BACP Reviews 39

I was in a therapeutic relationship with a therapist named Younes Hussein, who is registered with BACP (registration number 388318), through an online platform.

During the therapeutic relationship, I was subjected to serious ethical violations, including making religious judgments about my suicidal thoughts and abruptly terminating the therapeutic relationship after a disagreement, without appropriate clinical handling.

I had documented evidence of these violations in the form of written conversations. I contacted BACP and provided this evidence. BACP acknowledged that the therapist had breached the Code of Ethics, however, they refused to investigate the complaint on the grounds that I am outside the European Union.

The way I was treated felt discriminatory and racist. After that, I contacted BACP again and explained that their registered therapist works globally through international online platforms, and therefore:
• either they should prevent him from practicing globally if they refuse to investigate complaints from outside the European Union,
• or they should clearly state on their website that they do not investigate complaints from outside the European Union.

BACP did not respond and did not provide any written reply, choosing instead to remain silent.

When I went through the complaints process 5 years ago this trustpilot wasn't here and I really wish it was.
I saw a 'therapist' on and off for 5 years called Natasha Simpson who was emotionally and psychologically abusive. She decided quickly after 2 sessions all my problems were because I had surpressed emotions about my parents breaking up despite I told her I didn't care about this and was not an issue. I'd bring up incidents that were bothering me and she would dismiss them and refocus on my parents. Long story short years later I was diagnosed with severe OCD which made my whole life make sense and all the problems I'd had were because I had undiagnosed OCD that was getting out of control. She didn't see it because 1 counsellors arent qualified to diagnose and 2 because she was disturbingly fixated on my parents and sge thought she was right about everything.

She kept bringing it up as an issue and telling me that I didn't understand this was the reason I was suffering. I actually became confused. After 5 years on and off. This culminated in her attacking me and screaming down the phone at me for an hour. She threatened me, laughed at me, told me she cared about me (which made me uncomfortable, there was obviously a line crossed) whilst yelling it was her opinion. She tried to convince me, I'd told her I'd attacked people including people in my class at university, which was just psychotic as it wasn't true. I turned to a lecturer who was horrified and submitted a statement that said none of this was true but the BACP did not care to query why Natasha and her supervisor had made this up when a senior lecturer was telling them this was an outirght lie.

I was going through my first break up at the time. She used it and told the panel I was stalking my ex boyfriend and hysterically laughing while telling her about it. This also never happened. She also told the BACP that basically I was crazy so all the threats and yelling was in my head and that what had actually happened was I'd called her telling her I was going to kill myself and she tried to save me. During the process her supervisor supported all of this who I have never met and said I had attacked people. Natasha is very similar to the therapists described on here, she is a dangerous compulsive liar. I became terrified of what she would do to me if I took legal action. The BACP believed her, gave her extentions without telling me and her abuse continued through the process and it was just allowed. There was someone else who she had done something similar to, but she wouldn't come forward properly because she was afraid. This woman ruined my life. This triggered an autoimmune disease, she had no remorse and was vicious. I felt she lied so much she was believed her own lies. She also took money from me in advance refused to pay it back because'by refusing to give her my address when she was trying to call an ambulance for me as I was telling her I was going to kill myself invalidated her terms and conditions'. Another elaborate delusion which painted her as a hero. Her response was 100 pages of lies and delusions and the BACP sat back, watched and supported her. I now know she probably did this to many others. None of what Natasha said was true, she was spiteful, creul, she isn't human she is a monster. The BACP also never told me she withdrew her membership at the beginning of the complaint so the whole 2 years of hell was pointless. I disagree I don't think there are many good therapists out there. They are few and far between and they are normally the ones with lived experience. People who are egotistical and thrive off of power tend to take these roles because the client base is vulnerable making the position attractive.

The people who need to be in these positions are unfortunately too unwell to be.

The BACP enabled Natasha's abuse. Like everyone else they made me feel hysterical and crazy. She didn't even show up to the tribunal and the panel made me responsible for explaining her behaviour. Like others have said I have had many crisis over the years. The BACP enables therapy abuse. They need to be shut down and prosecuted. I hope they end up on panorama one day. Counsellors should train the same way as doctors. It should take 7 years because I don't care what qualification you have, mental health is equal to physical health. There's too many 'therapist' making people more mentally ill, and not actually having the skills to help treat severe and long term complex trauma. You end up seeing them for years because they can't actually help they seem to lose sight of the goal. I find volunteers with lived experience in charities have more expertise than any of them have in their little finger. If you sense anything run away. And if you can take legal action or go to the press.

