The ISPC isn’t just a membership—it’s a living community. And it grows when you step in, speak up, and collaborate.
Article authored by the ISPC
Engage, Share and Co-Create
When therapists join a Membership body they often expect a receipt, a membership certificate, and maybe a few resources. What they don’t always anticipate is an invitation to co-create…
The International Society of Psychotherapy and Counselling (ISPC) are offering an invitation to be more than a silent member if you want to. From Social Media to being a Volunteer Board Member…
An invitation to help build something meaningful—together.
Unlike large, top-down counselling bodies, the ISPC doesn’t operate on a “pay and disappear” model. We were founded on the belief that the best support comes from within the profession itself—from practitioners who understand the realities of private practice, ethical dilemmas, client work, and professional isolation.
That’s why we don’t just welcome members…We invite contributors:
Contribution takes many forms: sharing insights, offering feedback, mentoring peers, suggesting resources, or simply telling a colleague, “You should look at the ISPC.” Whether you’re a newly qualified counsellor or a seasoned practitioner — we’re inviting you to engage, share, and co-create with the ISPC, your voice matters more than you think.
A very big thankyou to all members
We would like to personally thank all members thus far for your contributions… Your contributions have made a big difference this year. This year we have all contributed to providing and maintaining free Directory Listings for all professional members, Free Student Memberships to all students studying counselling and other therapy pathways, created dozens of blogs, a Private Practice Hub (that still needs work), provided 10 Website group workshops and in the background we have members contributing to our first free online CDP (this will take time but it’s coming) Not bad for a small Membership Body, and there’s more to come…
1. Engage: Go Beyond the Inbox
Membership begins with a transaction—but it thrives on connection.
Too often, professional bodies treat engagement as a one-way broadcast: “Here’s your newsletter. Here are your CPD deadlines.” At the ISPC, we see engagement as dialogue.
How to engage:
- Respond to member blogs – When we ask what resources you need (e.g., a GDPR template for online work, a pricing guide for private practice), your answers directly shape our Private Practice Hub.
- Join other ISPC members – Whether through secure forums or local meet-ups, your lived experience offers wisdom no textbook can replicate.
- Displaying the ISPC logo – Display the ISPC logo on your website and link it back to your Directory Listing. This signals your values, builds visibility, and invites like-minded therapists to discover and join our growing, collaborative community.
- Get in touch with us – Let us know what you need. We’re not the experts, you are… If you can create what you need and share it with us we can help other members too. You will have a direct impact on how the ISPC serves its members.
Imagine a Board of Members that can bring this Membership into the foreground…that’s where we’re heading.
Engagement isn’t about attendance quotas. It’s about showing up with curiosity and care—for your own practice and for your professional community.
2. Share: Your Expertise Is a Gift
You don’t need a PhD or a published book to have something valuable to offer.
Maybe you’ve developed a smooth onboarding process for new clients.
Maybe you’ve found an ethical way to use social media without oversharing.
Maybe you’ve navigated working with high-sensitivity clients in a way that honours their autonomy.
That’s knowledge worth sharing.
At the ISPC, we believe that every member holds unique insights—especially those working outside institutional settings, with diverse populations, or in innovative practice models.
Ways to share:
- Contribute to CPD content – Got an idea for a short, accredited CPD module? (e.g., “Setting Boundaries in Online Therapy” or “Working Ethically with LGBTQIA+ Teens”?) We develop our CPD with therapists, not for them—and you can help design it.
- Submit practice reflections – Not case studies (which breach confidentiality), but anonymous reflections on themes like burnout, cultural humility, or transitioning to private practice. These can inspire and support others.
- Recommend tools or templates – Found a great scheduling app? A clear consent form? Share it with the community (we’ll review and adapt it for the Hub).
- Share any of our content – When members share ISPC’s content, they extend our reach, strengthen our community, and help fellow therapists discover a professional home built on trust and collaboration.
- Share our Social Media – Sharing our social media amplifies the ISPC’s message, connects more therapists to our community, and builds a stronger, visible presence for independent, ethical counselling across the UK.
Sharing isn’t about being an “expert.” It’s about lifting others as you climb—a core value of ethical, relational practice.
