Last year, the BACP, UKCP and BPC released the first iteration of the SCoPEd project – Scope of Practice and Education. I was a little out of the loop, as I wasn’t a member of any of these bodies and was taking a break in my studies. It was all a bit overwhelming when I tried to engage with it, and so I decided to leave it be at the time.
I did keep an eye, and returning to my studies in September 2019 meant that I started to take a bit more of an active look at it. I wanted to keep an open mind about the project – until I read the whole 2nd iteration I kept my strong opinions to a minimum.
Before going into my overall feelings around SCoPEd, I want to state that I really want to hear from all sides of this debate. Other than the company line, I’ve yet to see many voices speaking up in defence of SCoPEd, but I’m not sure why that’s the case.
I’m also disappointed that my peers on my course have no knowledge or interest in the project – despite the potential impacts on us when we complete our studies. I have tried to engage them in the topic, but honestly, I think it’s too time intensive for many of us students. To work towards a diploma or degree, most students will be working full or part time, starting placements, raising children and running their homes. We all have to prioritise things to manage a healthy work/life balance.
I’m not going to work through all my thoughts in this post, as it’s something I want to give some time too. I did fill in and return the feedback form. I hope that the BACP received more than 5000 responses this time, but everyone is so exhausted at the moment, that it wouldn’t surprise me if many couldn’t take part.
I appreciate this post has jumped around a lot. I’ve mostly just written as thoughts have come to mind. Future posts will be more thought out and structured.
I think the key things I want to highlight her are my overall feelings:
- What about the clients?
They are interestingly absent from the plans and this concerns me greatly. - How will this reduce discrimination?
Of trainees, practicing therapists as well as clients themselves. - How will this prevent/reduce exploitation of therapists?
When considering those who have just qualified through to those will less than 450 hours.
buddingtherapy.com 