European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP)

Procedures for the award of the ECP (Revision Nov. 2004)

Please replace all previous version of these procedures with this one.

This document should be read in conjunction with the Regulations of the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP). These can be obtained from the EAP office, and will be available in all four languages of the European Association for Psychotherapy or EAP (French, English, German and Russian). Many documents can also be obtained from the EAP web-site: www.europsyche.org. The procedures for recognising National Awarding Organisations (NAOs) and European Wide Accrediting Organisations (EWAOs) are included in these regulations. Further information can be obtained from the co-chairs of the European Training Standards Committee (ETSC), at the EAP office.

Application forms are available from the EAP web-site or from the Head-Office.

The ECP regulations apply to two actions of the EAP: the award of the Certificate, and the creation of a register of Certificate holders. Both of these actions are taken on behalf of the European public as well as on behalf of the practitioner. This is recognized in the fact that many ECP holders advertise this fact, for example by posting a plaque on their wall or displaying their certificate in their offices.

The award of the ECP to a practitioner attests to that practitioner's competence in psychotherapy. A member of the public who goes to an ECP holder can therefore know that he or she is consulting a competent practitioner. However it does not guarantee the ethical standing of a practitioner. The way that professions do that is to maintain a register, and to remove from the register a practitioner whose practice falls below the standards of ethics (or competence) expected of that profession.

The creation of a National Register of ECP holders is therefore as essential an action in the creation of a European profession of psychotherapy as is the award of the ECP.

ECP by training (direct award)

The ECP may be awarded on the completion of a training done by a EAPTI (European Accredited Psychotherapy Training Institute) that has been accredited by an NAO of the EAP as fulfilling the requirements of the EAP.

This training must also have been approved by the relevant EWAO.

ECP by "grandparenting"

The ECP may also be awarded on the recommendation by an NAO that a practitioner has been long established in the profession and that he or she has accumulated theoretical understanding and practical competence at least as great as that of a practitioner who has completed an accredited training. Each practitioner recommended by this “grandparenting” procedure must be approved by the relevant EWAO or, if there is none, a special panel of the the European Wide Organisation Committee (EWOC) and the National Umbrella Organizations Committee (the NUOC). This special Grandparenting Accreditation Panel (GAP) is chaired by Mony Elkaïm and Isabelle Crespelle. Correspondence should be sent to them at the EAP head office. It is likely that GAP will meet three times a year, at the time of the Board meeting. Applications for the ECP by grandparenting cannot therefore be dealt with continuously throughout the year for practitioners whose modality is not represented by an EWAO.

For those practitioners whose modality is recognized by an EWAO, EWAOs have agreed to nominate a representative in each country who can act on the behalf of the EWAO as their signatory. It is expected that each NAO will negotiate with the EWAO about this nomination. Once a local representative of the EWAO has been appointed, this should simplify and speed up the process of grandparenting so long as the EWAOs make available to the Registrar the names of each of the authorized signatories.

It has been agreed by the EWOC, and notified to the Board, that each EWAO has six weeks from the date of receiving the name of a practitioner being recommended for the ECP to reply to the NAO as to whether or not the recommendation is approved. If no letter is received by the NAO within six weeks, then the NAO may send the recommendations to the GAP with a letter explaining the circumstances. The GAP will then consider the recommendations at its next meeting.

EWAOs and GAP are reminded that if they do not approve the name of a practitioner, they must provide grounds for their decision to the NAO.

Any recommendations received by the Registrar will not be considered unless the names are submitted on the forms agreed at the Board meeting in Dublin, in June 2000. The Registrar is aware that this might seem unnecessarily bureaucratic, but it has become essential as to ensure that every country follows the same procedures, and no countries are singled out to have favourable or unfavourable treatment; using these forms will result in fewer delays to the process of registration.

Copies of the form are attached to this letter, and have been placed on the EAP web-site. They are available in English, German, French and Russian. NAOs may translate the forms into their own language so long as the exact wording and format is retained. Forms that have been translated into other languages should not be used until they have been submitted to the registrar for approval. Forms should use the logo and title of EAP and not the logo or title of the NAO. Although the NAO awards the ECP, the ECP is owned by the EAP and the process of awarding it is determined by EAP.

A separate form should be completed for each applicant. The forms should be signed by an authorized named person in the NAO and by the EWAO for that modality or, if there is no EWAO, by the chair of GAP. The GAP requests additional documentation (a detailed CV of about 2-3 pages, in English).

Please note that it is the responsibility of the NAO to obtain both signatures. It is important that all part of the form are completed otherwise it may be necessary for the registrar to return the forms to the NAO, causing delay in the award of the ECP.

The completed forms or copies of them, duly signed, should be sent to the Registrar at the address shown at the end of this document. Forms should be sent by post and NAOs are advised to keep copies of the forms before sending them (and to keep the complete file with copies of Certificates).

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