The Australian Association of Social Workers has campaigned for many years for the registration of social workers in Australia, but with little success to date. This paper critically examines the key arguments for and against registration with reference to academic and government policy literature from international jurisdictions (primarily New Zealand and England) where government regulation of social work already exists. This review of existing literature found that arguments in favour of registration broadly centre on two main assumptions. They are improved protection of clients and amplification of professional standing. The findings indicate that there is only limited empirical evidence as to whether registration does in fact lift the professional standing of social workers or protect consumers from substandard practice. We conclude that further research is required to examine whether registration of social workers is justified in Australia, and particularly to ascertain whether the regulation of social workers generally or in specific practice areas such as child protection can realistically take place independently of the large number
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Counselling psychology within the UK has grown over the last three decades, adapting to many changes in the field of applied psychology, whilst remaining true to its core values and humanistic origins. The identity of counselling psychology is strongly rooted in a relational stance and applied psychology, where attention to psychological formulation is given to improve psychological functioning and well-being. This article outlines a brief history of counseling psychology in the UK, the training process, credentialing and looks at some important challenges and future directions for counselling psychology in the UK. A proportion of the members from the British Psychological Society’s division of counselling psychology (DCoP, N = 148) took part in the study. Participants provided demographic, training, employment, workplace and career pathway information obtained through an online questionnaire distributed to all DCoP members. On the whole, DCoP members are working in a variety of areas within the UK and the findings of this article contribute to the international study comparing counselling psychology across the globe.
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Report- General Social Care Council- King's College London
The purpose of the research, commissioned by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and Skills for Care and Development, is to provide up-to-date and standardised information on the status of the social work profession and its regulation in the European Economic Area. This aims to assist the GSCC in making decisions about the registration of social workers who have qualified in the EEA and are applying for registration in the UK. The research is conducted in partnership with the GSCC and examined data already held by the International Qualifications team in relation to different EEA states. This report provides detailed information on social work regulation, registration process, education and training (including practice placements), fitness to practise and other valuable information for a considerable number of EEA countries. The high level of EEA countries’ engagement with the research process highlights a mutual understanding of the value of information sharing in relation to the social work profession across Europe. This is expected to grow with the increasingly free movement across Europe and the shortages of social workers in some countries including England.
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European Journal of Integrative Medicine
