We can't move for therapists but are they helping or harming mental health patients?

I was struck by the news last week that GPs are so overwhelmed with mental health patients that they are directing them to the care of unregulated charities. Complex cases are now in the hands of therapists who are not always qualified to treat them.

- Martha Gill

In one case, an autistic girl with an eating disorder was asked to self-refer to a charity that offered "one-to-one support" - given by someone untrained in psychotherapy or counselling. Her mother, a former psychiatric nurse, became concerned that the treatment was doing more harm than good and put a stop to the sessions.

The numbers aren't small, either. A counselling charity in Blackpool estimates that about half of the patients its therapists see each week are referred through the NHS.

This touches on a wider problem in the world of talking therapies: they are not regulated. Anyone can call themselves a "therapist", "psychologist", or "counsellor". A recent BBC investigation found that dodgy online courses have exploded - some with very basic requirements, others that allowed candidates to cheat. But there is no legal obligation even to do a weekend counselling course before you start taking paying patients.

While medical doctors are overseen by the General Medical Council, which can strike them off its register and prevent them practising again, regulation for psychotherapists and counsellors is entirely voluntary. You can choose to get accredited by respected organisations such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). But if you are struck off, there is nothing to stop you setting up shop again. In short, this is an industry with no unified ethical code or complaints system, and no minimum qualifications, dealing with sick and vulnerable people.