REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 05034324 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1185487

Report of the Trustees and

Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025

for

The British Psychoanalytic Council

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Report of the Trustees

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Independent Examiner's Report

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Statement of Financial Activities

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Balance Sheet

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Cash Flow Statement

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Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

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Notes to the Financial Statements

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The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

The Council became a Charity on 25th September 2019.

The charitable company's objectives are:

- to advance the health of the public through the maintenance and regulation of professional standards and clinical practice in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling, and through the promotion and accreditation of training,

- to advance education in and of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling and its theoretical underpinnings through, but not limited to, the promotion of research and publication of the useful results thereof; and

advancing knowledge and understanding of the theory and practice of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically informed therapies.

Significant activities

The charitable company's objectives are to advance the health of the public through the maintenance and regulation of professional standards and clinical practice in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling, and through the promotion and accreditation of training, to advance education in and of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling and its theoretical underpinnings through, but not limited to, the promotion of research and publication of the useful results thereof; and advancing knowledge and understanding of the theory and practice of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically informed therapies.

The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) is the leading UK professional association and accredited register for the psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy profession. The BPC is made up of Member Institutions which are training institutions and professional associations in their own right. Individual psychoanalytic and psychodynamic

psychotherapists and counsellors are members of these organisations and registrants of the BPC.

The BPC is a Professional Standards Authority (PSA) accredited register. The PSA is overseen by the UK Parliament. PSA accredited registers help the public access better care by ensuring that the registered health practitioners are competent and trustworthy. As an accredited register BPC ensures that the information it provides is clear and helps the public to make informed choices about the therapy BPC's registrants offer.

The BPC protects the public by maintaining its public register of psychoanalytically informed practitioners who meet its education, CPD and fitness to practise standards. The BPC continues to be a highly regarded professional body, recognised within the field as maintaining high professional standards.

The BPC accredits the trainings of its Member Institutions, ensuring that they meet BPC's training standards. An individual who qualifies from one of these trainings, or equivalent, is then eligible for entry into the BPC's register. BPC registration is governed by a range of fitness to practise requirements including the Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics, continuing professional development and fitness to practise procedures.

In addition to BPC's accredited trainings it also "kite marks" a number of trainings that are psychoanalytic in their formulation but do not, on their own, enable practitioners to appear on the BPC register. Practitioners completing these trainings can appear on the BPC public rosters. The charity currently "kite-marks" Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT), Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT), Transference Focused Psychotherapy (TFP), Counselling Children and Young People in Education and Community Settings and Time-limited Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (TAPP).

The BPC has a vision of a society that recognises and values human relationships and the use of psychoanalytic theories of mind to support emotional wellbeing, good mental health, and effective social policy to create a better society.

The charity's mission is to advance the health of the public though the promotion of the highest clinical standards of training and clinical practice of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychodynamic counselling; and advance the education of psychoanalytic theories of mind. Many of the charity's registrants are also senior consultant psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, academics, and leading figures in the field of mental health, both nationally and internationally.

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm their compliance with the duty to have due regard to the Public Benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission when reviewing the Charity's aims and objectives in planning future activities.

Volunteers

The BPC has a number of volunteers which sit on its various committees which offer advice and support to the Trustees, the Chief Executive and other team members. These volunteers are predominantly clinicians and practitioners in psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic, and psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling.

A pool of volunteers from across the psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy profession provide content for its termly print publication and its e-newsletters.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Charitable activities

The organisation entered the third and final year of its current strategy, and the Board of Trustees are pleased with the substantial progress made. The Executive worked extensively with the Board to develop the new strategy for 2025 - 2028, striking a balance of ambition whilst maintaining the high standards achieved over the past few years.

The Board are particularly pleased that the new Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics were published in November 2024 and will come into effect from 1 April 2025. All BPC Registrants will be required to meet these new Standards. The project to update and roll out the new Standards has been ongoing for several years and the Board are thankful to all of the stakeholders who participated in this work.

The Board remain grateful to the staff team and to the volunteers that enable the BPC to carry out the important work of protecting the public.

People

There were significant and exciting updates to the BPC staff team between 2024 - 2025. The Board of Trustees approved several new roles which were successfully recruited in this time.

The new role of Office and Events Manager was recruited to in May 2024. The successful candidate was a BPC Membership Officer, and following this promotion, the organisation recruited a new Membership Officer.

Another new role, of Senior Paralegal, was created to support with the Fitness to Practise cases. The successful candidate started in July 2024 on a one year fixed term contract. The Board have approved for a permanent Senior Paralegal to be recruited in Summer 2025.