3. Co-Create: Help Build What Comes Next
We don’t have a distant board dictating policy from an ivory tower. We’re therapist-led, which means you help define what the ISPC becomes. We often face struggles as a membership, what we need are solutions….and we can only do this together.
The society’s direction isn’t fixed—it’s co-created through the input, energy, and vision of its members.
How you can co-create:
- Suggest new membership pathways – Are there overlooked groups (e.g., therapists returning after a break, those working in schools or charities) who need tailored support? Tell us.
- Nominate a Fellow Counsellor – Fellowship isn’t self-applied. It’s peer-nominated, recognising those who uplift others through supervision, advocacy, writing, or community care. If you know someone who embodies this, speak up.
- Help shape local networks – Where ever you’re based you could help organise low-key peer supervision circles, skill swaps, or coffee mornings for counsellors. We’ll support you with promotion.
- Write useful counselling blogs – Writing blogs for the ISPC shares your expertise, supports fellow therapists, and shapes a collective voice that strengthens our community and extends our professional impact.
- Know anything about websites? – If you have knowledge of websites, CMS systems, LMS systems please do get in touch.
- Create Social Media – Create your own social media that highlights the ISPC, or better yet, become a Board Member of the ISPC and create it from our platform.
- Member of other Counselling entities – Spread the word, we want contributors who can dedicate time and build something amazing for everyone.
- Become a Board Member – If you share our vision and can help us help others please get involved.
Co-creation means ownership. When you help build something, you’re invested in its success—and in the success of everyone it serves.
Why Your Voice Matters—Especially Now
The mental health landscape in the UK is shifting. More therapists are moving into private practice. More clients are seeking neurodiversity-affirming, LGBTQIA+-inclusive, culturally responsive care. And more practitioners are questioning whether traditional regulatory models truly serve the needs of ethical, independent work.
In this climate, bottom-up innovation matters.
The ISPC can only reflect the diversity and dynamism of modern therapy if you bring your perspective to the table. That includes:
- Therapists working with ADHD, autism, AuDHD, or high sensitivity clients
- Those navigating cross-cultural or bilingual practice
- Practitioners exploring non-traditional session formats (walk-and-talk, outdoor therapy, creative modalities)
- Counsellors building practices without university degrees, but with deep lived and clinical experience
Your experience isn’t “alternative”—it’s essential to the future of the profession. Bring it to us…
Start Small—But Start
You don’t need to run a workshop or write a manifesto to contribute. Sometimes, the most powerful actions are quiet:
- Reply to an email asking, “What do you need right now?”
- Forward an ISPC resource to a colleague who’s struggling with admin
- Say in a supervision session: “I got this great template from my professional society—they actually listen.”
- Leave a constructive suggestion in an email. Or better yet, bring us the solutions to problems you’ve faced in private practice.
Every Contribution Ripples Outward
And when enough members lean in, the ISPC becomes more than a society—it becomes a movement: one that proves ethical and sustainable. Independent therapy doesn’t require external validation, but mutual support, shared wisdom, and collective courage.
We’re Building This With You—Not for You
The ISPC was never meant to be a monument. It’s a work in progress, shaped by the hands (and hearts) of its members.
So if you’ve been watching from the sidelines, wondering, “Is this for me?”—the answer is yes.
But only if you’re ready to engage, share, and co-create.
Because the future of counselling in the UK won’t be designed by distant committees.
It will be built by therapists like you who choose to show up, speak up, and build something better, together.
Ready to Contribute?
→ Share our vision…
→ Reply to your next ISPC email with an idea
→ Tell a fellow therapist about the society
→ Suggest a CPD topic or resource
→ Share Social Media and resources
→ Ask yourself how you can help shape the Private Practice Hub
→ Web Designers, LMS, CMS knowledge welcome
→ Become a Board Member if you share our vision
Your voice isn’t just welcome—it’s needed.
Further Resources for ISPC Members:
We encourage all ISPC members to consider contributing to ISPC News and sharing their unique perspectives and insights. Your contributions help build a valuable resource for the therapy and counselling community.
And lastly, we appreciate those that have already come forward with their ideas and writings, we are uploading these blogs over the next few weeks and months.
Kindest Regards
ISPC Team
