What Might 2026 Hold for UK Therapists in Ireland and the UK?

As we approach 2026, therapists across both the UK and Ireland find themselves at a fascinating crossroads. From long-awaited regulatory changes to the rapid emergence of AI tools, the landscape of therapeutic practice is shifting beneath our feet. For those of us who work across these two nations—or who maintain practices in both jurisdictions—the coming year promises to be particularly significant. Let’s explore what might be on the horizon.

The Regulation Question: A Tale of Two Approaches

The UK: Still Waiting

The UK therapy community has been having the regulation conversation for what feels like forever. Despite mounting pressure from professional bodies and periodic ministerial announcements about “cracking down” on unqualified practitioners, we’re still in a holding pattern. As of now, the government has stated there are “no current plans” to extend statutory regulation to therapists and counsellors.

What does this mean for practice in 2026? The voluntary accreditation system through bodies like BACP, UKCP, and BABCP will remain the gold standard. For those of us who have maintained our professional registrations, this continuity brings a certain stability. However, the lack of statutory regulation continues to create confusion amongst the public—nearly half of UK adults mistakenly believe that “therapist” is already a protected title like “doctor” or “dentist.”

The practical implications are clear: we need to be even more proactive about explaining our credentials to potential clients. Make sure your website clearly states your professional memberships, qualifications, and what they actually mean. Don’t assume clients understand the difference between someone with BACP accreditation and someone who simply calls themselves a “therapist.”

Ireland: Change Is Coming

Ireland tells a rather different story. After years of discussion, CORU (Ireland’s health and social care regulator) is finally moving toward implementing statutory regulation for both counsellors and psychotherapists. The timeline has slipped from October 2025 to early 2026, but the wheels are definitively in motion.

However—and this is crucial—there’s considerable controversy surrounding the proposed standards. The removal of mandatory personal therapy and clinical supervision from training requirements has sparked outcry from professional bodies like the IACP and ICP. They argue these changes could undermine therapeutic training quality and place vulnerable clients at risk.

For UK therapists working with Irish clients remotely, or those considering establishing an Irish practice, 2026 will be a year to watch closely. The jurisdictional questions remain murky: will regulation apply based on where the therapist sits, or where the client is located? This matters enormously if you’re delivering teletherapy across borders.

Meanwhile, psychology regulation in Ireland is progressing with divisions for clinical, counselling, and educational psychologists expected to open in early 2026. This creates an interesting two-tier system where psychologists will be statutorily regulated whilst counsellors and psychotherapists navigate new and potentially contentious standards.

The AI Question: Friend or Foe?

If you haven’t yet had a conversation about AI with a colleague or supervisor, you’re probably in a rapidly shrinking minority. The question isn’t whether AI will impact our work in 2026—it already has—but rather how we adapt to its presence.

The Reality Check

AI-powered mental health apps and chatbots have proliferated wildly. Woebot, Wysa, and now even ChatGPT are being used by people seeking emotional support. The mental health technology market is projected to reach £13 billion by 2026, with considerable venture capital flowing into AI-driven solutions.

Some findings are concerning. Recent Stanford research revealed that therapy chatbots can perpetuate stigma towards certain conditions and, worryingly, may enable dangerous behaviours when confronted with suicidal ideation or delusions. There have been tragic cases, including deaths by suicide linked to chatbot interactions, that have prompted calls for Federal Trade Commission oversight in the US.

Yet the picture isn’t entirely bleak. For administrative tasks—scheduling, note-taking, data entry—AI tools can genuinely free up clinician time. Many therapists report that AI-powered note-taking apps save them up to five hours weekly. When properly designed with clinical grounding and ethical safeguards, AI can also help match people to appropriate therapists or provide interim support whilst waiting for human therapy.

What This Means for Your Practice

Rather than viewing AI as a threat, consider it a reality we need to navigate thoughtfully. Here are some practical considerations for 2026:

Be Informed: Understand what AI tools your clients might be using. They may well be supplementing your sessions with ChatGPT conversations. This isn’t necessarily problematic, but it’s worth discussing openly.
Consider Hybrid Approaches: Some practices are exploring how AI-powered CBT modules or between-session support tools might complement face-to-face work, particularly for clients on waiting lists or those who need additional structure.
Maintain the Human Element: The therapeutic relationship remains irreplaceable. What you offer—genuine human connection, nuanced understanding of context, ethical holding of complex emotions—cannot be replicated by algorithms. Don’t undersell this.
Leverage Appropriate Tools: If AI can handle your administrative burden, that’s time better spent with clients. Just ensure any tools you use are GDPR-compliant and appropriate for healthcare contexts.
Educate Your Clients: Help them understand the difference between AI support and therapy. Be clear about the limitations and potential risks of AI mental health tools.

The Economic Landscape

Let’s talk about something we often avoid: money. The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t disappeared, and 2026 looks set to continue bringing financial pressures for both therapists and clients.

