Research at UKCP

Research is central to the future of the psychotherapy profession. Through our work we aim is to raise the profile of the profession, utilising the expertise of our membership.

UKCP’s strategic aims

1. Ensuring research supports the UKCP’s policy objectives to increase access to psychotherapy.
2. Improving education about research and promote its importance within the UKCP membership.
3. Developing an effective system for collating clinical data from our membership.
4. Combining existing and new research to improve the evidence base for psychotherapy, as well as promote its importance for wellbeing and mental health.
5. Collaborating with psychotherapy researchers to define and address the needs for future research.

How we will work towards achieving these aims 

• Among the UKCP members are many influential researchers. We are working to strengthen connections with our research-active members to support impactful and widespread dissemination of their work, as well as to assist us in our drive to inform policy.
• Collaboration is essential the UKCP’s research strategy to develop innovative, high-impact research. We are working to enhance connections across the board with universities, the NHS and charitable organisations.
• We will be collaborating both internally and externally to promote the importance of research within training programmes and across the profession as a whole.

Get involved – connect and collaborate

We are always looking for new ways to support our members with research and to connect with non-UKCP academics and practitioners. We are actively seeking to hear more about existing research and to discuss collaborations across all modalities. Our current areas of focus include:

• New ways of assessing psychotherapy and evaluating its effectiveness
• Collaborating on, and supporting, studies of effectiveness across therapeutic modalities and client populations
• Innovative research, investigating the therapeutic process
• Practice-informed research and research-informed practice.

If you would like to get involved or discuss active research projects or proposals, please email the research team.

Research working group

As a relatively small organisation with limited resources, we have been working hard to think of ways to improve research for the organisation and the membership. To help us accomplish this, we have put together a board level Research Working Group. Members of the group include Prof Divine Charura (DCounPsych), Dr Sofie Bager-Charleson, Prof Vicky Karkou, and Dr Gella Richards. 

The group will be focusing on how to better support the membership with research, whilst also addressing external research strategy. 

This will include: 

• Improving education and guidance about conducting psychotherapy research.
• Assessing how we may be able to support therapists to gain ethical approval to conduct research.
• Enhancing networking and collaboration opportunities.
• Promoting research funding opportunities.