New regulations for counselling and psychotherapy referred to European Commission

Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) chief executive Lisa Molloy: 'We are calling on the minister and Coru to pause further implementation'.

A group representing therapists has referred proposed new regulations around counselling and psychotherapy to the European Commission.

The Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP), which represents thousands of counsellors and psychotherapists, has raised concerns about the implementation of the regulator Coru’s new standards.

Coru put forward new regulations last year; therapists have raised as a key concern that mandatory personal therapy sessions are not required as part of their training.

A high Level 9 training requirement for psychotherapists, and “unduly restrictive” scope-of-practice distinctions have also been raised as concerns.

The IACP has asked the European Commission to examine whether the development and adoption of new standards complied with an EU Directive on proportionality assessments for regulated professions.

It said the Department of Health has said the EU proportionality requirements were met, an assertion it “fundamentally disagrees with”.

It has referred the matter to the European Commission and has called on the minister to pause the implementation of the new standards.

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IACP chief executive officer Lisa Molloy said: “If these requirements proceed unchanged, there is a real risk of losing training and placement capacity and reducing the number of future practitioners at a time when access to counselling and psychotherapy is critically important.

“The consequences for accessibility, quality, and public protection could be significant and long-lasting.” 

She added: “We are calling on the minister and Coru to pause further implementation while the complaint is examined; engage meaningfully with the profession, educators, and placement providers; and ensure that the regulatory system strengthens, rather than destabilises, Ireland’s counselling and psychotherapy services.” 

The Department of Health said it is aware of the complaint to the European Commission in relation to the proportionality test directive and “will engage with the commission as required”.

It said Coru submitted a proportionality assessment report to the Department of Health, which sent the report to the Department of Further and Higher Education, as required under the directive.

The next phase of work to introduce regulation of both professions is to begin, the department stated.

A spokesperson for Coru said: "The introduction of statutory regulation for counsellors and psychotherapists is fully compliant with the requirements of the Proportionality Directive.

"Any suggestion to the contrary is based on a misunderstanding of the directive."