The organisation also took the decision to recruit to a paid employee position of Registrar. Previously this role has been undertaken as a voluntary position by a Trustee. Following extensive discussion and legal advice, the Board gained approval from the Charity Commission to hire the Trustee as a paid employee for 3 years, from January 2025. This is because the candidate was the most well qualified for the role, and it would have been detrimental for the organisation to lose them from their Trustee role at this point.

Membership

During this financial year, there were no changes to the Member Institutions of the BPC. The following organisations remained a Member Institution during 2024 - 2025:

Anna Freud

Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector

Association for Psychodynamic Practice and Counselling in Organisational Settings

Association of Jungian Analysts

Birkbeck Counselling Association

British Psychoanalytic Association

British Psychoanalytical Society / The Institute of Psychoanalysis

British Psychotherapy Foundation

Enfield Counselling Service

Forensic Psychotherapy Society

Foundation for Psychotherapy and Counselling

Gloucestershire Counselling Service

Manor House Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling

North of England Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists (joined the British Psychotherapy Foundation in May 2025)

Northern Ireland Psychoanalytic Society

Scottish Association of Psychoanalytical Psychotherapists

Severnside Institute for Psychotherapy

Society of Analytical Psychology

Tavistock Relationships

Tavistock Society of Psychotherapists

Wessex Counselling and Psychotherapy

West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy

The BPC increased the number of registrants listed on the accredited public register to 2082 across the various categories (full registration, newly qualified, supervisory/teaching, NHS only, pre-retired and deferred). This is an increase of 32 since March of the previous year. 123 of these registrants were new to the BPC, and of these new registrants, 88 were newly qualified. This is important not only to ensure diversity within the register but also puts the organisation in a good position for maintaining sustainability going forwards.

The Trainee Network mailing list has expanded from 255 trainees to 305 between March 2024 and March 2025.

The organisation has valued continued contact with retired registrants, and now has 22 people in the retired membership category.

Individuals who have completed a BPC 'kite marked' training such as Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT), Mentalisation Based Treatment (MBT), Counselling Children and Young People in Education and Community Settings (CCYP), Time-limited Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (TAPP) or Transference-focused Psychotherapy (TFP) are eligible to be added to the BPC kitemarked roster on the website. The kite marked roster has increased from 227 individuals to 244 during this period.

The Scholars' Network began to grow after a dip the previous year, up from 47 to 56 in total. This may be due to the Scholars event held in January 2025, and the further promotion of the Network.

Education

Between April 2024 and March 2025, the BPC carried out six full reaccreditation site visits to trainings, two of which also included accrediting new trainings, plus two accreditation visits and one reaccreditation of a kitemarked training course.

In June the Association of Jungian Analysts training in Jungian Analysis was visited by a team led by Sally Beeken, the British Psychotherapy Foundation's new training in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (which also took trainees from the WPF training) was visited by a team led by Nicola Chadd, and the British Psychoanalytical Society's training in psychoanalysis was visited by a team led by Jan McGregor Hepburn. In October the Tavistock's trainings in Intercultural Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (D59I) , forensic psychodynamic psychotherapy (D59F), Child, adolescent and family psychodynamic psychotherapy (M34), Child, adolescent and family psychodynamic psychotherapy for psychiatrists (M14) and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (M1) were visited by a team led by Sally Beeken, and in November the Tavistock's Leeds-based training in psychodynamic psychotherapy was visited by a team led by Jan McGregor Hepburn. Also in November, the Northern Ireland Psychoanalytic Society's existing training in psychoanalysis was visited, along with their new training in psychodynamic psychotherapy, by a team led by Sally Beeken. In February the Association for Psychodynamic Practice and counselling in Organisational Settings (APPCIOS) had their existing training in psychodynamic organisational psychotherapy visited as well as their new training in psychodynamic psychotherapy, by a team led by Sally Beeken. In March the Birmingham Trust for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy's training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy for qualified child psychotherapists was visited by a team led by Sally Beeken.

Also in March, the kitemarked training in time-limited adolescent psychodynamic psychotherapy was visited by Sally Beeken and Nicola Chadd.

All visits were conducted in person, but with some people from the training organisations attending online. All accreditations and reaccreditations were for a period of five years.

Committees

Board of Trustees

Between April 2024 and March 2025 the BPC Board met 7 times. 6 of these were Board meetings and one was an all-day strategy meeting. During this year, the Board of Trustees was comprised of 8 Trustees; 6 are clinical trustees, and 2 are lay trustees.

