On 27 April 2026, CNWL hosted its third annual psychotherapy conference at Woburn House in London.

The event, Building for the Future: Getting off the Couch and into the World, welcomed a full audience of counsellors and psychotherapists from across London and beyond. Attendees included adult and medical psychotherapists, child and adolescent psychotherapists, family and systemic practitioners, as well as colleagues from psychology leadership.

Building the future of psychotherapy in the NHS

The conference focused on three key areas:

• strengthening the identity of NHS psychotherapists
• building leadership capacity
• developing research infrastructure

These were explored as ways to improve access to psychotherapy and support its long-term role within NHS mental health services.

Speakers reflected on how psychotherapy has changed over time. While psychological therapies are now more widely accepted and less stigmatised, psychotherapy has become a smaller, more specialist discipline within the NHS. This has led to reduced visibility and access compared to the past.

Graeme Caul opened outlining the tension between Depth and Reach, Identity and Integration. We can be experienced as at the margins and this talk was a call to action for Psychotherapists to demonstrate their long term value through measuring it, describing it and collectively to strengthen our voice.

Dr Ryan Kemp added his welcoming opening remarks, emphasising the  need for Courage over Comfort.

Keynote speakers

Professor Steve Pilling, Head of the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at UCL; Professor of Clinical Psychology and Clinical Effectiveness; and Director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) spoke about 25 years of NICE guidance and how evidence-based treatments have improved care. He also outlined where further progress is needed.

Dr Ravi Lingam, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist; Head of Service for a nationally commissioned offender personality disorder service (NHS and HMPPS); and Psychoanalytic and Forensic Psychotherapist discussed the role of forensic psychotherapy and how services can better support people with complex needs, including those in contact with the criminal justice system.

A workshop led by Systemic Psychotherapists Demetra Brege, Lola Akisanya and Diane Charles focused on how we position ourselves as psychotherapists within the organisation – Does Psycohtherapy have Middle Child Syndrome? A table-top exercise drew out the often overlooked organisational and leadership skills of building our narratives and conveying them to those around us, in language that attunes to the organisation: the importance of Stories and Relationships.

Panel discussions

Two panel sessions explored practical ways to improve services:

• Child and adolescent psychotherapy – focusing on early intervention, family support and improving outcomes for children and young people
• Getting off the couch and into the world – looking at how services can help people function in their daily lives and communities

Speakers included:

• Dr Kenisha Jackson, Senior Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
• Dr Jo O’Reilly, Chair, Medical Psychotherapy Faculty, Royal College of Psychiatrists
• Claire Hopkins, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Policy and Engagement Lead for Mental Health, BACP
• Matthew Liley-Smith, Policy and Engagement Lead for Mental Health, BACP
• Parveen Kaur, AFSP Chair and Head of Systemic Training, Birmingham Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Learning from success

A key session highlighted progress in child and adolescent psychotherapy, where fully funded training programmes have been successfully introduced.

Speakers shared how this was achieved through clear communication of outcomes, adapting approaches without reducing quality, and developing structured treatment pathways based on individual need. Evidence showed that many children and young people did not require further support after completing therapy.

There was also recognition of recent progress in family therapy and counselling, with NHS England now funding training programmes. This marks an important step in widening access to these professions, which have historically been difficult to enter due to high training costs.

Working together and leading change

The afternoon panel brought together Chairs of four professional bodies covering adult, child, family and medical psychotherapy.

Discussions focused on the need for psychotherapists to take on more visible leadership roles within the NHS. Speakers encouraged professionals to work more openly and strategically, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making spaces.

A key message was the importance of collaboration across psychotherapy disciplines, rather than working in isolation. The panel highlighted the need to come together as one professional community to strengthen the future of psychotherapy in the NHS.

Looking ahead

The conference brought together a wide range of perspectives and created space for open discussion, shared learning and future collaboration.

It reinforced CNWL’s commitment to improving access to psychotherapy and ensuring services are responsive, inclusive and sustainable for the future.