On one hand, NHS waiting lists remain lengthy, driving demand for private therapy. On the other, clients are increasingly price-sensitive. The therapist who used to pay £45 per session might now be seeing people who genuinely cannot afford more than £25-30.

This creates difficult choices. Some therapists are diversifying income streams—adding group work, online courses, or supervision to their individual practice. Others are becoming more strategic about their caseload mix, balancing pro-bono or reduced-fee clients with those who can pay full rates.

For those working across Ireland and the UK, currency fluctuations and different economic conditions in each jurisdiction add another layer of complexity. It’s worth reviewing your fee structure regularly and being prepared to have honest conversations about affordability with prospective clients.

Teletherapy: The New Normal

Remember when online therapy felt like a temporary pandemic measure? Those days are gone. Teletherapy has become embedded in how we work, and 2026 will see this continue.

However, there’s a growing recognition that effective online work requires different skills from in-person therapy. If you haven’t yet invested in proper training for Zoom-based practice, now might be the time. Consider:

How you establish therapeutic presence through a screen
Technical setup and contingency planning
Managing breaks in connection (both technical and relational)
Creating boundaries in a medium that can feel more “always available”
Adapting interventions that were designed for in-person work

The convenience factor means many clients now expect or prefer online options. Having this in your skillset isn’t just useful—it’s increasingly essential.

The SCoPEd Framework and New BACP Routes

For BACP members, February 2026 marks the opening of new accreditation routes following the SCoPEd (Scope of Practice and Education) framework transition. This represents the culmination of years of work to align training, practice, and competence requirements across counselling and psychotherapy.

What does this mean practically? If you’re newly qualified or moving toward accreditation, you’ll be navigating updated pathways. For established practitioners, it’s worth familiarising yourself with the changes—they affect how we articulate our scope of practice and may influence referral patterns or client expectations.

Self-Care in an Uncertain Landscape

Here’s something we need to acknowledge more openly: uncertainty is exhausting. Not knowing whether regulation will arrive, watching AI developments with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety, managing financial pressures—it all takes a toll.

As we move into 2026, maintaining your own wellbeing isn’t just important—it’s essential for sustainable practice. This might mean:

Seeking your own therapy or increasing your supervision frequency
Building peer support networks where you can discuss these challenges openly
Setting realistic boundaries around how much time you spend worrying about regulatory changes you cannot control
Continuing your CPD in ways that feel generative rather than merely box-ticking

Looking Ahead: Reasons for Optimism

Despite the uncertainties, there are genuine reasons for optimism as we head into 2026:

Growing Recognition: Mental health awareness continues to increase, with therapy becoming less stigmatised. People are seeking help earlier and more willingly.

Professional Development: The therapy field is becoming more sophisticated in its approaches. We’re seeing exciting developments in trauma work, neurodiversity-affirming practice, and culturally responsive therapy.

Community: Professional organisations and informal peer networks are stronger than ever. We’re not navigating these changes alone.

Clarification: Even if we don’t yet have statutory regulation, the conversation is advancing. Ireland’s upcoming changes, however contentious, will provide data and learning that could inform UK policy.

Practical Steps for Your 2026 Practice

As we look toward the year ahead, consider these concrete actions:

Review Your Professional Registrations: Ensure all memberships and insurance are current and clearly communicated to clients.
Update Your Digital Presence: Make sure your website and profiles accurately reflect your qualifications, approaches, and the protection clients have when working with you.
Stay Informed: Subscribe to updates from your professional body. Follow developments in both UK and Irish regulation if you work across jurisdictions.
Invest in Technology Literacy: Whether it’s mastering teletherapy platforms or understanding AI’s role, don’t let technological change leave you behind.
Build Resilience: Both personal and professional. The landscape will keep shifting.
Network: Connect with other therapists navigating similar challenges. Share resources, concerns, and solutions.
Mind Your Business: Review your finances, fee structure, and business model. Make adjustments proactively rather than reactively.

Final Thoughts

2026 will likely be a year of continued evolution rather than revolution for therapists in the UK and Ireland. Regulation may inch closer in both jurisdictions. AI will become more prevalent but hopefully more regulated. Economic pressures will persist, but so will the fundamental human need for connection and healing.

What remains constant is this: people will continue to suffer, to seek help, and to benefit from skilled, compassionate therapeutic work. Your role in providing that—whether in person or online, whether in Dublin or Devon—remains as vital as ever.

The specifics of how we deliver therapy may shift, the administrative framework may change, and the tools at our disposal will certainly evolve. But the core of what we do—sitting with people in their pain, helping them find new ways of being, offering relationship as a healing force—that transcends regulatory frameworks and technological disruption.

As we move into 2026, let’s approach these changes with curiosity rather than fear, preparation rather than panic, and a commitment to maintaining the quality and integrity of our therapeutic work whatever the external landscape throws at us.

Here’s to navigating the year ahead together.

Prof Patrick McGhee is a CBT therapist, psychologist and UK National Teaching Fellow.