This policy governs the application process and conditions for registration to the Accredited Practitioner Register™ (the “Register”).
The application process covers the end to end process for an individual through to registration. This includes commitments to the ethics and standards of the Register, provision of copies of appropriate supporting information, and proof of appropriate qualifications or agreement to defined levels of equivalence. These steps are outlined in the following paragraphs, 1 to 7.
Accredited Practitioner’s (PSA) are bound by the requirements of registration laid out in Declaration of Compliance on the application form, which includes:
Applicants must have read and confirmed your commitment to all these as part of your membership application, and on each annual renewal thereof.
Applicants to the Register are expected to provide copies of their own supporting policy and procedure documentation, including:
Any renewals, updates or revisions to the above will need to be provided on renewal.
As part of the application (and renewal) process applicants will need to confirm and/or commit to:
Application to the Register requires that a practitioner needs to have successfully completed an accredited or recognised qualification in Equine Facilitated Interactions in line with the Register’s Standards of Education and Training.
These standards define the requirements of the Register in terms of what is considered as appropriate in terms of minimum and appropriate levels of qualification for membership.
For those seeking to register the provision of Equine Facilitated Interactions supported by therapeutic practices (i.e. Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy, Equine Facilitated Therapy or Equine Facilitated Counselling) copies of appropriate professional qualifications need to be supplied along with their application, as well as confirmation of any other accredited register memberships.
Successful applications from practitioners resident in the UK (“Accredited Practitioners (PSA)”) will be eligible to use the Athena Herd Foundation Accredited Practitioner Register logo with the PSA Accredited Register Quality Mark.
Non-UK applications (Registered Practitioners (Athena)) will be provided by a Registered Practitioner logo. Registered Practitioners (Athena) are not able to use the PSA Accredited Register Quality Mark.
More information about logos and their use is available in the Athena Herd Foundation Brand Protection and Guidance Policy.
Applicants who do not hold a qualification recognised by the Register can request an equivalence decision review.
For non-Athena, and non-regulated qualifications we will undertake a review if requested. The Register’s approach to such reviews is defined under the framework for Defining Education Standards,
The outcome of any review will be confirmed by the Advisory Board.
Alternatively, the Register recognises that there will be competent practitioners who simply wish to apply individually. In such cases the Register offers a Certificate of Proficiency that can be completed to prove appropriate professional practices and skills that align to the obligations of Register membership.
Please email us if you are interested in either of these options.
As part of the application process an internet, website and social media search will be undertaken. These searches will be undertaken in the context of the commitments defined under paragraph 1 (above).
The aim of these searches is understanding the management of the public facing messages produced by the applicant and the appropriateness of those communications from the Register’s perspective. These will consider such fundamentals as professional practice, promotion of service and qualifications, and equine care.
Any issues or concerns arising from these searches will be raised directly with the applicant. Where these are considered to be at odds with registration’s commitments then the applicant will be provided the opportunity to rectify before their application is confirmed.
All applications for registration will be reviewed in line with this policy.
Applicants will be supported in providing complete and appropriate documentation and policies by the Registrar, or another designated representative. All documentation provided will be reviewed to ensure that everything is of sufficient standard and completeness to support registration.
When deemed satisfactory and complete then the application will be proposed for approval and advised to the Register’s Advisory Board. When Advisory Board meetings are not imminent, i.e. within one calendar month, proposals for membership (and any declined applications) will be shared via email with agreed members of the committee for confirmation.
All intervening agreements will be provided in summary to the next meetings.
Where applicants prove unable to satisfy the requirements of membership for whatever reason they will be advised by email with a clear outline of the reasoning behind the decision. All applicants will have the right to appeal any application decisions in line with the Register’s Appeals Policy.
Application: £ 75
Annual membership: £ 125
This policy is owned by the Accredited Practitioner Register Advisory Board and will be reviewed on an annual (or as necessarily arising) basis.
For the purposes of version control this document is as dated in the page footer.
Version | Initials | Description | Version Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GG | Initial Draft | November 2022 |
2 | GG | Update following review with PSA | February 2023 |
3 | GG | Revisions in line with actions on accreditation | February 2024 |