'Consultant Psychologist' status

Is there a career pathway or route for independent psychology practitioners to become consultant clinical or counselling psychologists? Are there alternate routes to consultant status other than the route of securing an NHS job or a job with a non-NHS employer? If 'no', should BPS create a route for the independent psychology practitioners to be assessed (by national assessors or another framework) to become consultant clinical or counselling psychologists? 

Many principal or senior clinical or counselling psychologists in private psychology practice are frustrated and stuck with their career progression because they are overdue for the title of a consultant clinical or counselling psychologist. But they are denied the opportunity because the NHS and other employers (for cost saving and other reasons) are no longer creating enough consultant job positions and they are deleting existing consultant positions when the current post holder retires or moves on. 

As you may be aware, there are very few new consultant clinical or counselling psychologist jobs created in the UK each year and there are fewer clinical psychologist posts in general. The new or emerging trend, is clinical psychologists are becoming industrious, creative and reinventing themselves as psychological entrepreneurs by establishing their own private psychology practices or joining existing psychology practices. These private psychology practices are creating psychology employment opportunities, reducing unemployment for psychologists and are becoming alternatives to the NHS and other employers, who are cutting back clinical or counselling psychology jobs. Shouldn't these bold psychologists be celebrated as our professional heroes/heroines (by BPS) for successfully taking the risk to beat unemployment and advancing the profession of psychology? Shouldn't they be given the career opportunity to be assessed (by national assessors or another framework) to merit the title of a consultant clinical or counselling psychologist? 

Dr Benaliligha Francis Selemo, Clinical Psychologist & CBT Psychotherapist, Twin Brain, Canary Wharf, London 

Response from Tony Lavender (BPS Practice Board), with Chief national assessors Sheena Bailey and Patricia Graham; Thank you for your letter regarding the use of the consultant title by practitioner psychologists in the independent sector. This issue has been raised several times by members in the past and in recent joint discussions with colleagues in the ACP-UK, the BPS continues to consider how we can support independent practitioners who wish to use the consultant title. 

As you state, more practitioner psychologists are choosing to work in the independent sector for a range of reasons. The BPS has a responsibility to support members in all sectors to ensure that their level of expertise is understood as well as possible by the wider public. Equally, it is very important that the title of consultant, which is not legally protected, is used only by practitioners whose skills and experience meet public expectations. The issue however is a complex one which requires significant and detailed consideration, in terms of both principle and practice.

The consultant title was not widely used by applied psychologists in the NHS prior to the introduction of Agenda for Change in 2004. The title was utilised for job profiles for senior applied psychology posts which encompassed service development and management as well as clinical expertise. These profiles cover posts at 8C/8D posts and 8D/9, depending on the scores obtained against defined factors. Job descriptions and person specifications should reflect those profiles and clarify the competencies required for the job. The title of consultant is attached to the job, and not to the person: e.g. should they move to a lower graded role, they will lose the title. Equally, there is no assumption of progression to the consultant grade: to secure a post at this level, the applied psychologist needs to evidence their competency to meet the person specification for the job. 

This is quite different to what would be needed for a lone independent practitioner to be assessed.

National Assessors (NAs) act on behalf of the BPS and the ACP-UK to advise interview panels on the appointability of candidates from a professional perspective. The large majority of assessors work as consultants in the NHS, or have retired from such roles. Their work is unpaid, but is supported by employers on a reciprocal basis. NAs also support recruitment processes in the third and independent sectors, and some NAs come from this background. (You can find out more about our National Assessors Scheme on our website.) The demand on NAs however is constant given the number of requests and the requirement to juggle the role with other demands. (In terms of supply and demand, recent NA experience suggests that many consultant adverts  attract few applications, but this is variable across the UK). As things stand, NAs would be unable to support an accreditation scheme as described in your letter, which would require both additional NAs and finance from the independent sector.

Whilst we appreciate the issue you raise, we hope you can appreciate the complexity of this and the early stage of discussions. If there are any updates we will keep members informed. In the meantime, BPS has recently produced guidance on the use of the consultant title to help Practitioner Psychologists consider whether they should be using the title.