A group that seeks to provide support for those experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction has suggested Britain’s Professional Standards Authority (PSA) missed an opportunity to ensure standards for those seeking such help.
The International Foundation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (IFTCC) is a Christian organization which has just completed a more than two-year process to seek accreditation from the PSA.
The 28-month process saw the IFTCC apply, appeal, be reassessed and appeal again – all for their application to be rejected by the PSA.
The IFTCC said it began the process out of a desire “to establish a framework of professional standards, supervision, safeguarding, accountability, ethical oversight, continuing professional development, and complaints procedures for practitioners working with individuals who voluntarily seek support consistent with their own values, beliefs, and life goals”.
While the PSA’s Appeal Panel accepted that the IFTCC does not make use of coercive and aversive practices and that a number of people receiving support from the IFTCC have said it benefited them, the appeal for accreditation was still turned down.
In a statement the IFTCC said that in rejecting their bid for accreditation, the PSA had also rejected a possible framework for professional standards in the field of counselling those with unwanted same-sex attraction.
It also insisted that it does not offer so-called ‘conversion therapy’.
“Individuals continue voluntarily to seek support in addressing conflicts involving sexuality, gender identity, faith, relationships, personal history, and deeply held convictions. Practitioners continue to provide that support. The need for safeguarding, accountability, supervision, and professional standards has not disappeared,” it said.
The IFTCC added that it still wanted to see a clear framework established to regulate professional standards in providing a service with a genuine demand.
“A framework of accountability has been rejected. No alternative framework has been offered. Yet the individuals seeking support remain. So too do the clinicians, counsellors, pastoral care workers, and others seeking to serve them responsibly within accountable standards of practice,” it said.