I went through the BACP complaints process. It was incredibly traumatic, on top of trying to recover from an abusive therapy experience. Despite significant evidence, I was not believed. Like one of the other reviewers, I was perceived as hysterical and problematic. There is a culture within the BACP that complainants are somehow mentally unhinged because they have sought therapy in the process.
Therapy harm is widespread. We have a system which allows many therapists to train, with no barrier to entry. Although there are some wonderful therapists, many have neither the aptitude nor talent for the profession. Yet, it is relatively easy for them to register with the BACP. And for the BACP to be complicit in the therapy harm that ensues.

I'm a psychotherapist who has been a senior accredited member of the BACP for about 16 years. They have the wrong priorities, seem entirely uninterested in clarifying that there is a difference between long and short term therapy, or that not everyone 'registered' is competent to provide it. In fact, the powers that be are often not themselves qualified or experienced enough to see it. The shout for 'make sure everyone is regulated by the state' is an attempt to improve the situation but unfortunately, it wont. I live in hope that the UKCP are better. I've pretty much retired but written a lot about the history of how we got in this mess on my website, which you'll find if you look me up.

I found a member of the BACP called Claire Beattie ( BACP membership number 00738375)
We had 2 sessions at a price of £100 and then she effectively dumped me offering no real reason . I would definitely not recommend this therapist , her behaviour is unethical . It left me feeling worse than when I sought help with her . Being a member of the BACP basically guarantees absolutely nothing . In 30 years of therapy this is the first time this happened to me . Avoid .

Martina Bador is very untrustworthy. I had a very bad experience and it has left me unwell. I would recommend staying clear people like her. Life has left her withered and empty for compassion for others.

The BACP enabled my counsellor to continue working under their banner for approx 14 months after he locked me in a room & SA'd me, allowing him more access to vulnerable women.
On July 20th 2023 the door behind me was locked upon a scheduled session with one of their "members" who had been my long term counsellor, previously online only & we met at his persistent requests. He is actually from Wakefield but at the time was working out of Halcyon Counselling, Dean Clough, Halifax HX3 5AX.
I was SA'd & only exited after 1hr & 25 minutes (my husband was waiting in the car park), I lost approx 20 minutes during that time during & can't recall exactly what happened despite attending hypnotherapy sessions to try & find answers.
They showed little empathy to my declining mental health & desperation to have updates during the 16 months it took to get to the tribunal in November 2024, which like a coward, he did not attend.
I was made to feel like the problematic hysterical woman, and was often ignored completely.
After a through police investigation, though nothing further could be done due to lack of physical evidence as the "golden window" was missed & him claiming nothing at all happened, he is now on their national computer, therefore traceable under Claire's Law, and it will be on an enhanced DBS.
I was a passionate trainee counsellor myself at that time, but have since left the corruption that is presented as "congruence, empathy, & upr", the BACP have proven over these last 23 months it's anything but. I believe my cases hasn't concluded, or maybe it has, again they don't keep you up to date.
I did suggest that they speak to his supervisor, who is also a BACP member and from what he relayed one of the women at Halcyon too, though I cannot present this as fact, however alarmingly, the BACP claim this isn't something they do.
The damage he has done to me I cannot articulate & unfortunately due to my history I already was very distrusting of men & this was more than 50% of the theme discussed, but he genuinely seemed different & actually made a promise to me that I was safe with him!
I spent a lot of time under the crisis team & psychiatric care as both the shame and not being able to recall a good portion of what he did to me was too much, and knowing the BACP & Halcyon supported him for 14 months after is unfathomable.
Though they did finally revoke his membership, and I feel it maybe more to with the fact this annual membership ran out, he still is advertising as a counsellor because legally he can as the industry isn't regulated or protected under law. His LinkedIn is still saying MBACP which is very misleading & dangerous for vulnerable people, the BACP know this is still up as advertisement as I have told them at least twice (as recent as March 2025) & they haven't done anything to date (I am updating this review on December, 10th 2025 & his LinkedIn is still active & advertising as a counsellor in private practice).
Though there are thoroughly wonderful counsellors out there with good intentions, I can say after my own experience training at different colleges, a lot of them go into this role for the wrong reasons, the one I heard often, including from him above was "I needed a job so chose to work for myself" or words to that effect, therefore I would advise anyone to be very discerning when choosing a BACP member, & listen to your intuition even if they present themselves or are perceived by others as nice people with a good reputation & great reviews.

