The article ‘What is psychotherapy? And can talk therapies help us?’ by Sylvia Thompson http://bit.ly/2re5dXA which appears in Tuesday 13/06/17 Irish Times makes many good points in relation to psychotherapy.  It is particularly encouraging to note that an ever increasing number of allied professionals recognize ‘…the role of talk therapies in helping people get to grips with emotional and mental distress so as to live life to the full again.’ A highly trained and skilled psychotherapist has devoted many years to intensive training in order to work with people in mental distress.

It is important to note that psychotherapy is an independent scientific discipline with proven efficacy which does not need to be augmented by other professions including psychology. If psychologists wish to register as psychotherapists with the Irish Council for Psychotherapy, which holds the largest register of psychotherapists in Ireland, they can do so once they meet the stringent entry requirements. ICP’s standards of a minimum of four years postgraduate training are internationally recognised and in line with European best practice.

Furthermore the recent announcement from the Minister for Health, Simon Harris that the government has decided to proceed with statutory regulation of both psychotherapy and counselling as two separate and distinct professions underlines psychotherapy’s professional independence.

The Irish Council for Psychotherapy represents more than 1500 psychotherapists in Ireland, 11 member organisations and five psychotherapeutic modalities all of which reach the exacting international standards expected of psychotherapists. The Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP) is one member organisation, the other members are: Irish Group Analytic Society (IGAS), Irish Psycho-Analytic Association (IPAA), Association for Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy in Ireland (APPI), Irish Analytical Psychology Association (IAPA), Irish Forum for Child & Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (IFCAPP), Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (IFPP), Northern Ireland Institute of Human Relation (NIHR), Family Therapy Association of Ireland (FTAI), Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy Ireland (CBPI) and The Irish Constructivists Psychotherapy Association (ICPA)