College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists

What College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists does

The College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) is the UK's only professional body dedicated to Psychosexual and Relationship Therapies, founded in 1976 and structured as a registered charity (No. 1101961) and company limited by guarantee (No. 4998207) headquartered in London. The organization maintains a public-facing ecosystem for the specialty: tiered membership across Registered, Accredited, Senior Accredited (Clinical and Non-Clinical), Student, Affiliate, Professional Associate, Retired, and Supervisor categories; public registers (PRT, RT, Supervisor, Student) and a "Find a Therapist" directory listing 889+ active members; professional standards including a Code of Ethics and Practice, conduct procedures, and an Ethics and Conduct Committee; and a three-tier external course accreditation programme (Specialised Practice Qualifications at Level 7, Specialised Foundation Pathways at Levels 4-5 aligned to SCoPEd Column A, and Thematic Training at Levels 5-7) covering programmes delivered by partners such as Tavistock Relationships, Birkbeck, Hull University, and Middlesex University.

COSRT also publishes the international Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy and operates a training platform (cosrtlearn.org.uk) providing Self-Access Classes, Online Seminars, and Past Conferences for continuing professional development. Revenue is generated through recurring annual membership subscriptions, one-off training course accreditation fees (with licence to use COSRT Marks and ongoing directory/advertising benefits), newsletter advertising in the Good Therapy Newsletter (£125-£225 per slot, quarterly, 1,300+ circulation) and email list advertising (£225, 1,000+ recipients), and modest journal licensing. The go-to-market is direct-to-practitioner with public-facing SEO referral through the Find a Therapist directory; the customer base spans NHS sexual health services, private practitioners, training institutions, and members of the public. Underlying technology is minimal — the organization is not a software or AI company and carries only Cyber Essentials certification for cyber hygiene. The 1-10 employee headcount and 50-year heritage position COSRT as a stable, mission-driven standards body rather than a high-growth commercial entity.

The 2024-2029 strategy "Good Therapy for All" outlines five priorities: improving awareness of therapies, increasing the impact of evidence, spreading professional standards, improving professional training, and reinforcing COSRT's market position. Recent strategic actions include international accreditation expansion into Egypt and Malaysia, formal university partnerships, and a planned 50-year celebration in autumn 2026.

Name

College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists

Legal name

College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists

Website

https://cosrt.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) is the UK's sole professional body for Psychosexual and Relationship Therapies, serving 889+ practitioner members since 1976 through registration, training accreditation, public therapist directories, and standards oversight.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Body and Therapy Standards

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Health & Counseling (Social Work, Psychology, Substance Use CE) (EDAAALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cohort-Based Course Platforms (EDAFAIAB)

Keywords

• Professional membership body
• Psychosexual therapy accreditation
• Relationship therapy standards
• Therapist register services
• Therapy training accreditation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from Registered Members, Accredited Members, Senior Accredited Members, Student Members, Affiliate Members, Professional Associates, Retired Members, and Supervisors at various levels.
2. Training Accreditation Services: Revenue from accrediting external training courses including Specialised Practice Qualifications, Foundation Pathways, and Thematic Training courses. Course providers pay for accreditation assessment and receive ongoing listing on COSRT website and advertising in COSRT publications.
3. Advertising: Good Therapy Newsletter advertising circulated to over 1,300 people four times a year, and email mailing list with over 1,000 recipients. Fees range from £125-£225 for newsletter adverts and £225 for email adverts.
4. Professional Qualifications: COSRT accredits courses that equip graduates to work as Psychosexual and Relationship Therapists, providing graduates ability to join the COSRT Register.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

COSRT is a UK professional body that sets and maintains standards for psychosexual and relationship therapists, accredits training courses, and maintains public registers of qualified practitioners. It offers tiered professional memberships (Registered, Accredited, Senior Accredited, Student, Affiliate, Supervisor categories), accredits external training programmes at multiple levels, publishes the Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy, and provides a public-facing Find a Therapist directory with 889+ active members.

Product overview

COSRT operates as a professional body membership organization rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings consist of tiered professional membership services across multiple categories (Registered, Accredited, Senior Accredited, Student, Affiliate, Professional Associate, Retired, and Supervisor memberships), supported by public-facing registers that verify qualified practitioners. The organization provides a Find a Therapist search tool for public access to 889+ registered members. COSRT's training ecosystem includes its own Self-Access Classes, Online Seminars, and Conferences, alongside a comprehensive external course accreditation program covering three tiers: Specialised Practice Qualification courses (Level 7 leading to COSRT Register entry), Specialised Foundation Pathway courses (Levels 4-5 for progression), and Thematic Training Courses (Levels 5-7 for skills development). Additional services include the international Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy, professional standards and ethics oversight with conduct procedures, and Good Therapy Newsletter advertising. The organization does not offer a software platform or API-based product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Professional Membership Services

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Birkbeck, University of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint programme provider for MSc in Psychosexual Therapy. Birkbeck validates the degree and provides academic support and access to university resources for trainees.
• Tavistock RelationshipscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperational unit of the Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology providing clinical training, supervision, and programme delivery for MSc in Psychosexual Therapy. Significant contributor to couple and family services through teaching, research, and publications.
• Middlesex UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerValidating university for NAOS Advanced Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Psychotherapy – Egypt, awarding 120 credits at level 7.
• Hull UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerValidating university for MSc Contemporary Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy and MA in Contemporary Relationship Studies courses.
• Tavistock Institute of Medical PsychologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization of Tavistock Relationships, founded in 1920. Registered charity supporting the development of services for couples and families.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP): UK-based professional and registering body for psychotherapists offering accredited training listings, public register, and complaints procedure — directly comparable governance and revenue model to COSRT.
• National Counselling Society (NCS): Professional registering body for counsellors in the UK with a public therapist directory and accredited training register, competing for the same practitioner membership base as COSRT.
• Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB): UK awarding body that accredits counselling and psychotherapy qualifications — directly comparable to COSRT's training-accreditation revenue stream, particularly for foundation pathway and thematic training courses.
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP): The largest professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK, operating a public register and accredited training pathway similar to COSRT's model, and the most likely substitute credentialing body for relationship-therapy practitioners.

Emerging players

• Tavistock Relationships: A major UK relationship-counselling charity and a strategic COSRT partner that delivers the MSc in Psychosexual Therapy and provides clinical placements — comparable in therapeutic specialism but operates as a service-delivery charity rather than a registering body.
• Open University Counselling Programmes: Major UK higher-education provider running accredited counselling and psychology programmes at scale; represents both a competitor training pipeline and a potential validating partner similar to Birkbeck, Middlesex, and Hull for COSRT.

Broad incumbents

• Relate: The UK's largest provider of relationship support and counselling; employs COSRT-accredited therapists and represents a major referral channel — overlapping audience but operating at much larger consumer-facing scale.
• British Psychological Society (BPS): The UK chartered professional body for psychologists; while broader than COSRT, it oversees chartered status, training accreditation, and a public register that overlap with COSRT's standards-setting function in adjacent therapy fields.

Others

• College of Paramedics: A UK professional body/college model analogous in structure — charitable, member-governed, sets standards, accredits training, and maintains a public register — useful as a structural peer for governance and revenue model benchmarking.

Regional players

• American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT): US-based professional credentialing body for sexuality educators and therapists, providing certification, training accreditation, and a public directory — the closest international analogue to COSRT's specialist-body model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cosrtnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/COSRTnews

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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