As for the remaining 3 at Halcyon who are also BACP members, they didn't report him to the BACP when informed a few days later, despite the dogma that tells them to do so in the Ethical Framework & they didn't even bother to return the phone calls which were made to more than one of them on different numbers, they just quietly parted ways with him at some point & redesigned the website like he wasn't one of the original 4 who set the business up. They still advertise their services for people like me to help facilitate in dealing with the aftermath of what happened in situations where abuse took place, but when it came knocking on their own door not one of them did the right thing. Their combined lack of integrity in this instance furthered my suffering and helped him to avoid accountability, thus allowing him the opportunity to continue working elsewhere.
In my opinion, based on my own experience, they are just as dangerous as him to vulnerable people and knowing how capable they are at ignoring instances where abuse & assault took place in their own house rather than doing the morally right thing is sickening. Mags, Kathy & Ian, shame on you all, you had the opportunity to do so much better as people nevermind counsellors.

Was really looking forward to my therapy with Martina Bador but it was not up to standard… wouldn’t recommend.

I found my therapist Kim from Luna Therapies Sussex on the BACP therapist search and I've been seeing her since last summer. She's excellent, the last few months I'm really noticing changes in my behaviours and feelings for the (much) better. I've always felt safe and comfortable with her and I'm having a great experience becoming the person I was born to be.
I guess I'm not really leaving a review for the BACP per say, I'm leaving it for Kim but I wouldn't have found her without the search function on the BACP site.

BACP is self serving they do not care about the people who have paid an excessive amount of money to obtain their training. Which is accredited by them and they take 6 months to process the application! Really? How inefficient.
They have advised NICE not to employ anyone who has not been accredited by them.

I qualified as a counsellor last September something I worked extremely hard at and also very proud about. I made the decision to not register with the BACP after hearing not great things about them and also it not being compulsory. ( I joined another body) Since then I have found that when I have posted on my social media about my work I often get BACP members questioning who I am, my qualifications, who I’m registered with if I’m not with BACP in a manner that honestly is rude, unnecessary and judgmental. One even went on to write a post about bogus unqualified counsellors and other BACP members joined in all because I wouldnt answer his list of questions. This hasn’t been on just one occasion I had it again this evening and so looked into it further and came across some of the reviews here and felt compelled to add my experience. It concerns me that these people are meant to support, guide and work with others yet their response to others in the same field is at times micro aggressive. I totally understand that there are unqualified counsellors out there and of course that is totally wrong, we have to work hard to get our qualification, but don’t make a judgement on someone you don’t know. Same when I approached a few BACP supervisors for supervision, they were awful, entitled and frankly made me question why I even decided to be a counsellor. I was left in tears after an initial meeting with one as she made me feel so uncomfortable and incompetent. (Luckily I found a lovely, none BACP supervisor)
I will never join an organisation where their members make others feel less than.

Initially, I thought BCAP would be an amazing experience. However, I was in for a rude awakening. Starting with the front desk receptionist- she has a distasteful rude attitude and is not welcoming nor does she show care for the families who need assistance. During our encounter, she made it known multiple times that she did not care to help me with my difficulties. I noticed the management team to be very critical and condescending to the parent educators. The atmosphere was not as welcoming as I had hoped for it to be or what I had heard it to be. It seems as if BCAP is not as caring for the families in the community as they put on. You're always given the runaround and are not being helped when you ask for assistance. I've noticed some behaviors that are so unethical and have noticed management does not step in to correct them at the moment but rather tries to pacify the situation to cover it up.

So today I have been forced to lodge a formal complaint with the BACP...a more toxic organisation did i never encounter! I will be submitting this letter and their response to the media as I believe they have too much power and do not do enough to support its members...

