Safeguarding means protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect, and harm. This page explains what ABCAP does in relation to safeguarding, and what to do if you have a concern.

If someone is in immediate danger

If you believe a child or vulnerable adult is in immediate danger, call 999 now. Do not wait.

Reporting a safeguarding concern

If you have a safeguarding concern that is not an emergency, the right people to contact depend on your situation:

• Concerns about a child: Contact your local authority’s children’s safeguarding team, or call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 (free, 24 hours). You can also report online at nspcc.org.uk.
• Concerns about a vulnerable adult: Contact your local authority’s adult safeguarding team. Details can be found on your local council’s website.
• Non-emergency police: Call 101.
• Childline (for children and young people): 0800 1111 (free, 24 hours).

These statutory services have the powers and resources to investigate and act on safeguarding concerns. ABCAP does not.

Concerns about a therapist

If your safeguarding concern involves a therapist listed in the ABCAP directory — for example, you believe a therapist has acted inappropriately with a child or vulnerable adult — please take the following steps:

1. Report to the appropriate statutory authority (police, local authority safeguarding team) as described above. This should be your first step where there is a risk of harm.
2. Contact the therapist’s professional body (such as BACP, UKCP, NCS, or NCPS) if the therapist is a member. Professional bodies can investigate conduct complaints and take disciplinary action.
3. Notify ABCAP via our Complaints and Concerns procedure. We will suspend the therapist’s listing immediately on receipt of a serious safeguarding concern and cooperate with any statutory investigation if required.

You do not need to wait for ABCAP to act before contacting the police or a statutory safeguarding authority. Statutory reporting should always come first.

ABCAP’s role and limitations

ABCAP is a membership directory, not a statutory safeguarding authority or regulatory body. We cannot:

• Investigate safeguarding allegations.
• Make findings of fact about what happened.
• Remove a therapist’s professional registration or qualifications.
• Compel a therapist to cooperate with an investigation.

What we can do is suspend or remove a therapist’s ABCAP listing where we have received a serious concern, and cooperate fully with any statutory authority investigating the matter.

Members are required under our Code of Ethics to act promptly when they have reason to believe a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of harm, and to be familiar with and follow appropriate safeguarding procedures in their own practice.

Useful contacts

• Emergency services: 999
• Police (non-emergency): 101
• NSPCC helpline: 0808 800 5000 (free, 24/7) — nspcc.org.uk
• Childline: 0800 1111 (free, 24/7) — childline.org.uk
• Adult safeguarding: contact your local council

Related policies

• Complaints and Concerns Procedure — how to raise a concern about a listed therapist with ABCAP.
• Our Policies and Code of Ethics — the standards all ABCAP members agree to uphold, including safeguarding obligations.

This page was last updated March 2026.