British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is a professional organisation that represents counsellors and psychotherapists working across the United Kingdom. It provides membership services that include access to a register of qualified practitioners, continuing professional development opportunities, and a range of informational resources such as journals and practice guidelines. BACP also sets and upholds ethical standards for the profession, offering a framework that members are expected to follow in their clinical work. Through these activities, the association supports both individual practitioners and the broader mental health sector.

A distinguishing attribute of BACP is its role as a standard‑setting body for counselling and psychotherapy, which includes maintaining an accredited register that is recognised by employers and commissioners of services. The association engages in policy advocacy, seeking to influence legislation and funding decisions that affect mental health provision in the UK. Its notable competencies lie in producing evidence‑based guidance, delivering training programmes, and facilitating peer support networks for members. These functions position BACP as a key interlocutor between practitioners, service providers, and governmental bodies.

BACP’s headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, and it operates as an independent professional body without a parent organisation or subsidiaries that are disclosed in publicly available sources. In February 2016, the association’s website was compromised by CTB‑Locker ransomware, which encrypted files and replaced the homepage with a ransom demand while the organisation maintained public‑facing services such as FTP and SSH during the incident. The attack highlighted vulnerabilities in the association’s web server infrastructure, particularly the use of outdated software on a Linux‑based system, and prompted a review of its security practices.