaining the register of members for that profession;
• Recognising qualifications gained outside the State;
• Approving and monitoring education and training programmes for entry to the register;
• Setting the code of professional conduct and ethics giving guidance to professionals on Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Regulations under SI No. 170 of 2018 were made by my predecessor in 2018 to designate the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist under the 2005 Act and to establish one registration board for both professions. Members were appointed to the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board (CPRB) in February 2019 and they held their inaugural meeting in May 2019.
The work of the CPRB includes consideration of the titles to be protected and the minimum qualifications to be required of existing practitioners and the qualifications that will be required for future graduates. The work of the CPRB is significantly more challenging than it is for registration boards for some of the more established professions owing to the different and complex pathways into these professions, the variety of titles used, and the variety and number of courses and course providers.
To date, the following progress has been made by the CPRB:
• Identification, verification and comprehensive assessment of legacy/historical qualifications to determine if they are appropriate for transitioning existing practitioners onto the respective registers (when open);
• Scoping and research on the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists internationally has been conducted;
• Drafting of separate and distinct Standards of Proficiency for counsellors and psychotherapists and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes has been finalised.
A public consultation on the draft Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes has been launched and will run until 5pm on Friday 1st December 2023. As part of this consultation, the CPRB encourages feedback from stakeholders, including members of the professions, education providers, employers, professional and representative bodies, as well as members of the public.
I have not engaged with representative bodies in relation to the CPRB’s proposed standards of proficiency and criteria for education and training programmes for counsellors and psychotherapists. The CPRB is an independent body with statutory responsibility to establish registers for the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist, including setting the minimum standards required for entry to these professions and criteria for education and training programmes Given the independent role of the CPRB, and the fact that a public consultation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to pre-empt the outcome of the consultation. CORU, on behalf of the CPRB, will brief my Department on the outcome of the public consultation in due course.
Further information on the consultation process and details on how to make a submission are available on the CORU website here: www.coru.ie/public-protection/public-consultations/current-consultations/public-consultation-psychotherapists-standards-of-proficiency-and-criteria-for-education-and-training-programmes-for-psychotherapists.html I encourage all stakeholders to make a submission as part of the process.
