.

Professional Memberships

Click here to download the CBTASA membership application form. 

Membership* categories consist of Full (HPCSA registered) or Affiliated (other SA registration categories), which are subdivided according to the CBT practitioners training and experience in specific CBT Models. Please consult the Membership Criteria page for details and required documents.

Membership benefits include 

  • Inclusion in the CBTASA Therapist’s network
  • Verification of training and experience background
  • Exposure to referral sources 
  • Guidance on further development, training and supervision 
  • Access to Resources (Research, Events and articles)
  • Opportunity to contribute to the Resources, i.e. advertising related workshops or posting articles with acknowledgment   
  • Benefits of EABCT membership (pending) https://eabct.eu/member-benefits including conferences, influence and engagement, training and accreditation, and book offers. The EABCT accommodates all the CBT generations, including DBT and ACT (see Mission Statement)          

(*HPCSA and other practice regulations are applicable and remain the practitioner’s responsibility to adhere to.) 

Membership may be applied for in one or more of the following categories and in one or more CBT Model(s) as described on page 2 of the website, only using the highest subcategory for anyone CBT Model, i.e.

Criteria: 

  1. Accredited Member: Being an Internationally accredited Trainer or Supervisor: Certified by an official credentialing body as an Internationally Accredited Trainer & Supervisor, as an example; The Albert Ellis Institute, The Academy of Cognitive Therapy, BABCP as well as; An internationally accredited member: Those that have recognizable International Accreditation at an official credentialing body, such as; Certification with the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (www.academyofct.org), or Associate Fellowship from the Albert Ellis Institute (www.albertellis.org/professional-rebt-cbt/trainings/), or Certification with the Beck Institute (, www.beckinstitute.org/certification), or from EACBT (www.eabct.eu/training-and-accreditation). Third generation CBT models criteria per inquiry (contacts on CBT page). 
  2. Academic Member: Those that teach or have taught CBT at Master’s degree university level, and/or have considerably contributed to the development of CBT i.e. in research  
  3. Advanced Associate Member: Having completed a comprehensive CBT course and evaluation (i.e. theoretical and practical testing) of international standard (CE accredited), physically or online, for several months, with 10 hours supervision, plus one year’s experience thereafter. Examples of such courses would be longer term training programs such as a CBT program at Boston University, six to eight months Oxford Learning College online course, OCTC five month online course, nine month Behavioural Health (Cleveland Centre for Cognitive Therapy) distance education course, or;   having completed several, more advanced CPD accredited CBT workshops, skills classes, or international conferences. Examples of more advanced workshops would be added modules such as CBT for Depression, CBT for Personality Disorders, CBT for OCD, CBT for PTSD and skills classes such as Socratic Questioning, Case Conceptualization, etc. International conferences could include those organized by the WCCBT, IACBT, ABCT, BABCP, EABCT)  
  4. Associate Member: Attendance of six days or 40 hours of workshops in a specific CBT model at a CPD accredited institute, i.e. at the Centre for CBT, Schema Therapy Institute of SA, Practical CBT Courses in SA, SA DBT Institute, MBCT(IMISA), ACBS(SA), etc., or equivalent university CBT module as part of a qualifying MA Psychology program. Examples of such workshops would be Essentials of CBT and CBT for Anxiety.     
  5. Open Member: Anyone interested in CBT and registered with their professional bodies and students of Psychology. 

Please contact the CBTASA for more information on obtaining certification in the subcategories above. 

Please note that each CBTASA member is bound by their professional organization’s regulations and standards of conduct/ethics, i.e. with regards to scope of practice: https://www.hpcsa.co.za/?contentId=0&menuSubId=52&actionName=Professional%20Boards (Announcements and Policy & Guidelines).   

Colleagues registered abroad as psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. are currently being considered under the category of Provisional Affiliated Member, pending a discussion with the HPCSA’s Professional Board.