Membership is open to all therapists who:

1. Meet the criteria of either Full, Associate, Affiliate or Student membership.
2. Are individual members of a recognised professional body which has an official complaints procedure. These include BACP, COSCA, BPS, UKCP, or AHPP. Other organisations will be considered on provision of evidence of an appropriate code of ethics and official complaints procedure.

All members are expected to be familiar with and to abide by the Association's Constitution.

Below you will find details on:

• Full membership criteria
• Associate membership criteria
• Affiliate membership criteria
• Student membership criteria
• Other routes to membership
• Termination of membership
• Membership application

Full membership is open to people who:

1. Have completed a training course in Person Centred Therapy which is recognised by the Association or accredited by BACP and has a Person Centred core model.
2. Hold a recognised Person Centred counselling diploma.
3. Have worked, and been supervised, as a Person Centred counsellor / therapist for 3 years and completed at least 450 hours of counselling practice (calculated from the beginning of training).
4. Whose practice is fully consistent with the Person Centred Approach.
5. Agree to accept and abide by the BACP Ethical Framework which is the Code of Ethics and Practice adopted by the Association.
6. Are individual members of a professional organisation which has an official complaints procedure. These include BACP, COSCA, BPS, UKCP, and AHPP.
7. Have paid the annual subscription fee which shall be determined by the membership at an AGM.

Full members are entitled to the following benefits of membership: participation in all PCT Scotland events, receipt of all PCT Scotland mailings, inclusion in the PCT Scotland brochure / website advertising counsellor availability, able to attend and vote at Association meetings, and be office bearers of the Association.

If you would like to apply for Full membership, please proceed to our Online Membership Application which will guide you through the application process step by step, or you can download an application pack from our website.

Alternatively, contact the Secretary for further information and to request an application pack to be sent by post.

Associate membership is open to people who:

1. Have recently completed a Person Centred training course which is recognised by the Association or accredited by BACP and has a Person Centred core model.
2. Hold a recognised Person Centred counselling diploma.
3. Have not yet completed 3 years of supervised practice nor have 450 hours of Person Centred counselling practice but are actively working towards this goal.
4. Whose practice is fully consistent with the Person Centred Approach.
5. Agree to accept and abide by the BACP Ethical Framework which is the Code of Ethics and Practice adopted by the Association.
6. Are individual members of a professional organisation which has an official complaints procedure. These include BACP, COSCA, BPS, UKCP, and AHPP.
7. Have paid the annual subscription fee which shall be determined by the membership at an AGM.

Associate members are entitled to the following benefits of membership: participation in all PCT Scotland events, receipt of all PCT Scotland mailings, inclusion in the PCT Scotland brochure / website advertising counsellor availability, able to attend and vote at Association meetings, and be office bearers of the Association.

Associate members are expected to move to full membership when they are eligible to do so after 3 years supervised practice and 450 client hours.

If you would like to apply for Associate membership, please proceed to our Online Membership Application which will guide you through the application process step by step, or you can download an application pack from our website.

Alternatively, contact the Secretary for further information and to request an application pack to be sent by post.

Affiliate membership is open to people who:

1. Have completed a training course in Person Centred Therapy which is recognised by the Association or accredited by BACP and has a Person Centred core model.
2. Hold a recognised Person Centred counselling diploma.
3. Are not currently practising as a counsellor / therapist but who’s professional and/or personal interest is consistent with the Person Centred Approach.
4. Agree to accept and abide by the BACP Ethical Framework which is the Code of Ethics and Practice adopted by the Association.
5. Are individual members of a professional organisation which has an official complaints procedure. These include BACP, COSCA, BPS, UKCP, and AHPP.
6. Have paid the annual subscription fee, which is 60% of the Full subscription.

Affiliate members are entitled to the following benefits of membership: participation in all PCT Scotland events, receipt of all PCT Scotland mailings, and to attend and vote at Association meetings.

Affiliate members are NOT eligible for inclusion on the PCT Scotland brochure / website advertising counsellor availability NOR to be office bearers of the Association.

If you would like to apply for Affiliate membership, please proceed to our Online Membership Application which will guide you through the application process step by step, or you can download an application pack from our website.

Alternatively, contact the Secretary for further information and to request an application pack to be sent by post.

Student membership is open to people who:

1. Are currently on a Person Centred training course which is recognised by the Association or accredited by BACP and has a Person Centred core model.
2. Agree to accept and abide by the BACP Ethical Framework which is the Code of Ethics and Practice adopted by the Association.
3. Are individual members of a professional organisation which has an official complaints procedure. These include BACP, COSCA, BPS, UKCP, and AHPP.
4. Have paid the annual subscription fee, which is 30% of the Full subscription.

Student members are entitled to the following benefits of membership: participation in all PCT Scotland events, receipt of all PCT Scotland mailings, and to attend and vote at Association meetings.

Student members are NOT eligible for inclusion on the PCT Scotland brochure / website advertising counsellor availability NOR to be office bearers of the Association.

Student members are expected to move to either Affiliate or Associate membership when they are eligible to do so i.e. after they have obtained their person centred counselling diploma. (Please note, a copy of the diploma will be required to evidence this)

If you would like to apply for Student membership, please proceed to our Online Membership Application which will guide you through the application process step by step, or you can download an application pack from our website.

Alternatively, contact the Secretary for further information and to request an application pack to be sent by post.

Any counsellor / therapist wishing to join PCT Scotland who has met all the criteria with the exception of attendance at a recognised training course can apply for membership if they have discussed their application with two Full members of the Association and those members agree to sponsor them. The two sponsors would have to be satisfied that the applicant had sufficient understanding of person centred theory, and that their practice was fully consistent with the person centred approach to counselling / therapy.

If you would like to apply for membership using this route, please proceed to our Online Membership Application which will guide you through the application process step by step, or you can download an application pack from our website.

Alternatively, you can make application to the Secretary, by supplying details of your counselling training and career to date. This will be passed to the Coordinating Group where it will be considered.

A Special General Meeting of the Association shall have the right to terminate, for good and sufficient reason, the membership of any person, provided that that person shall have the right to attend and be heard by the Special General Meeting before the decision is finally made.

Any member who has not paid their membership in full within 2 months of the subscription renewal date (1st June) or who has not come to an arrangement with the Treasurer / Secretary prior to 1st August of the year in question will be deemed to have terminated their membership of the Association.

If you would like to terminate your membership, please contact the Secretary for further information.

Before applying, please read the relevant Membership Criteria (Full, Associate, Affiliate, or Student) to ensure you fulfil the requirements for membership.

Once you have read the relevant Membership Criteria, please proceed to our Online Membership Application which will guide you through the application process step by step. If you prefer, you can download an application pack from our website.

Alternatively, contact the Secretary for further information and to request an application pack to be sent by post.