Memorandum 27
Submission from the Institute of Psychiatry,
Kings College London
I am responding to the invitation to comment
on these proposals in my capacity as programme Leader for a range
of family therapy training courses at the Institute of Psychiatry
( Kings College London). I am also chair of the Registration Committee
for the Association for Family Therapy.
In the psychotherapy and counselling fields
there is a great deal of concern about the current proposals.
Whilst respecting the wish to ensure that funds for education
are fairly targeted, our view is that these current proposals
could have a serious effect on the opportunities for training
in therapy and counselling and on the quality of the workforce.
In our field of family therapy we expect candidates for training
to have a prior degree and professional training. On application
to the Diploma and MSc programmes (the recognised training in
family therapy) they will frequently have a higher or equivalent
qualification to the one they wishing to study. This previous
study and experience is a requirement as a platform for the psychotherapy
studies.
If they are not exempted it will have a serious
effect on courses ability to offer affordable courses and therefore
impact on the workforce which is dedicated to one of the governments
priorities of working with children and families. Family therapists
undertake this work at a complex level. It will make it difficult
to attract the best professionals into courses and also severely
affect the diversity of students and in consequence the diversity
of the workforce. This would seem to be contradictory to many
aspects of government policy and good practice.
I would urge the committee to ensure that family
therapy is made an exemption from this proposed policy.
January 2008
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