Independent Practitioners Network

Independent Practitioners Network is an organization for human development practitioners based on peer support and monitoring.

Membership of IPN is open solely to groups of practitioners. Groups gain full membership of the IPN by having at least 5 members, by publishing a code of ethics and by linking to at least two other groups.

Individuals cannot join the Network directly although they can be involved in its activities. Practitioners may include psychotherapists, counsellors, trainers, teachers or anyone who could be reasonably be associated with any of these activities. IPN supports diversity and groups typically embrace a number of different practices.

The function of the groups is for their members to support and monitor each other's practice in whatever way they decide in order that they are prepared to "stand by" that practice. The function of the links is for link groups to cross moderate the processes whereby each group's members claim to be able to "stand by" the practices of the other members of the group.

Some members of IPN groups see it solely as a vehicle for supporting good practice. Others also use it a basis of accreditation, generally as an alternative to other hierarchical, specification based accreditation schemes. IPN does not confer any form of accreditation but individuals can claim to be accredited through participation in the IPN process or, if their group agrees, they can be accredited by their group.

IPN currently operates in, but is not restricted to, the United Kingdom.