The CORU regulation process for counselling and psychotherapy must be immediately paused as it weakens professional standards and protections for the public, according to Social Democrats mental health spokesperson Liam Quaide.<\/p>\n
Deputy Quaide said:<\/p>\n
\u201cCORU, the State\u2019s health regulator, has adopted a position that is entirely at odds with the
\nmain representative groups for counselling and psychotherapy, publishing new standards
\nthat would reduce supervision requirements and remove mandatory personal therapy for
\ntrainees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese changes, if implemented, will degrade professional standards and undermine patient
\nsafety. Representative bodies and practitioners across counselling and psychotherapy have
\nbeen unequivocal that the fundamentals of safe practice are being put at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cPractitioners have also warned that the proposals could jeopardise EU-wide recognition and professional mobility for counsellors and psychotherapists, but concerns are not confined to professional organisations; the Oireachtas Health Committee was united last week in supporting the counselling and psychotherapy representative groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulation must enshrine high-quality training and ensure that the public can trust the safety and competence of those providing counselling and psychotherapy. Instead, CORU\u2019s intransigence on these core issues is creating widespread alarm in the professions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am calling on the Government to immediately pause the CORU process, bring
\nrepresentative bodies and frontline practitioners into full and genuine consultation, and
\ncommit to reforms that prioritise client safety and service continuity.<\/p>\n
\u201cCounselling and psychotherapy play an essential role in helping people to navigate
\nsuffering and a range of complex difficulties – we cannot allow regulatory decisions be made
\nwithout proper engagement to dilute standards or put patients at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis requires a concrete commitment from government to safeguard the identity and standards of these professions.\u201d<\/p>\n
December 5th, 2025<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The CORU regulation process for counselling and psychotherapy must be immediately paused as it weakens professional standards and protections for the public, according to Social Democrats mental health spokesperson Liam Quaide. Deputy Quaide said: \u201cCORU, the State\u2019s health regulator, has adopted a position that is entirely at odds with the main representative groups for counselling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,726,652,7,660],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-hse","category-liam-quaide","category-press-release","category-public-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n