Membership Categories and Criteria for Membership

UPCA has a number of categories of membership. Members usually join us when they first begin training on a UPCA Accredited Training Programme and become Student members, when they begin a placement or clinical practice they upgrade their membership and become a Trainee member of UPCA. When they complete the theoretical part of their training, members can apply to become Non-Accredited Clinical members.

Finally, when all of the supervised client hours and other practice elements have been completed and the member has fully qualified and graduated, they apply to become Accredited Clinical Members. Accredited members can also apply to be registered with UKCP at this point.

UPCA Register of Supervisors

As you may be aware, UPCA Council has been reviewing the requirements for its register of supervisors who are also eligible to appear on the UKCP list of supervisors. We hope to bring you more information about how to apply to become a registered supervisor soon.

How to Pay your Membership Fees

Membership Category Annual Fees
  • Student membership = £21.00
  • Trainee membership = £45.00
  • Clinical membership = £75.00
  • Upgrade* from student to trainee = £24
  • Upgrade* from trainee to clinical = £30.00
    (*Within the same membership year that the student/trainee fee has already been paid)
  • Non-clinical Associate membership = £21.00
  • Re-joining fee = £46.50
    (If your membership has lapsed/cancelled and you apply to re-join, you must pay back missed years at the rates above plus the re-joining fee.)

When you complete an application form, it is important to ensure you complete the payment section, giving us a payment reference. Please use your surname, initials, membership number (if known) and the date of payment. This enables us to trace your payment.

If you use online banking, you can pay your membership fees directly to UPCA’s bank account by Bank Transfer (BACS). Simply select ‘make a payment’ and fill in the amount to pay and enter:

UPCA Account Number: 40241253 and Sort Code: 20-35-27

You can also set up a standing order to pay your fees at the beginning of each membership year, which commences 1st September and runs until 31st August.
*Remember to add your payment reference

We will send you a receipt with your certificate of membership.

 

Members who reside outside the UK can make Non-UK Transfers using IBAN, you may have to go to a branch of your bank to do this and there may be a charge.

IBAN No: GB93 BARC 2035 2740 2412 53 SWIFTBIC: BARCGB22

Annual membership fees are based on the academic year and are calculated in advance for the year from 1st September to 31st August the following year. Once in membership, reminders are sent out every July by email for the forthcoming year. Your membership renewal is therefore due no later than 1st September each year and NOT on the anniversary of your last payment in the preceding year, if you paid later than 1st September.

 

UPCA Bursary and Hardship Fund

The UPCA Bursary and Hardship Fund is there to support members studying and training to be psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors or UPCA members (post-training) who may need financial assistance.

If you are unwaged or experiencing financial hardship, please contact us sending a completed UPCA Hardship Bursary form to contactupca@gmail.com with details of your circumstances for our consideration.

Applications will be considered as quickly as possible by the UPCA Bursary and Hardship Committee. If successful the administrator will contact you asking for bank details to transfer the amount awarded and in the case of a bursary, to inform the course leader. The maximum amount awarded is £300.

CPD and Annual Renewal of Membership Guidelines

The fundamental intention underpinning all CPD activity is protection of the public through the maintenance and improvement of professional standards.

UPCA clinical members are required to keep a portfolio of evidence of the CPD activities they undertake (for example, certificates of attendance, links to online resources, references to books and articles etc) demonstrating that relevant clinical professional development has been maintained and that clinical practice is up-to-date.

CPD Record Resource

CPD Audit

It is a condition of membership that all clinical members are audited once every five years, to demonstrate they that have met the UKCP requirement for 250 hours of CPD. For the members selected, the audit serves the dual purpose of meeting the requirements of the UKCP 5-yearly re-accreditation for UKCP Registration. The audit is conducted in the Spring of each year. If you have been selected for audit you will be sent an audit notice with details of the additional CPD information and evidence required.

You will be required to include confirmation of your supervision and a copy of your indemnity insurance certificate for the period of the audit. We will send you a copy of your last renewal form to assist you.

Your audit submission will be checked as complete before being sent to a UPCA assessor (usually a member of UPCA Council).

You will be notified by email of the outcome of the audit.

Breaks in Practice or Training

Members have an ethical responsibility for considering their fitness to practice and may in some circumstances decide that they need to take a break from practice. UPCA takes the view that the situation of each individual will be different and that the needs of those requiring a break in practice will be considered on a case-by-case basis. However, mechanisms need to be in place that ensure that UPCA have adequate information and records as part of their responsibility to patients and the individual practitioner.

The procedures for breaks in practice are as follows:

1. Notification of a Break in Practice
  • Members are required to notify UPCA of any interruption, of over 3 months, from their practice.
  • Depending on circumstances this may need to be done prospectively or retrospectively. A form is available for recording this intention along with any mitigating circumstance.
  • Members will be required to complete a summary of their CPD plans while on a break from practice, there is form available on request for this purpose. However UPCA also recognises that some situations may mean it is not possible to undertake CPD and again the member needs to inform UPCA of this.
2. Maintaining Membership
  • During a break from practice members are required to maintain their membership status and pay their membership fees.
3. Notification of Return to Practice
  • The member should notify UPCA when they are ready to return to practice, they will be required to complete a summary of their CPD plan for that year of practice. A form is available for this.
  • Where there has been a break from practice for a period of up to 18 months, and where appropriate CPD has not been possible, members would normally be required to provide evidence of structured / verifiable CPD or alternative / equivalent retraining, undertaken over a period of 6-12 months.
  • Where there has been a break from practice of more than 18 months members would normally be required to provide evidence of structured / verifiable CPD or alternative / equivalent retraining, undertaken over a period of 12-18 months.
  • For further information on annual CPD requirements please go to: Maintaining Your Membership

 

Breaks in Training

When a student member takes an interruption from training and concurrent break from supervised practice, approved by their training institution, this is regarded as a break in training. The student will not be liable for membership fees during this period, provided the programme leader informs UPCA about the break.

Please ask your programme leader to contact us in these circumstances to temporarily suspend your membership. When you return to training, please contact us to renew your membership.

Annual Renewal of Membership of UKCP and UPCA

Please note all UKCP members/registrants are required to remain in membership of their organisational member (i.e. UPCA).  If you cancel or lapse your UPCA membership at any time, your UKCP membership will also lapse/be cancelled.

The UPCA membership year runs from 1st September to 31st August each year. You will receive a renewal reminder by email from UPCA every year in July. Payment is due by 1st September every year and not on the anniversary of the last payment.

UKCP membership and fees are additional to, and separate from UPCA membership, UKCP will also send you a reminder every August for membership year 1st October to 30th September. 

 

If you have any questions about UPCA membership please contact:

contactupca@gmail.com