Chartered psychologists in the UK are regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). All regulated healthcare professionals in the UK, including chartered psychologists, are legally required to undertake a stringent DBS check.
DBS checks are statutory criminal record checks administered by the Disclosure and Barring Service on behalf of the Home Office. These formal background checks are used to ensure the public are safeguarded from those who are unsuitable for frontline roles.
DBS checks for regulated healthcare professionals
A DBS check for a psychologist is an enhanced DBS check with barring lists. This robust background check will require a thorough search for any unspent or spent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings.
As part of the search, the Disclosure and Barring Service will also check for any further non-conviction information from relevant police forces plus the children’s and vulnerable adults barred lists.
This degree of background check is necessary because of the type of unsupervised contact with the public your work as a psychologist will involve. This is the strongest type of CRB check and can only be requested by your employer.
Vetting by the DBS is in operation for all regulated healthcare professionals as well as those who work in frontline roles across the UK. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) require all registrants and psychologists to disclose any convictions or cautions.
If you would like to find out more about a DBS check for a psychologist visit the British Psychological Society. To discover more about DBS checks visit our home page.
