Mental Health Licensing & Regulation in the UK: 2025 Guide

Some UK mental health job titles are protected by law. Many are not.

A protected title may only be used by someone on an official register. Anyone, however, can call themselves a "therapist" or a "counsellor".

This guide is written by clinicians. It sorts the regulated roles from the unregulated ones, and it shows how to check a provider's registration status.

Quick answer: which UK titles are protected, and which are not

The table below maps the common mental health titles. "Protected" means the title is reserved by law for people on an official register.

One caution is worth adding. The word "psychologist" on its own is not protected. Only the specific practitioner titles, such as "clinical psychologist", are reserved by law.

Regulated roles: practitioner psychologists and psychiatrists

Practitioner psychologists (regulated by the HCPC)

Seven practitioner psychologist titles are protected by law. Each may only be used by someone registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

The seven titles are clinical, counselling, educational, forensic, health, occupational, and sport and exercise psychologist.

The HCPC calls its standards of proficiency the threshold standards necessary to protect the public.¹

The HCPC also sets out the threshold entry routes it normally expects for these seven titles. Clinical psychologists need a professional doctorate. Counselling and educational psychologists need a professional doctorate or equivalent. Forensic, health, occupational, and sport and exercise psychologists need a master's degree with the relevant British Psychological Society qualification, or equivalent.²

Neuropsychology needs a separate note. "Neuropsychologist" is not one of the protected HCPC titles. A clinical neuropsychologist is usually an HCPC-registered psychologist who has gone on to specialist training.

Psychiatrists (regulated by the GMC)

The General Medical Council (GMC) keeps the register of medical practitioners.⁹ Psychiatry is a branch of medicine. This is why a psychiatrist can assess physical causes, diagnose, and prescribe medication.

Counsellors and psychotherapists: not protected titles, and registration is voluntary

"Counsellor", "psychotherapist" and "therapist" are not protected titles. This is a factual status, not a judgement of skill. Many counsellors are highly trained and work to a strict ethical code.

Counsellors, along with many other health and care professionals, are not legally required to be on any register. Instead, practitioners can join a voluntary register, which can then apply for accreditation from the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).⁸

So the real check for a counsellor is different. You cannot rely on the title alone. You look for membership of a PSA-accredited register, such as the one held by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a professional body, not the regulator. BPS "chartered" status is professional recognition. It is not the same as HCPC registration, which is the legal requirement for a protected title.

Who can diagnose, and who can prescribe?

A registrant's scope of practice is the area where they have the knowledge, skills and experience to practise safely.³ Diagnosis and prescribing sit differently across the roles.

Can a clinical psychologist diagnose?

Yes. Assessment and formulation of mental health difficulties sit within a practitioner psychologist's scope. Under the Mental Health Act Code of Practice, the responsible clinician is the approved clinician who has overall responsibility for a patient's case. Where psychological therapies are central to a patient's treatment, the Code says it may be appropriate for a professional with particular expertise in that area to act as the responsible clinician.⁴ What a psychologist does not do is prescribe medication.

Can a social worker diagnose mental illness?

Not in the medical sense. A social worker is registered with Social Work England, not as a medical practitioner. In mental health their role centres on social assessment, care coordination and safeguarding. Where a social worker is trained as an Approved Mental Health Professional, they carry specific duties under the Mental Health Act, which are legal decisions rather than medical diagnosis.

Who can prescribe medication?

Prescribing psychiatric medication is part of medical practice. Psychiatrists and other doctors on the GMC register prescribe it. Prescribing is not settled by job title alone: whether a particular practitioner may prescribe depends on their own registration and qualifications, so check that on the relevant register. Mental health nurses are regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Occupational therapists, who are also HCPC-regulated, focus on function and daily living rather than diagnosis or medication.

How to verify a provider before you book

Use the official register for the role.

