Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps with the Health and Care Professions Council to include psychotherapists on the list of protected titles within the healthcare industry.

While there are no current plans to protect the professional title “psychotherapist” in law, the Government keeps professions subject to statutory regulation and the list of protected titles under review. The Government is clear that the statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration.