Dr Sally Aldridge has been actively involved in counselling since qualifying as a counsellor at the University of Keele. Like many counsellors, this was a second career; the first was a teacher of African History in Zambia. Sally worked as a student counsellor, supervisor and trainer before joining BACP as a full time member of staff responsible for the accreditation schemes in 1999. Sally had previously been involved with BACP as a volunteer in the accreditation schemes and an elected member of the Management Committee. She is a Fellow of BACP. Sally sees her own career developing in parallel with the development of BACP and counselling in the United Kingdom. This led her to a doctorate in the development of counselling in 2011 titled Counselling – an insecure profession? A historical and sociological analysis. Previous publications include, Counselling Skills in Context (Hodder & Stoughton, 2001) and The Peoples of Zambia (Heinemann Educational Books, 1978). Sally has been a member of many national projects related to counselling and psychotherapy: the development of National Occupational Standards for the Psychological Therapies, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Workforce and Education and Training Groups, New Ways of Working for Psychological Therapists, the Health Professions Council’s Professional Liaison Group for the statutory regulation of psychotherapy and counselling and the Quality Assurance Agency Benchmark Development Group for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is currently a member of the Steering Group for the expansion of psychological therapy in Northern Ireland.  In order to stay calm Sally runs and in 2012 became a “Compleat Runner” in her local league by completing all 22 races in 10 months.