Status of ACT as of 11/6/98

At the AABT convention which was recently concluded, members of the board of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy updated interested parties on the Academy's current plans. At this point the bylaws are in the final stages of being revised to comply with the requirements of the National Organization of Certifying Agencies and they should be voted on within the month. The Academy will then incorporate in the state of Illinois as a not-for-profit organization, will obtain the necessary insurance coverage, and will be ready to start credentialing Cognitive Therapists. Board members and members serving on committees will be reimbursed for expenses and may receive nominal reimbursement for time spent reviewing applications, etc. but will not profit from their involvement with the Academy.

The Academy is planning two levels of certification, “Member” and “Fellow”. My understanding of the credentialing plans are as follows:

• To become a Member of the Academy, one would submit an application showing the necessary credentials (masters-level or higher, at least 40 hours of coursework & clinical training including workshops attended and books read, clinical experience with at least 10 clients, letters of recommendation, etc.). If the applicant’s credentials are satisfactory, they would then submit a case write-up to be reviewed by the credentialing committee and an audiotape of a therapy session to be rated using the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale.
• To become a Fellow of the Academy, one would need to be nominated as having made a significant contribution to CT (research, teaching, writing).

Both Members and Fellows will be re-credentialed every five years but this will not involve re-submitting case write-ups and tapes. Roughly 100 "Founding Fellows" recognized as having made a significant contribution to CT will initially form the core of the Academy. However, people who trained at Becks Center or other Centers for Cognitive Therapy will not automatically be “grandfathered” in (some of them are upset by that). Everyone will have to meet the same credentialing criteria, no matter who they trained with or who they know.

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