British Psychotherapy Foundation
At the British Psychotherapy Foundation (bpf), it is their mission to ensure psychotherapy is available to as many people who need it as possible.
With over 800 members, they are one of the largest psychotherapy membership and training organisations in the UK. They are also a charity. Their approach is based on the rich tradition of psychoanalytic and Jungian theory and practice, while also drawing on scientific advances in their understanding of the human mind and development.
- They train therapists through high-quality, intensive clinical training programmes.
- They introduce potential trainees, other professionals and members of the public to the theory and practice of psychotherapy through introductory courses and events.
- They organise a stimulating programme of short courses, seminars, lectures and discussions for their members as well as for the public.
- They offer access to therapy through their Clinical Service, including their Low Fee Scheme.
- They publish the prestigious British Journal of Psychotherapy.
- They provide a dynamic professional home for their members, with opportunities for professional development, information exchange and networking.
Their Mission:
Their mission is to provide the public with access to psychotherapists who have undertaken academically and clinically rigorous psychotherapy training.
The charity aims to educate the public about psychoanalytic theory and practice and have influence over social policy to increase access to intensive, psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy.
It is working to increase accessibility to its trainings and membership, so that a wider range of the general public is represented in its membership. It is also striving to make its clinical services more widely available to the general public, geographically and economically.
Their portfolio of 11 trainings supports career progression from foundation level, through qualifying training, to post-qualification training and continuing professional development. They train therapists who work with the parent-infant dyad, children and adolescents, adults and couples.
All bpf members are accredited by the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and are therefore registered with the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Every trainee must also be in their own intensive personal therapy for the duration of their training, because they believe that therapists who work on themselves become safer, more reflective practitioners.
Their clinical services department, led by experienced practitioners, helps individuals to decide whether psychotherapy is right for them. Where it is appropriate, they arrange a clinical assessment and match the person with a qualified therapist or trainee.
BPF's Challenges
Their low-fee clinical service remains oversubscribed. At present, they are able to place patients with mild to moderate needs with our trainees. However, they wish to focus more on supporting people with complex needs, many of whom struggle to find the support they need in public services. These patients come from a broad range of backgrounds, including underrepresented socio-economic groups, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals and other marginalised populations. They need long-term psychotherapy from experienced practitioners who can meet their complex needs. Providing this means subsidising the cost of those practitioners, so that these patients can afford to access the care they need.
They also need to train more psychotherapists and improve diversity in the profession, so that the public can access a diverse range of therapists who reflect the communities in which they live and work. The cost of training is prohibitive. Their trainings are longer term and intensive, and trainees undertake their own therapy as part of their training. This robust approach has a price: their courses are expensive and, for many people from socially and economically disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds, out of reach. They need the help of funders to create bursaries for these groups. By fostering inclusivity among trainees, they aim to make mental health care more equitable and responsive to the needs of all individuals, ensuring that both psychotherapists and patients benefit from a system that truly understands and represents them.
There is also a wider workforce challenge. The UK’s mental health workforce has seen little growth over the past decade, and the resulting staff shortages affect workload, wellbeing, morale and the delivery of high-quality care.
British Psychotherapy Foundation's Achievements
Every year, the BPF supports up to 200 patients, helping them to access intensive and long-term psychotherapy support.
In 2024, the BPF received over 900 enquiries for psychotherapy support, placing 116 patients with BPF trainees and a further 73 with qualified psychotherapists. 70% of their psychotherapists, whether trainees or qualified practitioners, are based in London and surrounding London Boroughs.
Their low-fee psychotherapy service is in high demand, especially among individuals with moderate to severe mental health needs who require long-term support but cannot afford it. Currently, there is a significant unmet need, and additional funding is essential to improve access, allowing more people with complex mental health needs to receive therapy from experienced, qualified practitioners.
Many of their beneficiaries are frequent users of emergency, medical, and social services, leading to significant costs in managing the behavioural impact of their distress. Research shows that long-term psychodynamic therapy not only leads to lasting positive outcomes but also reduces reliance on these services. While this treatment may seem costly upfront, its benefits and the resulting decrease in service use means it will ultimately pay for itself over time.
Without more highly trained psychotherapists, the specialist support so many urgently need simply cannot be delivered, leaving some of the most vulnerable in our society without the chance to recover and rebuild their lives. Psychotherapy enables people to understand and change self-defeating patterns, break destructive cycles, and make healthier life choices.
With over 400 trainees at any given time, the BPF is actively strengthening the future of the mental health workforce. They invest significant time, resources and expertise in supporting the individual needs of each trainee. They are also aware of the possible power imbalances in therapy relationships, and the safety of their patients is at the core of everything we do.
Diversity is built into their training. Their trainings place a strong emphasis on cultural competency, so that their psychotherapists are equipped to support racially marginalised communities, LGBT+ individuals and people with disabilities. They also want a more geographically accessible workforce, so that more people, wherever they live, can reach long-term psychotherapy.
Longer-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy (one year’s treatment) is more effective than shorter forms of therapy for patients with complex mental health needs, according to the BPC’s review of the evidence base for psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The same review finds that patients continue to make considerable gains long after treatment has ended, that the therapy is especially helpful for people with attachment difficulties, and that a growing body of evidence supports its use for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance-related disorder. Mental illness is a leading cause of sickness absence from work, and therapy that addresses self-doubt, fear of failure and past setbacks can help people to seek new opportunities and to improve their financial stability.
Much of their impact is indirect, and it lasts. When they train a psychotherapist, the ultimate beneficiaries are the communities and patients that therapist will serve throughout their career. When they carry out research, the knowledge they generate benefits the wider mental health system and, through it, the public. They also publish the British Journal of Psychotherapy, which in 2023 alone was made available to readers by 6,748 institutions across the globe through licences or subscriptions. The top ten countries accessing the journal were the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, China, India, Germany, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. All of their trainees and students have access to the journal, which supports a learning environment that values research literacy and evidence-informed practice.
To sustain this impact, the bpf must keep psychotherapy accessible. Core funding will allow them to keep training fees affordable for the next generation of psychotherapists and to cover the costs of their low-fee clinical service, so that intensive, long-term therapy remains available to the people who need it most.
British Psychotherapy Foundation
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