National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

Name

National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

Legal name

The National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society Ltd

Website

https://ncps.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Membership and Accreditation

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Other Services (except Public Administration) (81)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDADACAF

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

Keywords

• Professional membership society
• Accredited register
• Counselling accreditation
• Therapist directory services
• Mental health advocacy

Headquarters

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership Fees: Annual membership fees charged to individual counselling and psychotherapy practitioners. Membership runs for 12 months from first payment with annual renewal. Fees are non-refundable once paid.
2. Training Provider Membership: Annual membership fees for training organisations whose courses meet NCPS Training Standards criteria.
3. Organisations & Recognised Counselling Services Membership: Annual membership fees for organisations and counselling services joining the professional society.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

NCPS is a professional membership society and accreditation body for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK. It operates the Accredited Register of practitioners under the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), offers three membership tiers (Individual, Training Provider, Organisations), and maintains a public Find a Counsellor directory that connects the public with accredited therapists. The Society also provides policy advocacy, CPD resources, ethical guidance, supervision support, and complaints procedures for its 18,500+ members.

Product overview

The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) is a professional membership organisation, not a software product company. Its core offerings consist of membership programmes for individual practitioners, training providers, and organisations; an Accredited Register recognised by the Professional Standards Authority; a public Find a Counsellor directory; and advocacy campaigns including Direct Access to Counselling, Access to Counselling for Every Child, and Therapeutic Relationships. Additional services include a Policy Hub, Publications, Podcast, Events, a Member Portal, and a Training Course Directory. The Society also publishes the UK's first Principles for Relational Safeguards in AI Mental Health Tools as a policy document addressing AI in mental health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Membership Professional membership category for individual counsellors and psychotherapists, providing accreditation, ethical framework, CPD opportunities, supervision support, insurance guidance, complaints procedure, and listing on the Accredited Register.
• Training Provider Membership Annual membership for training organisations whose courses meet NCPS Training Standards criteria, with listing in the Training Course Directory and support in advancing the counselling and psychotherapy profession.
• Organisations & Recognised Counselling Services Membership Annual membership for organisations and counselling services that provide mental health support, enabling them to be part of a supportive community and contribute to developing the profession and the wider mental health conversation.
• Accredited Register Programme A publicly available register of accredited counselling and psychotherapy practitioners recognised by the Professional Standards Authority, ensuring safe, ethical, and competent professionals for the public; NCPS is the only body of its kind for talking therapists under the PSA framework.
• Find a Counsellor Directory A searchable online directory enabling the public to find accredited counselling and psychotherapy practitioners by location, specialism, and other criteria. Every therapist listed is on the NCPS Accredited Register, recognised by the Professional Standards Authority.
• Member Portal Online portal where members manage their membership, update details, access CPD resources, and engage with NCPS.
• Training Course Directory Searchable directory of counselling and psychotherapy training courses recognised by NCPS, mapped to Training Standards criteria, for prospective students seeking to become counsellors.
• Events Professional events, webinars, and networking opportunities for members and the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% of UK adults not likely to consider AI chatbot over human therapist
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPS campaigns alongside CPCAB on the Therapeutic Relationships campaign to raise awareness of the importance of human connection in counselling training and practice. They jointly published a report on therapists' views on digitalisation and AI impact on the profession.
• Barnardo'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPS worked closely with Barnardo's on amendments to the Children's Wellbeing & Schools Bill, sharing efforts to ensure children and young people can access timely, appropriate mental health support. Collaboration on policy advocacy for early intervention and school-based counselling.
• BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with BACP on the Children's Wellbeing & Schools Bill amendment, working as part of coordinated effort across organisations for sustainable change in children's mental health.
• Place2BecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the amendment to Children's Wellbeing & Schools Bill, contributing to coordinated advocacy for children's mental health policy.
• NHS Talking TherapiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPS shared its relational safeguards principles with NHS Talking Therapies and other major organisations and charities, advocating for adoption of baseline standards for safe and ethical AI innovation in digital mental health.
• Artificial Intelligence Expert Reference Group in Counselling & PsychotherapycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPS is a founding member of this expert reference group alongside other professional bodies and training institutions, working together to ensure AI's impact on the counselling profession is as positive as possible.
• International Association for Counselling (IAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPS supports the IAC's work on AI in counselling, contributing expertise and resources to international efforts on responsible AI use in mental health support.
• UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCPS is a signatory to the UKCP-led campaign calling for urgent review of NICE guidance on anxiety, working with over 30 organisations across the mental health sector.
• MindminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMind provided comment on MHRA guidance for digital mental health tools, with NCPS Head of Public Affairs contributing to the joint response on the importance of human connection in therapy.
• Ata LossminorOthersPartner organisation logo displayed on NCPS homepage as part of the society's collaborative network.
• Family CarersminorOthersPartner organisation logo displayed on NCPS homepage as part of the society's collaborative network.
• CMMminorOthersPartner organisation logo displayed on NCPS homepage as part of the society's collaborative network.
• CruseminorOthersPartner organisation logo displayed on NCPS homepage as part of the society's collaborative network.
• BeechwoodminorOthersPartner organisation logo displayed on NCPS homepage as part of the society's collaborative network.
• EPSminorOthersPartner organisation logo displayed on NCPS homepage as part of the society's collaborative network.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Mind: Mind is a major UK mental health charity providing information, support, and advocacy. While not a professional membership body, Mind is a coalition partner of NCPS and operates in the same mental health ecosystem, providing comparator scale for a non-profit operating in the UK mental health sector.
• Place2Be: Place2Be is a UK children's mental health charity providing counselling in schools and a coalition partner of NCPS. It is thematically adjacent rather than a direct competitor, but operates in the same children and young people's mental health advocacy space.

Direct peers

• UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP): UKCP is a UK professional body and accrediting organisation for psychotherapists, providing membership, training standards, and a public register. It overlaps directly with NCPS on the accreditation and directory side, though historically more focused on psychotherapy than counselling.
• National Hypnotherapy Society: A UK professional body offering accreditation, a public directory, and membership to hypnotherapy practitioners. It is directly comparable to NCPS as a professional society holding an Accredited Register under the Professional Standards Authority.
• British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP): BABCP is a UK professional body accrediting CBT practitioners with membership tiers, training standards, and a public register. It is a direct peer in the professional-society/accreditation model for a specific therapy modality, competing for the same practitioner audience.
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP): BACP is the largest professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in the UK, offering individual membership, accreditation, CPD, and a public directory. It directly competes with NCPS for the same practitioner pool and is structurally comparable in mission, services, and revenue model.

Broad incumbents

• British Psychological Society (BPS): BPS is the largest professional body for psychologists in the UK, with a much broader membership across psychology specialisms. While not a counselling-specific body, it overlaps with NCPS on practitioner accreditation, ethics, and CPD, and serves as a broader incumbent in the same mental health professional space.

Emerging players

• Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB): CPCAB is a UK awarding body that develops qualifications and training standards for counselling. As a core partner and campaign ally of NCPS, CPCAB is a complementary peer in the training/standards side of the counselling profession rather than a direct competitor, though it sits in the same ecosystem.
• UKATA (UK Association for Transactional Analysis): UKATA is a UK professional body for transactional analysis practitioners, offering membership and accreditation. Comparable to NCPS in scale and model but focused on a specific therapeutic modality.

Regional players

• COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland): COSCA is the professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in Scotland, offering accreditation and a directory. It is a regional peer with a comparable membership/accreditation model but does not directly compete in NCPS's primary geographic markets outside Scotland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ncpscounselling
• Facebookfacebook.com/ncpscounselling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-counselling-and-psychotherapy-society-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society