A Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board has been established by Minister for Health. Simon Harris TD has appointed the thirteen members of the Board which officially “will seek to protect the public by fostering high standards of professional conduct, education, training, and competence amongst counsellors and psychotherapists.” Unofficially, it is designed to shut down pro-life pregnancy centres by insisting their members workers must be State-certified before they can operate. The mechanism has long been sought by pro-choice activists and championed by various media, including Times, Ireland Edition, who have portrayed groups such as GiannaCare as ‘unregulated’ ‘rogue’ agencies.
Minister Harris said “It is absolutely vital that users can have confidence in the service they receive. We have seen the impact of rogue operations in undermining faith in the profession. It is absolutely vital this area is regulated to ensure adequate supervision of the profession and to ensure its users are protected.”
It will be an offence, punishable by a class-A fine or imprisonment of up to six months, for a person not registered to use any of the titles protected, such as “counsellor” or “psychotherapist”.
