EDI-BIIDE Action Plan
The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – Belonging, Intersectionality, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (EDI-BIIDE) Action Plan sets out to ensure equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and intersectionality are at the heart of UKCP's work – for our members, our volunteers, our staff and, crucially, for the public with whom we and our members interact professionally.
A message from the UKCP EDI-BIIDE Committee
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – Belonging, Intersectionality, Diversity and Equity (EDI-BIIDE) Action Plan sets out our tasks to ensure that EDI-BIIDE remains at the heart of our work. It covers our commitments to members, volunteers, staff and the public we work with.
Global and national events have sharpened our focus on equality, diversity and inclusion. Discrimination against marginalised individuals and communities – including racism, racial disparities, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, ableism, misogyny and transphobia – demands a continued and honest response from our sector.
We recognise that injustice causes deep psychological harm, and that our profession faces increasingly complex challenges. We are committed to examining our culture and practices, better understanding our communities and taking meaningful action.
This is an ongoing journey. Making change happen is complex and difficult, and this plan reflects our commitment to doing so. We began delivering the plan in 2025 and this work will continue.
The EDI-BIIDE Committee will review and monitor this document quarterly.
EDI-BIIDE and the committee’s values
We are firmly committed to the principles and values of equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging and intersectionality.
Alongside this, we also hold the following values:
- Commitment: we commit to being anti-discriminatory and openly challenging existing norms and practices.
- Safety: we commit to creating a psychologically and physically safe environment for all.
- Evidence: we commit to being open and transparent in our decision-making, balancing people's lived experience and research. Where essential equality data does not exist, we will work to gather it by engaging with our membership and other key stakeholders.
EDI-BIIDE Action Plan aims
This EDI-BIIDE Action Plan is designed to challenge existing UKCP practices on EDI-BIIDE and recommend a set of milestones to initiate change. The plan aims to target two primary audiences. First, to change the experience of those from culturally diverse backgrounds who are already part of UKCP (including staff, volunteers and members) who do not feel heard and/or psychologically safe in the organisation. Second, the plan will consider all key stakeholders of UKCP, not just the membership and the staff, but the wider public and service users in its approach. Our aim is also to have an impact on people from diverse communities, including those covered by the Equality Act 2010, within and beyond the protected characteristics.
EDI-BIIDE Committee
UKCP has an EDI-BIIDE Committee sits within UKCP's governance structure and measures progress on our commitments. The committee also reviews and updates the action plan as our internal and external context changes, so that our work continues to develop.
Communicating with colleges
The UKCP colleges* are a key stakeholder in ensuring the success of this plan. The EDI-BIIDE Committee, who will be responsible for the oversight and implementation of this plan, will communicate openly and transparently with the colleges. All colleges are invited to have an EDI-BIIDE representative on the committee, and the committee will proactively engage with colleges and the Professional Regulatory Committee of the Colleges and Faculties.
*UKCP colleges are collections of members – organisational or individual – who share a philosophy of psychotherapy.
EDI-BIIDE Action Plan overview
You can view the full action plan via the link below. It clearly shows what the outcomes and aims are for each of the actions we are committing to and the key objectives for the four priority areas identified. Where we do not have the material to inform a practical change, we will put forward an action to collect this material and seek to engage a wider stakeholder group in the collection of any material needed.
The actions are all aligned with the four pillars of UKCP’s three year strategy – quality, membership, voice and organisation.
Below you can expand the pillars to read more about the EDI-BIIDE work that sits under them.
Glossary of terms used in the EDI-BIIDE Action Plan
Audience – receivers of a message. This might be UKCP members, the general public or someone else
BAATN – The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network. The UK’s largest independent organisation to specialise in working psychologically, informed by an understanding of intersectionality, with people who identify as Black, African, South Asian and Caribbean.
Belonging – ensuring every individual feels valued, accepted and supported to be themselves.
Diversity – recognising and valuing human difference, including factors beyond the protected characteristics identified in the Equality Act.
Equality – ensuring everyone has equal opportunities and fair treatment.
Equity – providing resources and support based on individual need to achieve fair outcomes. Equity advocates for those who may have been historically disadvantaged, making it difficult for them to be successful.
Inclusion – the behaviours and norms that ensure people feel welcome. This means we commit to reviewing structures and systems that may be barriers to promoting inclusivity.
Intersectionality – the ways identities overlap, creating unique, often overlapping, experiences of discrimination and advantage. For example, a black woman experiences unique inequality which is not faced by black men or white women.
Material – data, research, information and publications.
Marginalised – individuals or groups of people who experience barriers or disadvantages compared to others.
OM (organisational member) – organisations that provide UKCP-accredited training.
OMR (organisational member review) – an assessment of UKCP organisational members which takes place at least once every five years to ensure training standards are met and that operational procedures, policies and appropriate structures are in place.
Stakeholders – groups or individuals who are directly impacted by a decision or action. For example, UKCP members, colleges, other organisations committed to inclusion.
Links
Connect with us
Privacy | Accessibility | Sitemap | © 2025 UK Council for Psychotherapy. All rights reserved | Registered charity no. 1058545 | Company no. 3258939 - Registered in England