During this financial year, Paul Rohleder stepped down from his role as a clinical Trustee and the Board are grateful for his tremendous commitment over the five years in this role.

The Board discussed a significant number of topics throughout the year, notably the final Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics were approved, and the changes to the countersignatory requirements. The Board discussed the policy and public affairs strategy, including regular updates on the various areas of policy work, as well as developed the new strategy for April 2025 - March 2028. Further information about matters discussed at BPC Board meetings can be found in the public summaries on the website here.

Registration Committee

The Registration Committee is chaired by the BPC Registrar Sally Beeken, and there were no changes to membership in this period.

The committee met ten times a year on Zoom for their regular meetings and held one Away Day in October. They planned and discussed the reaccreditation visits and continued to review training criteria documents and look at potential new trainings. The committee is developing new guidance for training therapy.

Professional Standards Committee

On the committee there are 6 clinicians, five of whom are currently practicing: Jan McGregor-Hepburn [Chair], Liz Hamlin, John Nicholas, Ann Conlon Bright [retired], Linda Darrell, and Kate Page. The clinicians are senior psychoanalytic/Jungian analytic registrants. The Committee are in the process of recruiting a psychodynamic counsellor. The Committee is very well managed and supported by the staff team who are central to the committee and undertake a lot of the work.

In the last year, as usual, most of the work of the committee is in conducting the regular CPD audit of registrants, joined by two members of the BPC Board and our Head of Professional Practice. Overall, most registrants do plenty of thoughtful and appropriate CPD, and much more than the minimum required. The returns continue to cause work for the staff however, who bear it with good grace. The Committee continues to consider how the CPD audit form and guidance might be refined and made clearer. The Committee also consider CPD exemption requests, which are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Professional standards issues discussed during this year:

- Registrants with multiple titles and memberships

- Professional Titles- Psychoanalyst/psychoanalytic psychotherapist, for which we had a discussion paper which also went to the Registrar

- Working at frequencies different from the training

- Benefits and disadvantages of Statutory Regulation

The Committee continues to discuss succession planning. It was agreed that Jan McGregor-Hepburn chairs the Committee incredibly well and this arrangement will continue until a new Chair is recruited.

Ethics Committee

Alan Colam, who chaired the Ethics Committee for many years, has now stood down. The BPC is very grateful for his service, and recruitment for a new Chair is ongoing.

The Ethics Committee is the only representative committee in the BPC, in that all Member Institutions are able to nominate a representative to attend, the great majority of which do so. Staff representatives include the Chief Executive Officer, the Head of Regulation, the Head of Professional Practice, the Head of Policy and Public Affairs and the Head of Operations, with minutes taken by the Administrative Support Officer. The Committee has met three times in this period, in June and November 2024 and March 2025.

The Committee has facilitated discussion and feedback towards the development of the new standards of Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics, both internally and at Member Institutions.

It is also a forum where ethical issues from the Member Institutions can be brought and discussed, for example issues relating to anonymising the patients who are mentioned in published work.

The BPC Head of Professional Practice has prepared papers on ethical matters, including published determinations from Fitness to Practise hearings, which have been discussed both at the committee and have been taken to Member Institutions.

The Committee has also worked with the Head of Policy and Public Affairs to keep abreast and have a clear view on proposed legislative changes which could affect the profession, such as the proposed ban on conversion practices and a proposal to make reporting of any child sex offences mandatory in all circumstances.

Sexual and Gender Diversity Committee

The Committee held meetings on 24th June, 9th September and 13th January, and met for an in person get-together on 23rd February.

In the second half of 2024 the Committee was busy preparing for the visit of Dame Hilary Cass who presented her report on gender identity services for children and young people to members of the BPC and the ACP on 13th September. In preparation for the event the Committee broke into groups to analyse the report in detail, to familiarise themselves with its contents in order to identify some questions which it seemed important to ask. Two members of the Committee played prominent roles on the day. Poul Rohleder chaired the event and Serena Heller gave a commentary on the report from the perspective of a psychoanalytically informed clinician.

This year the Committee lost one of its long-standing members, William Halton, who stood down in January. Joao Botas has agreed to become the Committee's member representative on the BPC Board. The Committee currently consists of ten people who attend regularly.

Two members of the Committee, Serena Heller and Joao Botas, have offered to join the working party set up by the Voluntary Regulators' Group, convened by the BPC, to prepare for proposed legislation to ban conversion therapy. The working party is attempting to identify guidelines for good practice in work with gender questioning and gender diverse people, currently a controversial area where an exploratory stance can often be confused with conversion therapy.

