To: Professional Conduct and Complaints Departments
UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
We are writing to complain about the conduct of the Metanoia Institute in relation to online events organised by The Relational School (TRS).
On 24 November 2025, over 300 people – mainly therapists and trainee therapists – attended an event entitled “SPAT OUT: A conversation about institutional racism in the psychotherapy field”. TRS described it as “an invitation to a broader, open conversation about how institutional racism continues to shape the psychotherapy profession, and what it takes to speak out and stand together in response and refuse these realities”[1]. The large number of attendees reflects the importance of creating spaces to address racism in our profession.
At the event, five claimants in the legal case against Metanoia gave moving, honest and painful accounts of their lived experiences of institutional racism, before others responded with their own experiences, or messages of solidarity and support.
Great care was taken by the organisers, despite the large number of attendees, to create an atmosphere of witnessing, tending and holding. They made an ethical decision not to record the event, to support privacy and participation. This decision (along with other notes of care) was communicated to attendees in advance.
It has since become known that Metanoia Institute either made a recording or was given a recording and transcription of the SPAT OUT event. The institution included the transcription with documents to support its defence against the claimants. The transcription included not only the testimony of the claimants but also the contributions of everyone else who spoke at the event.
The organisers of the event (rightly in our view) describe this as a violation, not only of those who spoke, but also those who gathered to bear witness and support the claimants, including those of us signing this letter. We see this as a deeply unethical intrusion by a psychotherapy training institution, which chose – in order to defend itself against accusations of racism – to exploit a meeting convened to discuss racism, thereby inflicting further psychological harm in the process.
Seeking information in this non-consensual way is particularly egregious given that the Institute chose not to acknowledge or engage with the report of an inquiry commissioned by Protect Black Women and conducted by Elaine Banton KC into racism and the experience of Black and Brown students and tutors at Metanoia[2]. This report was delivered in February 2025. To date there has been no response.
We believe that the actions of Metanoia Institute are inconsistent with the ethical and professional standards required of psychotherapy training institutions, namely:
Breach of confidentiality, informed consent, and reasonable expectation of privacy
The UKCP Code of Ethics [3] and the BACP good practice guidance [4] both indicate that that recordings should only be made and used with informed consent and for clearly defined purposes, and that practitioners must safeguard personal information and respect reasonable expectations of privacy.
In our view, covertly obtaining or using a recording of an event that was explicitly designated as unrecorded, and using participants’ contributions in legal defence without their knowledge or consent, is incompatible with the principles of trustworthiness, respect, confidentiality, and professional integrity set out in the BACP Ethical Framework[5].
Failure to model and embed ethical practice within a training institution, including obligations regarding equality, discrimination, and power
Teaching standards published by both UKCP [6] and BACP [7] require training providers to embed the relevant ethical framework within their organisational culture and teaching, including promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, and supporting trainees to practise in ways that address discrimination and power imbalances. Training organisations are expected to model the ethical standards they teach and to ensure their institutional practices align with the ethical framework.
Conduct liable to bring the profession into disrepute and undermine public confidence
Both UKCP and BACP frameworks require practitioners and organisations to act in ways that uphold the reputation of the profession and maintain public trust. The absence of any response to the Protect Black Women report, combined with the conduct outlined above, raises concerns regarding the Institute’s willingness and capacity to respond appropriately to discrimination and harm. This risks significantly undermining confidence in psychotherapy training institutions and in the profession more broadly.
We therefore ask that you investigate this matter as a matter of urgency.
[1] The Relational School. (2025, November 24). SPAT OUT: A conversation about institutional racism in the psychotherapy field [Online event]. Ticket Tailor. tickettailor.com/events/therelationalschool/192101...
[2] Protect Black Women. (2025, February). Investigation report commissioned by Protect Black Women (PBW). Proton Drive. drive.proton.me/urls/GNZPBFXX40#rcbqwlgkgqOV...
[3] UK Council for Psychotherapy. (2019). UKCP code of ethics and professional practice. psychotherapy.org.uk/media/bkjdm33f/ukcp-code-of-e...
[4] British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. (2024, January). Confidentiality and record keeping (Good Practice in Action 065). bacp.co.uk/media/20401/bacp-confidentiality-and-re...
[5] British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. (2018/2024). Ethical framework for the counselling professions. bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standar...
[6] UK Council for Psychotherapy. (2019). UKCP adult psychotherapeutic counselling standards of education and training. psychotherapy.org.uk/media/my0hws01/ukcp-adult-psy...
[7] British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. (2023). Accreditation of training courses including the core curriculum. bacp.co.uk/media/12250/bacp-accreditation-of-train...