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to formally lodge a complaint concerning the BACP's policy requiring students to undertake at least 51 hours of face-to-face placement. This requirement constitutes indirect discrimination against individuals with disabilities, in violation of the Equality Act 2010, particularly Section 20, which mandates your organisation to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities. Section 20 outlines the legal duty for service providers, employers and organisations such as the BACP to make "reasonable adjustments" to accommodate disabled individuals who face a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people, ensuring equal access for disabled people. I have undergone a Disabled Student Assessment, which recommends that I undertake all of my placement hours remotely; however, my education provider cannot make this “reasonable adjustment” due to your failure to acknowledge that the 51 rule is placing disabled students at a significant disadvantage and your unwillingness to comply with the law and also make “reasonable adjustments” is dissapointing. Your duty to make "reasonable adjustments" means taking practical steps to address a disabled person's needs while considering the cost and practicality involved; my education provider has done precisely this which is why it wishes to support me in undertaking remote placement, It is unreasonable to expect them to meet the additional expense of paying for support staff and taxi provision when the option of remote working could be available if your organisation would omly permit it.
My circumstances are such that I live with complex, profound, and multiple disabilities that severely hinder my ability to participate in face-to-face placements safely. The nature of my disabilities is not only challenging but also requires careful consideration for my well-being and safety, which this policy fails to accommodate. By enforcing the face-to-face requirement without providing options for reasonable adjustments, such as remote placements, the BACP effectively excludes those like me from equal access to education and professional development opportunities. This is a clear instance of indirect disability discrimination, which occurs when a rule. policy, practice or method is applied to all, regardless of whether this works for those with protected characteristics. Further information on The Equality Act 2010 (s) 20, direct and indirect discrimination, and The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 can be found by following the links supplied at the end of this letter.
Additionally, I would like to highlight that under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, organisations have a legal obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals within the workplace or learning environment. The absence of alternative arrangements for those with disabilities not only compromises my safety but also contravenes your duty of care. Given these circumstances, I believe the BACP is in violation of the law, and as such, I am prepared to take legal action against the BACP for both direct and indirect disability discrimination if this matter is not rectified promptly and to my satisfaction. I have bcc’d my solicitor into this email as I firmly believe that the BACP would find it difficult to justify the 51-hour face-to-face rule in a court of law, particularly given that it allows for 49 hours of remote placements to be conducted by students. The BACP has not moved forward to bring its policies or practices regarding remote placements up to date with the post-pandemic world, and this puts students like me and others at a disadvantage. I understand your rationale for the 51-hour rule; however, in my case, it has no merit because I have demonstrated my competency in the classroom and do not intend to ever work in a face-to-face counselling environment. Therefore, I urge you to review this policy and consider implementing adjustments that could foster an inclusive environment for all students. I look forward to your prompt response regarding how you intend to address this serious concern.
Yours sincerely,
Ms Elizabeth Charnock, MSc (CAMH), BSc (Hons)
BACP Student Membership ID @#£%£

An unethical body allowing unethical therapists to practice. If I could give this organisation 0 stars, I would.
I've been supporting a friend who has been close to a breakdown over the way in which their complaint about an abusive therapist has been handled by the BACP. The BACP's complaints procedure is not robust. Plus, it is clear that the BACP's priority is the therapists, whose subscriptions pay BACP wages.
The Independent Assessment Committee (IAC) is comprised of at least one BACP member, naturally sympathetic to a fellow counsellor. In this case, the BACP member chaired the IAC and was clearly the dominant voice. My friend had tons of evidence-which was ignored- and the committee seemed to believe the counsellor's lies. We don't know whether the IAC are paid for their work, or even if the committee are properly trained as adjudicators.

We need a separate body to evaluate complaints fairly and ethically, not a counsellor's membership body, which naturally leans towards the defence of its own members. As well as complainants, and their supporters, there are also serious concerns from therapists about the way in which the BACP is governed. Please see the therapist concerns website for more details.
In its current form, the BACP is not fit for purpose.

My problem is not with a therapist but BACP itself. I am being prevented from joining, and advancing my career, because they won't accept the counselling course I did online - necessary because I am disabled and covid vulnerable. So much for diversity and inclusion!

I did some sessions for quite some time with a reviewed therapist on here. Her name was Martina Bador. She broke confidentiality and was very careless. Ive been extremely unwell for many years because of this. This company needs a lot of improving:(

Had a bad experience with a therapist called Martina Bador. She was very messy and unprofessional. It had a really bad effect on my mental health and I massively regret doing therapy with her. I don't believe bacp monitor there therapists properly. Would be very cautious!

Be careful of this company!! Did therapy with Martina Bador was horrible experience! Extremely messy would not trust this person with ur private information. Broke the rules constantly should not have a license!

Martina Bador is a abuser and a twisted individual… avoid at all costs