The Committee feels that there has been significant progress within the profession surrounding issues of sexual diversity, however there is more for the Committee to do to address the topic of gender diversity and how this is thought about, and interacted with, within the profession.

Scholars Committee

The Scholars Committee of the British Psychoanalytic Council, established in 2016, supports and promotes the Scholars' Network of the BPC - a branch of the institution designed to recognise those members of the psychoanalytical community who have made important contributions to the field through academic achievements, such as research projects, teaching, publications and, moreover, public outreach, via organisational achievements and, also, via the media.

Initially created to acknowledge noted British academics who have distinguished themselves as psychoanalytical scholars, the Scholars Committee, with the encouragement and approval of the Board of Trustees, expanded its membership options in 2024, and the Scholars' Network now welcomes the inclusion of outstanding academics from all over the world, as well as clinically-trained scholars registered with the BPC, and, also, trainee academic associates who have already undertaken important research on a range of psychoanalytical topics. Currently, the Scholars Committee considers applications for the following membership categories: Scholars, Clinician Scholars, International Scholars, Associate Scholars, and Honorary Scholars, in addition to the continued recognition of our inaugural Foundation Scholars.

The Scholars Committee continues to provide not only support for our various categories of scholar members but, also, remains committed to the promotion of The Scholars' Study - a regular e-newsletter offered to members. Additionally, the Scholars Committee co-sponsors the monograph series on "Psychoanalysis and Popular Culture", co-edited by Professor Caroline Bainbridge and Professor Candida Yates, for the publisher Routledge, part of the Taylor and Francis Group. Furthermore, the Scholars Committee will soon contribute to the promotion and the teaching of the impending "Certificate in Freud Studies" and "Diploma in Freud Studies", which will launch at the Freud Museum London in October, 2026.

The Scholars Committee remains under the chairmanship of Professor Brett Kahr, supported by its dedicated Committee members: Professor Jacob Johanssen, Ms. Ruth Llewellyn, Dr. Theodora Thomadaki, Professor Neil Vickers, and Professor Candida Yates.

On 24th January 2025, the Freud Museum London hosted a networking event for the Scholars Network of the British Psychoanalytic Council. This event attracted approximately 50 members of the Scholars' Network and the BPC staff team and provided us with a rich opportunity to meet colleagues. Professor Brett Kahr, the Chair of the Scholars Committee, delivered a talk, expressing warm thanks to the committee members and to the staff team for having provided so many years of loyal work. The Chair of the Board, Lee Smith, and the Chief Executive, Greg Ross-Sampson. also gave generous and encouraging speeches.

The Scholars Committee continues to welcome applications from psychoanalytical scholars and looks forward to future collaborations with fellow psychoanalytical academics and researchers and, of course, with clinicians.

Communications

Whilst we continue to grow our social media followers on X, Facebook and LinkedIn, we find that this is not necessarily our most effective communications method. Our most effective comms tools we have are all in-house. This is really positive as these tools are much more within our control. Our eNewsletter remains to be the most effective way to communicate with our community and our website's traffic and usage is continually growing. Our event attendance remains steady but still requires diligent marketing efforts.

Some of the campaigns we have promoted during April 2024 - March 2025 include:

- New Issues of New Associations

- Our renewal period

- Mental Health Awareness Week 2024

- The Big listen: Samaritans Awareness Day 2024

- Black History Month 2024

- Time to Talk Day 2025

The BPC Executive are committed to increasing engagement. This includes:

- Promoting our online event calendar and online jobs board

- Promoting inclusion in the monthly eNewsletter, which has prompted a sharp increase in requests to be included in the eNewsletter, from Registrants and MIs.

Working with the Scholars Committee to increase engagement with their community through development of their tri-annual Scholars Study eNewsletter.

We have worked increasingly closely with other organisations on a number of initiatives, including:

- The Talking Therapies Tast Force (BPC, UK Council for Psychotherapy, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Society for Psychotherapy Research UK Chapter, and the Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.)

- SCoPEd partnership, now launched as PCPB (ACC, BACP, Human Givens, NCS, UKCP)

- Networking/sharing best practice and advice with BACP and UKCP.

