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Resources and benefits

Explore the range of benefits and resources available to members and how you can take advantage of these.

Why should you become a member?

We offer a range membership options to suit your current level of study or career path. 

As a member, you'll be able to influence government policy, fight for mental health and improve working conditions.

You'll also have lots of benefits and resources at your fingertips, including:

Find out more about member benefits.

Enhance your membership

There are also many other ways you can enhance your membership, such as:

 

Indemnity

The society works with three insurers to provide preferential rates to our members. 

Contact the insurers directly to find out more:

Howden

Contact Howden via email or by phone at 01924 241945

Get Howden insurance rates for BPS members

Visit the Howden website

Towergate

Towergate Insurance can provide members of BPS with a range of specialist insurance policies which protect livelihoods, from Professional Liability and cyber insurance to Income Protection provided by our sister company, Usay Compare.

Contact Towergate by email or by phone 330 1235810.

Visit the Towergate website.

Oxygen

Contact Oxygen by phone at O330 1624 785.

Visit the Oxygen website.

BPS Journals - Article publication

The society will subsidise the Article Publication Charge (APC) in our own 11 journals for Associate, Graduate, Full and Chartered members who are corresponding authors of accepted papers.

We'll cover 100% of the APC. This will make your accepted article open access and freely available for the following journals.

All articles will be subject to the usual review process and terms and conditions, and authors will retain copyright.

Eligible journals:
  • British Journal of Clinical Psychology
  • British Journal of Developmental Psychology
  • British Journal of Educational Psychology
  • British Journal of Health Psychology
  • British Journal of Social Psychology
  • British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology
  • British Journal of Psychology
  • Journal of Neuropsychology
  • Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
  • Legal and Criminological Psychology
  • Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice

To use this offer, select the British Psychological Society as your funder on the Wiley submission system.

Visit PsychHub to browse the BPS Journals. Sign-in to view full text for free (for Chartered, Graduate and Student members).

Find out more

For further information contact the Academic Publications team.

BMJ Mental Health– Article Publication

From 2023, the journal Evidence-Based Mental Health has transitioned to a fully open access model and been re-named BMJ Mental Health. 

BMJ Mental Health is wholly owned and published by BMJ. BPS members benefit from a 15 per cent discount code on the journal's Article Publishing Charge (APC) to publish in the journal.

As a fully open access journal, the APC enables all accepted articles for BMJ Mental Health to be immediately free to view online at the point of publication, subject to the usual review process and terms and conditions

To claim your author APC discount code, make sure you are logged in to the BPS members area at which point the code will become visible.

Networking

As a member you can join one of the many events the BPS hosts each year.

Whether you're just starting your studies or have worked in your field for many years, these events are the perfect opportunity to build a network of colleagues and contacts.

  • Join over 7,000 other delegates from a wide range of specialisms who attend and enjoy our full range of events
  • Our geographical branches help you meet and talk about new ideas with others in your local area
  • Being part of one of our Member Networks is a great way to share your knowledge with colleagues, or to learn more about our support groups for undergraduates, postgraduates, and trainees.

Communities

We'd love to see you on Member Connect, your online community of psychology professionals. You can have your say in discussions, look for support or advice and make connections with other members.

Ready to get involved? Here's all the information you need to get started.

Income tax relief

The Inland Revenue has agreed to allow tax relief on all membership subscription fees, including division, section, special group and journal payments.

Below is an extract from the Inland Revenue to the Marketing and Promotions Officer dated 4 March 2004:

'Approval under Section 18 Finance Act 1958 (now Section 344 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003) was granted to the society in 1959. This means that members may claim tax relief for their annual membership subscriptions (core subscription). It has been decided that this approval should be extended to include any additional annual subscription for membership of a division, section or special group. The extension also includes any additional subscription paid by members for any of the society's publications.'

How to claim income tax relief

To claim, you should either list these payments in your annual tax return or write to your tax office with details of the total amounts paid, what they were and your membership number. Your tax code will be adjusted accordingly.

Find out more

For more information on how to claim, contact our subscriptions team.

Discounts

Routledge Books - 25% Discount

BPS members benefit from a 25 per cent discount on all Routledge books, including psychology titles.

Visit the Routledge member landing page.

To receive this offer, please make sure you are logged in.

The discount code (for use at checkout on the Routledge site) will then be visible below.

In 2022, the BPS partnered with Routledge to publish BPS books. We are now commissioning books for a range of audiences including students, trainees, researchers, practitioners and the general public. We are always interested in discussing new book ideas.

For further information please contact [email protected].

Sage books – 30% discount

BPS members receive a 30 per cent discount on Sage textbooks. 

To receive this offer, please make sure you are logged in. The discount code will then be visible below.

This code is available for use in UK textbook territories via sagepub.com and worldwide territories via ebooks.com.

Oxford University Press books – 20% discount

BPS members receive a 20 per cent discount on books purchased through the OUP British Psychological Society Book Club (sign-in required).

