Representative bodies have called for the statutory regulation of psychologists following reports of unregulated workers in the profession operating in Ireland.
On Monday, RTÉ Investigates aired a programme on unregulated psychologists, which found it was possible to set oneself up as a private psychologist in Ireland without any official training due to the lack of regulation in the State.
The Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) said there is currently no system of statutory registration for psychologists in Ireland where the term psychologist is a protected title.
“Whilst the PSI is the professional body for psychology and psychologists, the Society is not a statutory regulator. CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health regulatory body which has the statutory power to regulate a wide range of professions. CORU has yet to regulate the profession of psychology,” a statement by the society said.
The PSI said it is calling on the Government and the Department of Health to expedite the enactment of the statutory register for psychologists “without any further delay”.
Dr Anne Kehoe, president of the PSI, said the “key priority” needs to be the protection of all those who access professional psychological services and the wider public.
“Everyone needs to be assured that the psychological services they are accessing are provided to the highest standard and by an appropriately qualified person. Statutory registration of the title ‘psychologist’ offers the regulation of the use of this title by only those with the appropriate qualifications,” she said.
“The PSI is fully committed and willing to offer any support possible to CORU in moving to statutory registration for the profession of psychology.”
AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity, said it noted the programme’s findings with “great concern”.
“We know the revelations within the programme will cause anxiety for many families, particularly those who received assessments from the individual profiled in the programme,” the statement said.
“We advise individuals and families to only ever engage with psychologists who are engaged in voluntary regulation through the Psychological Society of Ireland. The best way for the State to begin to restore trust is to resource and regulate without delay.”
Meanwhile, Holly Cairns, leader of the Social Democrats, said the lack of regulation in the sector has gone for too long.
“The delay is especially reprehensible in light of the vulnerability of those children and adults requiring psychological services,” she said.
“Lack of regulation is also a major factor in the difficulty in the recruitment of psychologists and the resulting excessively long waiting lists for assessments of need.”
She added: “Parents are at the end of their tether awaiting assessments for their children so they can seek appropriate interventions and supports in a timely manner.”
