Accredited Practitioner Register Registration

The objective of the Register is to:

• create and maintain professional ethics and standards that prioritise the health and wellbeing of clients and public and protects them from harm or injury;
• promote and maintain client confidence and public credibility in the benefits of Equine Facilitated Interactions and the delivery thereof;
• provide a clear definition of professional standards required to support the delivery of Equine Facilitated Interactions, and;
• maintain ongoing compliance with these standards by all registered Practitioners.

Benefits of registration

• use of the designatory letters APUK
• referred to by the title “Accredited Practitioner (PSA)”
• a certificate of registration and a personalised logo containing the PSA quality-mark that you can use to promote your practice
• listing on the Accredited Practitioner Register™
• registration on an Accredited Register provides clients, service users and the general public with the confidence that practitioners have signed up to robust professional and ethical codes.

Requirements

To become an Accredited Practitioner (PSA), you must:

• be resident and practicing in the United Kingdom
• have successfully completed an appropriate qualification, or qualifications, in line with the Register’s Standards of Education and Training or have been awarded a Certificate of Proficiency by the Register
• currently be in practice, or have practised within the last two years, and
• agree to and be able to comply with the commitments set out below

Applying for Registration

Application is by application form.

In addition to relevant personal details, we will require various supporting documents, covering your operating policies, relevant qualifications and professional memberships. We recommend that you check out the full requirement and gather the information together before starting the process.

For more information please read our Registration Policy.

If you wish to proceed with registration please email [email protected] to request an application form, or download an application form here.

Commitments

As an Accredited Practitioner (PSA) you are bound by the requirements of registration laid out in Declaration of Compliance in the application form, which includes:

• the Ethical Basis for Good Practice in Equine Facilitated Interactions
• the Framework of Professional Standards
• the defined levels of Continued Professional Development 
• the Duty of Candour, and
• the Framework for the Ethical Treatment for Horses.

You must have read and confirmed your commitment to all these as part of your membership application, and on each annual renewal thereof. Further to this, any amendments to these commitments will be notified to all practitioners by email and practitioners will be expected to familiarise themselves and align their practice or service appropriately.

In addition to the above, application must include evidence of supporting qualifications, appropriate current insurance, and commitments to continuing professional development and supervision, and to the maintaining up-to-date records of these activities.

Membership logo

Members will be provided their own annual “Accredited Practitioner (PSA)” logo.  

Example logos and guidance for use of this logo is covered within the Athena® Herd Foundation Brand Protection Policy and Guidance. 

Other Modalities, Practices and Adjunctive Therapies

The Register is for practitioners of Equine Facilitated Interactions, although it will recognise other professional practices, therapies and modalities against an individual practitioner’s registration (for example, Counselling or Occupational Therapy). For this recognition practitioners must provide copies of all supporting qualifications, and proof of membership of an appropriate accredited register.

For practitioners offering what are generally referred to adjunctive therapies, for example reiki or homoeopathy, please ensure that in all promotion and communication that your registration is clearly presented as distinct from, and unrelated to, these practices.

If you are providing coaching or other personal/professional development services these should similarly not be promoted as linked to this registration.

For more information on this condition please read our Other Therapies and Practices Policy.

Reapplying for and Restoring Registration

Practitioners who for any reason have lapsed their registration can reapply at any time. The process of reapplication is dependent on the elapsed time and the recency or contemporariness of their professional learning and qualification.

Practitioners who might have been removed from the register can also apply to have their membership restored.

For more information reapplication or restoring click here.  

Audit

The Register carries out an annual audit of practitioner compliance with the terms of registration. This will be undertaken by random sample, any practitioner selected will need to make available all requested documentation. Find out more about our audit process.

Costs

There is an application fee of £75, and an individual membership is £125 per annum.

On receipt of application, we will invoice you the application fee, the Athena® Herd Foundation Terms and Conditions shall apply. Individual membership will be invoiced on satisfactory completion of application.

Membership subscriptions run for one year and are reviewed annually.

Appeal

Should you be unhappy with, or wish to contest, any decision made in respect of application to the Register then you can raise an appeal in line with our Appeals Policy.

Return to the Register’s home page.