Legal Issues Across Counselling & Psychotherapy Settings

A Guide for Practice

This fourth book in the authoritative BACP Legal Resources for Counsellors & Psychotherapists series provides practical examples and applications of the law as it applies to therapists in the many different contexts of their work.

Helping practitioners move between different practice settings, the book explores how the legal framework within which they work varies across contexts. It introduces practitioners to the statutory structure and obligations of different types of counselling and psychotherapy services, setting out implications for practice such as liability and accountability. Work settings covered include:

o Private practice

o Commercial organisations - Employee Assistance Programmes

o Voluntary sector

o Government Health settings (NHS): primary and secondary

o Private Health settings: primary and secondary

o Education / Schools /FE/HE

o Social services

o Police and Home Office

For each setting, the book considers the statutory basis, how the legal framework impacts on services to clients, systemic issues such as bullying or prejudicial discrimination, responsibility for decision making, and the restrictions and empowerment of therapists and clients within the context of that setting.

This book is an essential reference for counselling practitioners working across a range of practice settings, including those with portfolio careers. It is also important reading for all those studying counselling, psychotherapy or clinical psychology.