About Us
The Division of Counselling Psychology promotes the development of Counselling Psychology as a legitimate body of psychological knowledge and as a professional field of psychological activity.
Contact Us: counsellingpsychology@psychologicalsociety.ie
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING GROUP MEMBERSHIP CHARGES:
You will be charged the full membership fee upon application. Should your membership be approved, this will cover your group membership for the rest of the calendar year. Your group membership will renew automatically during the renewal period (between 01 January and 31 March), along with your general PSI membership. Please note, should your application be declined, there are no refunds for your groupapplication fee, as per PSI T&C's: https://www.psychologicalsociety.ie/footer/Terms-and-Conditions. Thus, please ensure to read the membership criteria very carefully before making an application to join a PSI group (div or SIG).
Prices to join DCoP as a member
Full Membership - €25
Associate Membership €13
Officers
Maureen Gallagher
Chairperson
Mairead Dowling
Membership Secretary/Secretary
Barbara Hannigan
Membership Secretary/ Course Liaison
Tim van Wanrooij
Ordinary Member
Hugo Valente
Ordinary Member
Claire Carter
Ordinary Member
Karla Duffy & Laura Somers & Qing Ke
TCD Student Representatives
Beatriz Gil Perez
Ordinary Member
Join Us
Membership of the Division of Counselling Psychology
Applicants for membership of the Division of Counselling Psychology must hold existing Graduate Membership of the Psychological Society of Ireland.
If you wish to apply for membership of the Division of Counselling Psychology, you must complete the Membership Application Form (below) and upload it to your Online Application along with relevant supporting documentation. Failure to upload the Application Form and/or relevant supporting documentation will cause delays in the processing of the applications.
Full Membership
Full Membership An applicant for full membership must fulfil one of the following conditions:
- Hold a Doctoral level postgraduate professional qualification in Counselling Psychology as recognised by the Council of the Society
- Have such training and/or experience as may be regarded by the Division Committee and/or the Membership, Qualifications and Registration Committee of the Psychological Society of Ireland as equivalent to 3.2 (a) above
- On completion of formal training to Masters level in counselling psychology, have gained an additional 400 hours of supervised client contact at a ratio of one hour supervision to eight hours ‘client contact (i.e. 1:8 ratio, supervised by suitably qualified personnel, this decision regarding suitability to be made by the division committee so as to be in line with current requirements for supervisors of trainees in PSI accreditation criteria for Counselling Psychology training programmes). This is not required for applicants trained to doctoral level.
Associate Membership
- Associate Membership of the Division is open to graduate members or other subscribers of the Society who fulfil one of the following conditions:
- be a student on a postgraduate professional training course in Counselling Psychology recognised by the Council of the Society; or
- be a student on a postgraduate professional training course in Counselling Psychology as may be regarded by the Division Committee as equivalent to 3.6 (a) above.
- be working in an area of counselling psychology recognised for this purpose by the Division Committee; or
- be engaged in an area of work related to counselling psychology recognised for this purpose by the Division Committee
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING GROUP MEMBERSHIP CHARGES:
You will be charged the full membership fee upon application. Should your membership be approved, this will cover your group membership for the rest of the calendar year. Your group membership will renew automatically during the renewal period (between 01 January and 31 March), along with your general PSI membership. Please note, should your application be declined, there are no refunds for your groupapplication fee, as per PSI T&C's: https://www.psychologicalsociety.ie/footer/Terms-and-Conditions. Thus, please ensure to read the membership criteria very carefully before making an application to join a PSI group (div or SIG).
Prices to join DCoP as a member
Full Membership - €25
Associate Membership €13
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the Grandparenting Rule is to enable Full and Associate members of the Special
Interest Group in Coaching Psychology, who are experienced coaching psychologists and
professional coaches, to gain membership of the Division of Coaching Psychology during a
transition period.
The Grandparenting Rule acknowledges that due to the emerging and evolving nature of coaching
psychology qualifications and professional pathways, some current members may not meet all the
requirements of the new Full or Associate membership criteria of the Division of Coaching
Psychology.
This Rule seeks to recognise the prior learning, qualifications, and experience of coaching
psychologists and professional coaches who are current members of the Special Interest Group in
Coaching Psychology, ensuring inclusion of those established practitioners in the Division of
Coaching Psychology, while maintaining standards for new entrants into the profession.
WHO CAN APPLY:
This Membership Route is only open to those who are Full or Associate Members of the
Special Interest Group in Coaching Psychology as of 18th October 2025.
Thereafter all applications (lapsed or new) for Full or Associate Membership of the Division of
Coaching Psychology must meet the new Membership criteria as set out in the Rules of the
Division of Coaching Psychology.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
The below criteria are outlined in greater detail in the Grandparenting Rules.
Please read the Grandparenting Rules before completing the Application Form.
Thereafter, applicants should complete the attached Grandparenting Application Form in full and upload below.
Applicants for Full membership must hold PSI Graduate or Chartered membership.
Applicants for Full and Associate Membership must hold membership of the Division of Coaching
Psychology and meet each of the following four criteria demonstrating professional experience
and contribution to coaching psychology.
- Coaching Experience
- Qualifications and Training
- Contribution to the Field of Coaching Psychology
- Commitment to Professional Ethical Standards, Reflective Practice and Supervision
TIMEFRAME AND DEADLINE:
The Grandparenting Route will be open for a limited transition period from 20 October 2025 to 1st
March 2026.
After this period, all applicants (lapsed or new) must meet the Division of Coaching Psychology
New Membership criteria as defined in the Rules of the Division of Coaching Psychology and
adopted by membership at the AGM on 18th October 2025.
PLEASE NOTE:
There is no additional fee required to transfer via the Grandparenting Route to the Division of
Coaching Psychology.