Association of Child Psychotherapists

Association of Child Psychotherapists
Name	Association of Child Psychotherapists
Abbreviation	ACP
Formation	1978
Type	Professional body
Purpose	Child and adolescent psychotherapy practice, training, research
Headquarters	London
Region served	United Kingdom
Membership	Psychotherapists, trainees, allied professionals
Leader title	Chair

Association of Child Psychotherapists is a United Kingdom professional body for practitioners of child and adolescent psychotherapy, established to set standards for clinical practice, training and research. It operates in liaison with institutions such as the British Psychological Society, Royal College of Psychiatrists, National Health Service, Department of Health and Social Care and collaborates with international organizations including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, European Association for Psychotherapy and International Psychoanalytical Association.

History

The Association was founded amid postwar developments in mental health services influenced by figures linked to Anna Freud, Donald Winnicott, Melanie Klein, John Bowlby and institutions like the Tavistock Clinic, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and Maudsley Hospital. Early governance drew on models from the British Psychoanalytic Society, Royal College of Nursing, University of London and policy shifts from the Social Services Department and the Goodenough Report. Through the 1980s and 1990s it engaged with reforms associated with the Care in the Community initiative, the Children Act 1989, the National Service Framework for Children and collaborations with the Home Office and Ministry of Justice on welfare-related casework.

Membership and Structure

Membership categories mirror professional routes taken in institutions such as the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, the Anna Freud Centre, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and higher education providers like University College London, King's College London and University of Manchester. Governance includes a Trustee Board, elected officers and committees analogous to structures at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Royal Society, British Medical Association and regional networks aligned with local authorities such as London Borough of Hackney and City of Westminster.

Professional Standards and Ethics

The Association promulgates ethical frameworks comparable to codes produced by the British Psychological Society, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, addressing confidentiality in contexts involving Children Act 1989, safeguarding standards from the Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance and casework interfaces with the Crown Prosecution Service and family courts such as the Family Court and High Court of Justice.

Training and Accreditation

Training pathways reflect curricula used at the Tavistock Clinic, Anna Freud Centre, Maudsley Hospital, Guildhall School of Music and Drama for arts-therapy interfaces, and universities including University of Birmingham and University of Oxford. Accreditation processes are informed by precedents from the British Psychoanalytic Council, Health and Care Professions Council registration rules and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Trainee placements often occur within National Health Service trusts, voluntary organizations like Barnardo's, and child welfare agencies such as Coram.

Research and Publications

The Association supports research initiatives interfacing with journals and presses linked to British Journal of Psychiatry, The Lancet, Child and Adolescent Mental Health (journal), Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and publishers such as Routledge, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Collaborative studies have referenced methodologies from researchers at University College London, King's College London, Institute of Child Health and international centres including Columbia University, Harvard Medical School, Yale University and University of Toronto.

Advocacy and Public Policy

The Association lobbies on child mental health policy alongside stakeholders like the National Children's Bureau, Young Minds, Mind, Place2Be and engages with legislative processes involving the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, parliamentary committees such as the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee and cross-party groups addressing the Children and Families Act 2014 and funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Conferences and Continuing Professional Development

Annual conferences and CPD programmes feature speakers and workshops with contributors from organisations and venues like the Tavistock Clinic, Anna Freud Centre, Royal College of Psychiatrists, British Psychological Society, University College London and international partners such as the European Association of Psychotherapy, American Psychological Association, International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development and the World Psychiatric Association.

Category:Psychotherapy organizations Category:Mental health in the United Kingdom