When I undertake online counselling from the UK with clients in France I feel I need to be open and clear that the two countries have different frameworks for regulation and registration. Specifically;
If I were practising in France I would not be permitted to use the protected title of ‘psychotherapist’ (or psychothérapeute) because psychotherapy is (since around 2010) a profession réglementée or ‘regulated profession’.
Why is this important?
Perhaps a French neighbour has successfully seen a psychotherapist and recommended you do the same? And, since you are in France, you might resonably expect that when you see my website or other information which uses the words such as ‘psychotherapist’ or ‘psychotherapy’ then the meanings of these terms are as they are used in France. This is not the case.
So, What’s your Professional Standing in the UK?
In the UK my professional position is as follows – I hold a Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (2012) and I’ve been Registered with BACP since 2013. I became Accredited by BACP as a Counsellor/Psychotherapist in 2014.
You can check my registration with BACP at http://www.bacpregister.org.uk/check_register/ .
My entry there will also show you that I am Accredited by BACP.
Also, if you look at one of the big UK directories of counsellors such as www.counselling-directory.org.uk you’ll see that this is fairly typical in the UK for someone with my experience.
But that’s not OK in France?
Since I followed the UK system of training and professional registration I would not meet the the local (French) professional requirements which specify how training for psychotherapists is completed. The French training routes are, broadly speaking, more medical/psychiatric in nature.
And so in France I would not be permitted to use the protected title of ‘psychotherapist’ (or psychothérapeute) because psychotherapy is (since around 2010) a profession réglementée or ‘regulated profession’.