The current New Associations editorial board has undergone quote a few changes as of January 2025, the new co-editors of the magazine are: Emmanuelle Smith and Noreen Giffney, previously long-term board members. Editorial Board members consist of Deborah Wright, Candida Yates, Usman Zafar, Marita Vyrgioti and reviews editor, Lydia Prior. The revitalised structure of the magazine is accompanied by some procedural changes that smooth out Editorial work flows and workloads. The editors also ran their first writing workshop in May which sold out quickly and was enjoyed by participants who have since submitted work for the magazine. The most recent editions of New Associations was distributed to 2,203 individuals.

Web Analytics Snapshot (2023):

Web Sessions:

Total: 16,868

By Web Search: 12,235

Direct Visit: 3,882

Social Media: 287

Web Users:

Total: 11,089

By Web Search: 7,975

Direct Visit: 2,685

Social Media: 183

Web Analytics Snapshot (2024):

Web Sessions:

Total: 24,349

By Web Search: 17,366

Direct Visit: 5,522

Social Media: 175

Web Users:

Total: 15,258

By Web Search: 10,756

Direct Visit: 3,671

Social Media: 127

Web Analytics Snapshot (2025)*:

Web Sessions:

Total: 84,490

By Web Search: 61,383

Direct Visit: 18,962

Social Media: 1,021

Web Users:

Total: 44,666

By Web Search: 30,148

Direct Visit: 12,990

Social Media: 669

Average time per web session: 2m 20s

Most visited page: Find a psychoanalytic psychotherapist

*Since our last report, we've worked with a consultant to optimise and enhance the accuracy of our website data. We're now recording our web activity which more precision and with a broader view. This helps us understand how and why people use our website, meaning we can update and tweak it in accordance to their needs in the future.

Web Takeaways

Our average viewer time is high by industry standards, which is a positive indicator that our website is a valuable and high-quality resource for its visitors.

Our most popular pages remain consistent, which are our: find a therapist Register, training courses directory and professional support for our Registrants. It's positive to see our core functions as a business are frequently used and explored by our Registrants and the general public.

Our training course directory is more frequently used and used for longer in comparison to this time last year. This is a positive change to see as we made a lot of updates and optimisation to our Training page in order to ease and improve usage experience.

Over the past few years we've been making significant changes to our website to make the user journey on our website simpler and clearer. Our homepage is now more clearly divided into areas of need for our different audiences, our 'Updates & Insights' page contains more dynamic and visually engaging ways of communicating our campaigns and updates, and our 'Find a Therapist' function has been updated in accordance to recent user feedback.

Another crucial element of these updates was for our Training Courses Directory. This is now a fully optimised search function, filtered by modality and course provider. This allows each user to cater their search to their requirements as much or as little as they desire.

Regulation

Between April 2024 and March 2025 there have been a rise in the number of enquiries and complaints relating to fitness to practise matters. There was a total of 65 enquiries of which 30 were complaints and 5 of those complaints met the acceptance criteria threshold and were investigated.

The complaints involved 2 Interim Order Committees and 1 Fitness to Practise Committee Hearing. Out of the 5 complaints, 4 were resolved and closed.

There is a clear indication that there has been an increase in new complaints since the new process which commenced in January 2022. We expect this trend to continue in the next financial year.

Events

Safeguarding workshop

On the 21 June 2024, the BPC held a three-hour safeguarding workshop led by Sonia Appleby. This followed the success of previous full day safeguarding training sessions and was designed to condense some of the content into an afternoon course for those who would otherwise be unable to attend. It was a popular event, with 60 BPC Registrants booking onto the course.

The session considered the legal requirements of safeguarding, and how to understand these in a psychoanalytic context. The event was well received by attendees.

Exploring the Cass Review

Following the publication of the Cass Review, the BPC organised an event for BPC and ACP Registrants exploring the review. The event took place on 13 September as a Zoom webinar, and Dr Hilary Cass presented an overview of the review and recommendations, before Registrant Serena Heller gave a short paper to locate the review within the psychoanalytic context. A Q&A session with Hilary Cass followed, chaired by Poul Rohleder.

The event proved popular, with over 160 attendees, and the feedback overall was positive. Some attendees felt the format of webinar was inhibiting and regretted not having more time for questions.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Now 2024

The BPC held its flagship conference on 23 November 2024, for the first time since 2022. The conference was a one day hybrid event, held at a new venue for the BPC, 10 Union Street in London Bridge.

The conference was titled Psychoanalysis, ethics, regulation & the law; tensions and interactions. Each year PPNow looks further into a topic relevant in today's climate and this year coincided with the launch of the BPC's revised Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics. The speakers, including Alessandra Lemma and David Black, explored an ethical stance as a state of mind rather than simply a set of rules, and how Registrants can make this state of mind an integral part of the approach to the work.

