After reading Andrew Reeves’ column in the October issue, I am convinced he picked his metaphor of ‘splitting the atom’ with care – that or the psychodynamics of the current regulation arguments pushed themselves unconsciously to the fore. He intended it to represent an easier task, but the link to regulatory activity is unavoidable.

Splitting an atom is hugely messy in outcome terms, despite its intent of scientific progress, and represents a completely unnecessary demonstration of power with international fall-out. Taking a sledgehammer to do it would imply not only a socially understood excessive choice of a tool but the impossibility of achieving the outcome with such an inappropriate one.

With his acknowledgment that no one knows everything to start with, Reeves seems to me to imply that an extra exam, hurdle or other such proof of capability would be in order at some stage after initial training for both counsellors and psychotherapists who have built up experience in so-called mental disorder. This – or these, where there are other specialisms – would be the differentiation points. I would add to that the overlooked point of training for work with children and young people. Many counsellors and psychotherapists will go on to work with this equally vulnerable population without even the modicum of knowledge or training we would expect at qualification level with distressed adults. I have myself taken half-day ‘introduction to children’s work’ sessions with post-graduate diploma students on an excellent training course and found that interest is awakened, the need for further learning seen, but time for pursuing it within the course timetable simply unavailable. The same applies to any substantial training about more complex mental health problems.

Those who have an eye on the atom, egocentric displays of power and the minutiae of section three-and-a-half, subsection Z have completely lost sight of the huge need to ensure the entire workforce is competent in general at first but required to register levels of specialist expertise later, without which they would not be allowed to work with certain groups. This is surely the only way to safeguard clients and maintain a wider view of what counselling and psychotherapy are all about.

Eleanor Patrick
MBACP (Accred), editor of CCYP divisional journal