1. Psychologists and occupational therapists: search the HCPC register.
2. Psychiatrists and other doctors: search the GMC register.
3. Mental health nurses: search the NMC register.
4. Social workers: in England, check the Social Work England register. Social work is regulated separately in each UK nation, so a reader in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland should use their own nation's social work regulator.
5. Counsellors and psychotherapists: check the BACP register or another PSA-accredited register.

When you find the person, the name alone is not the check. The status should read "Registered". Check the exact title, any conditions on practice, and that registration is current.

Registration is not a one-time event. Registrants must keep an up-to-date record of continuing professional development to stay on the Register.⁵

The HCPC's powers flow from the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001. The Miscellaneous Amendments Rules 2025 were made under that Order and amend the HCPC's registration and fees rules.⁶

Red flags, misused titles, and complaints

A few warning signs are worth taking seriously:

• Use of "clinical psychologist" or another protected title with no HCPC registration you can find.
• A claimed registration number that does not match the register.
• An expired, suspended, or conditions-attached registration.
• Services offered well outside the person's registered role.

Misuse of a protected title is not only a red flag. Under article 39 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001, using a protected title with intent to deceive is a criminal offence, punishable on summary conviction by a fine.⁷

If something is wrong, you can raise a concern with the regulator. The HCPC and the GMC both run fitness-to-practise processes that can restrict or remove a registration. Their concerns pages are the place to start. Counsellors and psychotherapists are not legally required to be on a register, so a complaint goes to the voluntary register the practitioner has joined, for example the BACP register. Those voluntary registers are the ones that can apply to the Professional Standards Authority for accreditation.

Across the UK, the HCPC and GMC registers apply nationwide. Social work is regulated separately in each nation: Social Work England, the Scottish Social Services Council, Social Care Wales, and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.

If you need to raise a concern, go to the regulator that holds the register:

• HCPC, for practitioner psychologists and other registered professions. hcpc-uk.org/concerns, phone +44 (0)300 500 6184, email concerns@hcpc-uk.org. A fitness-to-practise finding can end in removal from the register.
• GMC, for doctors including psychiatrists. gmc-uk.org/concerns, phone +44 (0)161 923 6602. Its procedures can restrict or remove a licence to practise.
• BACP or BPS, for a member of those bodies. Each runs a conduct procedure for its own members only, so it reaches the membership and not a licence.

Finding a therapist

Knowing the titles is one part of the work. The next is finding a provider whose registration you can check.

You can read our guide on finding the right therapist and search the TherapyRoute directory from there.

Team TherapyRoute

References

1. [1] HCPC Standards of proficiency - Practitioner psychologists (2023), Introduction - HCPC-regulated profession; registration is the threshold standard hcpc-uk.org.
2. [2] HCPC Standards of education and training (2017), s 1.1 - threshold entry qualifications for the practitioner-psychologist titles hcpc-uk.org.
3. [3] HCPC Standards of proficiency - Practitioner psychologists (2023), Your scope of practice - scope-of-practice standard hcpc-uk.org.
4. [4] Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice (2015, statutory guidance under s.118 MHA 1983), Ch 36 para 36.2-36.5 - responsible clinician is the approved clinician with overall responsibility; a psychologist may act as responsible clinician assets.publishing.service.gov.uk.
5. [5] HCPC standards of continuing professional development - the CPD standards registrants must meet to stay on the Register hcpc-uk.org.
6. [6] The Health and Care Professions Council (Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules Order of Council 2025 (S.I. 2025/240) - made under the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001 (S.I. 2002/254); amends the HCPC (Registration and Fees) Rules 2003 legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/240/made.
7. [7] Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001 (S.I. 2002/254), art. 39 - Offences (protected-title offence, use of title with intent to deceive) legislation.gov.uk.
8. [8] Professional Standards Authority, About Accredited Registers - counsellors not legally required to be on a register; voluntary registers seek PSA accreditation professionalstandards.org.uk.
9. [9] Medical Act 1983 (c. 54), s. 2 - Registration of medical practitioners (GMC register; full registration). legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/54/section/2.