A total of 270 people registered for the event, both online and in person, which makes it one of the largest PPNow events in the last few years. The conference was largely well received, with many Registrants finding the topic thought provoking and timely.

Scholars' Network event

The Scholars' drinks reception took place on 24 January 2025 at the Freud Museum London, with the intention of bringing together the Network in person for the first time since the pandemic, as well as those interested in learning more about the Network. There were over 50 people in attendance at the event, and speeches were made by the Chair of the Scholars Committee, Brett Kahr, as well as the Chair of the Board and the Chief Executive.

Jimmy Savile event

An online CPD event on the case of Jimmy Saville took place on 21 March 2025, with Ray Galloway and Carine Minne. The event explored the high-profile case of Jimmy Savile through a psychoanalytic lens. Ray and Carine presented the work that was undertaken during the independent investigation and offered an understanding of Savile's offenses, the victims' voices and the criminal court report that never was. The event sold out within a week of opening bookings, filling 80 places. 77 attendees joined the live event and feedback following the event was extremely positive.

Policy

Since publication of the previous Annual Report, there have been several developments of interest and/or concern to the BPC. Firstly, there has been a General Election, and a new Government with a new set of priorities. Prior to the Election, Labour highlighted a series of objectives around mental health, including an update of the Mental Health Act, the introduction of the much-vaunted ban on Conversion Practices, and a reformation of mental health services throughout the UK. Since coming to power, action on the above has been limited, but the BPC has taken steps to engage with the new administration to assist in understanding on the contribution and impact of psychoanalytic therapy, and to ensure future policy and legislation is informed by evidence and experience from across the mental health sector. This engagement activity by the BPC included the following:

Engaging with the new Parliament

Following the change of Government at the 2024 General Election, the BPC have been quick to engage with new Ministers and other stakeholders. Having contributed to Luciana (now Baroness) Berger's review of mental health services in the UK, the BPC followed this by writing to the new Ministers to highlight the valuable contribution of psychotherapy to the health sector. We have also forwarded the now finalised briefing paper, which highlights the areas in which psychotherapy is especially effective, to many of these stakeholders, including the newly constituted Health and Social Care Select Committee, and its newly elected chair, Layla Moran MP.

The BPC has met with other Parliamentarians over several issues, and will continue to utilise the briefing paper as an initial introduction to psychotherapy and the work of the BPC and its Registrants.

TTTF report

The BPC remains a member of the Talking Therapies Task Force (TTTF). In support of its new report into the human and financial costs of overlooking complex mental health needs within the UK healthcare system, the BPC played a leading role in the organisation of a launch event in Parliament. This reception event was attended by 100 delegates, including 15 Members of Parliament and peers, and culminated in a meeting with the Minister for Mental Health, Gillian Merron. The BPC has also attended further meetings with supportive MPs, who have agreed to propose a Parliamentary debate on the report findings, as well as ensure that the recommendations are considered in the general debate on the Government's Mental Health Bill.

Statutory regulation

In the last year, there have been increasing calls for the introduction of statutory regulation of psychotherapy, partly as a result of the coverage of the Ella Jannah case. While the Government's position to Parliamentary Questions has been to support the current system of voluntary regulation, there has been considerable coverage in the media, which may increase, especially over the summer period.

For this reason, the BPC has organised media training (and weekly media practice sessions) for several representatives and will continue to respond to media enquiries in order to highlight the strengths of the existing voluntary system of regulation.

Mandatory reporting

In January, the Home Secretary announced that following the grooming gangs scandal, the Government would introduce legislation creating a legal requirement for all allegations of child sex abuse to be reported within three days to police and local authorities. As there was no allowance for therapists or other professionals to exercise clinical judgement, this raises several concerns, not least for children who may not be ready or willing to formally report an abusive event.

In response, the BPC wrote to the Home Office prior to the legislation being drafted, but a meeting was refused. Following publication of the Crime and Policing Bill, the BPC has met with several Parliamentarians including Lord John Alderdice, Lord David Frost, Baroness Alison Levitt, and Mary Glindon MP.

The BPC has also met with representatives of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, The Portman Clinic, the Loudoun Trust, and the other members of the PCPB. Further meetings have been planned with other Parliamentarians, aimed at creating discussion within the House of Lords when the legislation reaches this stage.

Further activity, and the progress of the Bill, will be reported to the Board as these arise.

