Are you a member yet? Membership is open to all and is the first step towards accreditation.
We are the lead organisation for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in the UK and Ireland. We promote, improve and uphold standards of CBT practice, supervision and training. We support our members to develop professionally and link with the CBT community. We are a professional association operating a highly-respected voluntary register for our accredited cognitive behavioural psychotherapists, wellbeing practitioners, and evidence-based parenting practitioners - which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority - and help to protect the public by supporting best practice.
Our strategy was developed in consultation with our members.
Our mission is to advance the theory and knowledge of CBT in order to improve and enhance wellbeing. We want to lead the way in continually developing high-quality CBT across the UK and Ireland. This is to help therapists provide high standards of practice and better help and protect the public engaging with CBT.
Our key strategic aims are
1. Advancing the theory and knowledge of CBT
2. Extending public and health service understanding of CBT and its value
3. Supporting and advancing the practice and delivery of CBT
4. Informing the public about safe and effective CBT practice
5. Ensuring the sustainable development of the organisation and its membership
The following values underpin our strategic plan and we endeavour to ensure they are central to everything we do.
Diversity, inclusivity, and collaboration – we appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusivity and seek to maximise participation and engagement from everyone with an interest in CBT, in particular those from under-represented groups. CBT is a collaborative therapy, and we value collaboration and consultation with members and wider groups as needed.
We oppose discrimination of any kind and are continually working to improve our recognition of, and take an active stance against discrimination and inequality.
Integrity, openness and honesty – We believe there should be integrity in all that we do. We aim to be open and transparent so that we can be responsible and accountable.
Professionalism – as an organisation we strive to have the highest standards of professionalism, as we also expect from our members, who agree to abide by our Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics.
An evidence-based and developmental approach - CBT is an evidence-based therapy. This means there is an evidence base that demonstrates it can be effective. We value this evidence-base and it shapes the actions and decisions we take.
Climate and Ecological Emergency - BABCP recognises that we are in a climate and ecological emergency. The health of the planet is inextricably linked to human health and wellbeing.
As scientist practitioners and members of the Lead Body for Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy (CBP) in the UK, we believe that we can and must take action on climate change. Whether this is within management, leadership, research, training or the clinic, it is within our professional remit to apply our skills and knowledge to what is clearly an existential threat to humanity.
Importantly, all of us, our friends and families, are already experiencing the effects of climate change. While we can see both a global and local impact on our environment some of us may experience eco-concern, and distress while other may be more vulnerable to stress, anxiety and depression. While cognitive behavioural psychotherapists have clinical tools to help alleviate some of this suffering and are developing new approaches, eco-distress is grounded in rational responses to global societal ills, which require collective global solutions. The BABCP as an organisation is committed to playing its part by showing leadership in this area, in reducing its own carbon footprint wherever possible as well as furthering research in this area and providing guidance for therapists who encounter eco-distress in their work.
We are incorporated as a registered charity, reporting to the Charities Commission of England and Wales. We are also a company limited by Guarantee, registered at Companies House. Our constitution is our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Our Board is made up of ten members, elected by our membership. We have a number of member-led standing committees as well as geographically-based branches and Special Interest Groups. We are currently developing our committee memberships so they include lay and lived experience representation.
We strive to continually develop and improve the services we provide for the benefit of all our critical stakeholders including our members and the wider public.
You can see our governance structure, including our current standing committees here.
CBT practitioners who can demonstrate they meet our standards of education, training, supervision, work experience and other areas of personal development can apply to become accredited. As of June 2020, we have over 7,500 accredited practitioner members.
Higher education courses which can demonstrate they meet our standards of education and training can also apply for accreditation. We accredit over 50 university courses.
Training and development opportunities for members are provided via training events, conferences, journals and good practice guides, among other services.