To receive this offer, visit the OUP British Psychological Society Book Club.

BMJ Mental Health – discounted APC (Article Publication Charge)

BMJ Mental Health (formerly Evidence-Based Mental Health) is published by BMJ.

BPS members benefit from a 15 per cent discount code on the journal's Article Publishing Charge (APC) to publish in the journal.

As a fully open access journal, the APC enables all accepted articles for BMJ Mental Health to be immediately free to view online at the point of publication.

To claim your author APC discount code, make sure you are logged in to the BPS members area at which point the code will become visible.

Annual Review discounts

BPS members get a 30 per cent discount on all issues of the Annual Review of Psychology and the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology.

To make an order, visit the Annual Reviews website, select subscriptions and follow the personal pricing link.

To access the discount please sign-in to the BPS website and refresh this page - this will reveal the members only discount process below.

The Annual Review of Psychology and five other Annual Review titles (Neuroscience, Medicine, and Sociology) are freely available for BPS members (Chartered, Graduate and Student) to view online through EBSCO's Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection.

e-Learning discounts

CPD is important to us. That's why members and subscribers receive a discount on our wide range of eLearning courses.

Workshop discounts

Student, Graduate, and Chartered members can get discounted access to many of our workshops and webinars.  

Wider Wallet

Unlock a whole range of work and lifestyle benefits through Wider Wallet.

Meeting room hire

Looking to hold a meeting? Student, Graduate, and Chartered members get a 30% discount when booking meeting rooms at our Leicester and London offices.

DBS checks

The types of check are:

  • a basic check, which shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions
  • a standard check, which shows spent and unspent convictions and adult cautions, from the Police National Computer which have not been filtered in line with legislation
  • an enhanced check, which shows the same as a standard check plus any information held by local police that's considered relevant to the role

Find out more about the DBS check process.

Who can request a DBS check?

I need a Standard DBS check.

You can apply directly to the government for a Standard DBS check.

I'm employed or about to be employed.  How can I get an Enhanced DBS check?

Your employer should request the check.

I'm self-employed and have set up a limited company.  How can I get an Enhanced DBS check for myself?

You can contact any of the umbrella companies to request a check.

Read the list of approved umbrella companies.

By taking this approach and contacting the umbrella company yourself, you'll save the additional fee that BPS charge, and the process will be quicker.

I'm self-employed and have not set up a limited company.  How can I get an Enhanced DBS check?

You can apply via the BPS. The fee is £85 for an enhanced DBS check.

As part of the application process you'll need to submit details online.

You'll also need to have your supporting ID documents verified by the Post Office as part of the true likeness check.

If you require an enhanced DBS check, are self-employed and haven't set up a limited company, please contact the membership team to start the application process.

How long to DBS applications take to process?

DBS applications can take up to 6 weeks to process within the society's office.

Once we've completed our checks, we'll create your online application (on our umbrella bodies platform) and you'll receive an email requesting you to sign into the system to complete your application.  

Once you've completed the online application, we'll then be able to review and finalise this, and the umbrella body will be notified of the completed application which will then be submitted to the DBS Service.

Publications

Members have access to a variety of publications and can explore a range of journals, books, and associated resources, including: 

  • print, online and app access to The Psychologist 
  • free Article Publication Charge (APC) to BPS Journals for Associate, Graduate, Full, and Chartered members (subject to conditions)
  • free online access to BPS Journals and 32 related Wiley titles via PsychHub (sign-in required)
  • access to the Psychology collection at Senate House Library for Associate, Graduate, Full, and Chartered members
  • access to the EBSCO Discovery Service, which includes use of EBSCO's full text database Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection, for Student, Associate, Graduate, Full, and Chartered members (sign-in required)
  • access to Psych-Talk for Student members
  • book discounts with Routledge and Oxford University Press (view our member discounts page for more information)
Frequently asked questions
  • I’m a current student member of the BPS and want to upgrade to Associate or Graduate membership, do I need to pay an application fee?

    No, if you are a current student member of the BPS who is upgrading to either associate membership or graduate membership.

    We're pleased to say there's no application fee to upgrade.

  • How can I renew my subscription online?

    Follow these steps to renew your subscription

    1. Sign into BPS BPS online portal
    2. Click on the Memberships and Subscriptions tab
    3. Choose Renew to pay your membership and subscription fees
  • What is the difference between Graduate and Full member?

    For some of our members, learning and development don’t stop after completing university.

    Full membership is designed for individuals who have expanded their knowledge and skills and are applying them at work. A Full member will also be eligible for graduate membership with the graduate basis for chartered membership (GBC).

  • Can I choose the same referee when applying for Route ‘C’?

    Yes.

    You can choose the same referee to complete your Knowledge Statement reference and your Competence Statement reference.

  • Can I join as an eSubscriber and order a hard copy of The Psychologist magazine?

    The print copy of The Psychologist magazine is only available for Affiliate subscribers.

    If you would prefer to have a physical copy, we'd recommend choosing that subscription instead.