Conversion practices

The BPC has established a group of representatives of the various voluntary regulatory groups, to consider and make recommendations around what future legislation banning conversion practices should include. A further group of practitioners was also established to advise the overall steering group, but following an initial meeting of this group it was suggested that the policy group of the PCPB should be tasked with agreeing a set of recommendations on the part of the main regulatory bodies, and to put these to the steering group for final sign off. This proposal is now being considered by the PCPB.

In February 2025, the BPC provided a submission to a consultation launched by the Northern Irish MLA Eoin Tennyson, which could inform similar legislation in Northern Ireland. As with the previous submission provided to the Scottish Government, the BPC's response emphasised the importance of Registrants continuing to be able to work with patients in a non-directional manner, assisting them to consider and arrive at a gender and/or sexuality which they are happy in themselves with.

The BPC also remains a member of the MOU2 group, attending and contributing to the regular meetings.

Insurance

The BPC has met with several leading figures in the insurance sector to discuss the current inability for policyholders wishing to receive psychotherapy from BPC Registrants as part of their existing policies. While no concrete action was agreed to by WPA or the Association of British Insurers, there was greater interest shown by Bupa, Aviva and AXA Health, who requested further details of Registrants' complaints, and a fuller breakdown of the training and expertise of Registrants. These have now been forwarded, with further meetings requested, to discuss how respective insurance companies could amend existing policies to allow for limited allowance of psychoanalytic therapy to clients.

VAT

The BPC co-authored a paper alongside the BACP and UKCP making the case for exempting psychotherapists from VAT in treatments. This paper both highlighted the difference in tax treatment between psychotherapists and those professions which are VAT exempt, as well as demonstrated how an exemption could assist the Government in meeting many of its objectives, including a reduction in hospital waiting lists. The paper was placed with senior Government figures (including the Chancellor, and the Financial Secretary at HM Treasury) during the consultation period for the Spring Statement in March 2025.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

During the year, the charity's general fund expenditure exceeded income with a net deficit of £7,898. See pages 29 and 30 of the financial statements for details of the financial performance and position of the charity. At the period end, the charity held free reserves of £421,143.

Reserves policy

The trustees take the monies of Registrants and Member Institutions and the setting of fees very seriously, and balance this with the need to maintain proportionate reserves.

It is the policy of the charity to maintain at least 6 months of the financial year's operating cost as well as an additional £80,000. The likelihood of a significant hit to the charity arising from our regulatory function (i.e. legal cost) has become an increasingly realistic prospect, and the trustees consider this reserves policy will allow the charity to continue its current activities whilst responding to such an event.

The Board remains satisfied that the charity is a Going Concern.

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies' exemption.

Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to support the current level of expenditure and to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

FUTURE PLANS

The Board are very much looking forward to the year ahead, and the launching of the new strategy for the organisation for 2025 - 2028. The Board also look forward to the recruitment of a few new Trustees which will bring fresh perspectives.

The organisation also plans to launch a more formalised trainee membership in the 2025 - 2026 year, as well as hold a trainee conference for the first time in a few years.

The Chair of the Board and several members of the Senior Leadership Team are booked for media training, in order to prepare for the organisation's upcoming media strategy.

The BPC is also looking forward to further participation with the Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies, particularly the launching of the new website.

Following the launch of the TTTF report in the House of Lords, a similar event is being considered for the Scottish Parliament.

As a result of some of the meetings that have taken place with MPs and peers regarding the Crime and Policing Bill, a series of Parliamentary Questions have been tabled to the Minister, drawing attention to some of the concerns raised by the legislation. In addition, further activities have been proposed for when the Bill reaches the House of Lords, such as a roundtable or briefing event for peers.

As the Government have not announced any change to the current tax arrangements of therapists, the BPC have proposed to amend the VAT paper and to submit this to HM Treasury ahead of the Autumn Budget, alongside a request to meet with the departmental team.

The BPC will remain at the heart of these discussions and will report all opportunities and developments of interest to the Board.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The management of the charity are responsible for recruitment, induction and training of the trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Organisational structure

The trustees meet regularly to administer the day-to-day affairs of the charity. None of the trustees have any beneficial interest in the charity. All of trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

05034324 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1185487

Registered office

Unit 7 19-23 Wedmore Street

London

N19 4RU

Trustees

N Sternhell

L F Smith Chair

R A Serlin

P Rohleder (resigned 10.5.24)

A D Greatley

A Colam

S A Beeken

F Roper

D L Abrahams (resigned 9.5.25)

J Caixeirinho Botas (appointed 18.7.25)

