When working with any Psychologist it is important that they are properly qualified and registered: In the UK, anyone can call themselves a "Psychologist" or "Child Psychologist" without any qualifications whatsoever.  This can make it very hard for parents to know if they are seeing a professional who is suitably qualified and experienced.  

Only certain titles for Psychologists are protected by law a - "Clinical Psychologist" is one of these protected titles.   This means it is illegal to call yourself a Clinical Psychologist, unless you are suitably qualified.  

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) hold a register of all appropriately qualified professionals (called Practitioner Psychologists), and they have guidelines for maintaining professional standards that must be adhered to.  This includes holding certain qualifications and undertaking a certain number of hours’ training and professional development every year. 

At Forward Thinking, we are all Registered Practitioner Psychologists with the HCPC - and we are fully qualified and experienced Clinical Psychologists.  

As a minimum, Clinical Psychologists will have completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology (or gained the equivalent), and have completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.  The vast majority of Clinical Psychologists will have gained a significant amount experience in clinical practice and research in between their undergraduate degree and completing the Doctorate.

You can check the HCPC register at http://www.hpc-uk.org/check/. 

All members of our team hold current ‘Enhanced Clearance’ from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), formerly known as the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), and we hold our own professional indemnity insurance.