This article, updated in June 2008, explores issues related to ethical governance as an integral part of the increasing professionalization of the mental health field as psychotherapists and counsellors move towards statutory regulation in the United Kingdom (UK). The Health Professions Council (HPC) continues to meet with the numerous interested parties who are working to achieve regulation by 2011. It is important to note that this is a rapidly evolving process so that some of the information related to it may have changed by the time the article is published. The author suggests that the points made in the article may be relevant not only to the UK but to the mental health field worldwide. Legal issues are looked at that pertain to judicial review, data protection, anti-discriminatory legislation, human rights, and confidentiality with regard to patient material. Transparency and accountability are the twin pillars of ethical governance not only in the mental health field but in the socio-political-economic life of much of today's world.