Independent Examiner

Janine Boyo

Voisey & Co LLP

Chartered Accountants

8 Winmarleigh Street

Warrington

Cheshire

WA1 1JW

Solicitors

Bates Wells & Braithwaite LLP

10 Queen Street Place

London

EC4R 1BE

Chief Executive Officer

GJ Ross-Sampson

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 18 July 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

L F Smith - Trustee

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The British Psychoanalytic Council ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

1.	accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2.	the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3.	the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4.

the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Janine Boyo

Voisey & Co LLP

Chartered Accountants

8 Winmarleigh Street

Warrington

Cheshire

WA1 1JW

18 July 2025

31.3.25

31.3.24

Unrestricted

Total

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Charitable activities

3

Maintenance and regulation of professional standards

828,714

718,389

Investment income

2

7,031

3,880

Total

835,745

722,269

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

4

-

11,299

Charitable activities

5

Maintenance and regulation of professional standards

486,770

423,682

Other

357,465

299,222

Total

844,235

734,203

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

(8,490

)

(11,934

)

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

429,041

440,975

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

420,551

429,041

CONTINUING OPERATIONS

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

31.3.25

31.3.24

Unrestricted

Total

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

10

12,205

14,279

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

11

60,242

70,545

Cash at bank

1,083,065

1,004,371

1,143,307

1,074,916

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

12

(734,961

)

(660,154

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

408,346

414,762

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

420,551

429,041

NET ASSETS

420,551

429,041

FUNDS

13

Unrestricted funds

420,551

429,041

TOTAL FUNDS

420,551

429,041

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2025.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

(a)	ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

(b)

preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 18 July 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

L F Smith - Trustee

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

73,485

15,881

Net cash provided by operating activities

73,485

15,881

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

(1,822

)

(3,924

)

Interest received

7,031

3,880

Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities

5,209

(44

)

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period

78,694

15,837

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period

1,004,371

988,534

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period

1,083,065

1,004,371

1.	RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Net expenditure for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities)

(8,490

)

(11,934

)

Adjustments for:

Depreciation charges

3,896

4,063

Interest received

(7,031

)

(3,880

)

Decrease/(increase) in debtors

10,303

(8,722

)

Increase in creditors

74,807

36,354

Net cash provided by operations

73,485

15,881

2.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1.4.24

Cash flow

At 31.3.25

£

£

£

Net cash

Cash at bank

1,004,371

78,694

1,083,065

1,004,371

78,694

1,083,065

Total

1,004,371

78,694

1,083,065

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The reporting currency is £ Sterling. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Allocation and apportionment of costs

During the year, the accounting system was reviewed and amended to more closely match the costs areas of the charity. In order for comparisons to be made and be relevant, the 2021 figures have been amended to new policy.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Fixtures and fittings

-

25% on reducing balance

Computer equipment

-

25% on reducing balance

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash in hand, deposits held at call with bank, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts.

Financial instruments

The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 'Basic Financial Instruments' and Section 12 'Other Financial Instruments Issues' of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the company's statement of financial position when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the net asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised costs using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Other financial assets

Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publically traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.

Derecognition of financial assets

Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the company transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.

Classification of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities. Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Impairment of financial assets

Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through profit or loss, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting end date.

Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected. If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset's original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company's contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

Equity instruments

Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct issue costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the company.

Employee benefits

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or fixed assets. The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee's services are received. Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits

2.	INVESTMENT INCOME

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Deposit account interest

7,031

3,880

3.	INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

31.3.25

31.3.24

Activity

£

£

Membership fees

Maintenance and regulation of professional standards

757,343

695,758

Conferences and events

Maintenance and regulation of professional standards

43,705

6,710

Publications

Maintenance and regulation of professional standards

2,970

2,696

Regulatory accreditation

Maintenance and regulation of professional standards

24,696

13,225

828,714

718,389

4.	RAISING FUNDS

Other trading activities

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Bad debts

-

11,299

5.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Direct

Costs

£

Maintenance and regulation of professional standards

486,770

6.	SUPPORT COSTS

Governance

Management

Finance

Other

costs

Totals

£

£

£

£

£

Other resources expended

331,911

215

3,896

21,443

357,465

7.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Depreciation - owned assets

3,896

4,063

Other operating leases

27,554

26,516

Independent examiner's fee

4,114

3,125

8.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

In accordance with the Articles of Association, the Charity has paid honoraria to three trustees totalling £8,000.

Trustees' expenses

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Trustees' expenses

4,439

7,490

Travelling expenses were incurred by 4 trustees and the claims were approved as legitimate expenses to be claimed by the trustees as described in the Articles of Association.