Accreditation for Clinical Psychologists and providing evidence of CBT training

To become accredited as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist you must meet all our Minimum Training Standards (MTS) and cover the content in our Core Curriculum.

BABCP Level 2 accredited DClinPsy programme graduates - you will have completed all of MTS and you should complete a Level 2 Accreditation form.

BABCP Level 1 accredited DClinPsy programme graduates - you will have completed a specific amount of the MTS – please complete the Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist Accreditation form using the guidance provided in the Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist Accreditation Application Guidelines. 

Graduates of other BPS accredited DClin Psy programmes – you should apply using the Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist Application form using the Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist Accreditation Application Guidelines in addition to the important guidance on this page. 

If you are applying for accreditation as a graduate of DClinPsy programme which is accredited with BPS but not with us, we will recognise, without detailed evidence, that you have received at least -

• 100 taught CBT hours
• A pass grade on two CBT case studies

This recognition is particularly useful for those who trained some time ago and may not have detailed evidence of their training. However, you will still need to provide evidence of the remaining 100 hours CBT taught content and 2 case studies.

Standards of Proficiency for Clinical Psychologists set out by HCPC and the BPS accreditation criteria both require CBT teaching and practice as a substantial part of their training. You can find more information on this BPS webpage.

This means that, although the amount of CBT taught on different DClinPsy programmes varies, all qualified Clinical Psychologists will have met some or all of our Minimum Training Standards. 

What this means for your Accreditation application

We will accept your DClinPsy certificate as evidence of completing 100 hours of CBT taught content and two passed CBT case studies without further detailed evidence. Please enter the course title and university in Sections 3a and 3d of the Practitioner Application form and two additional case study details in Section 3f. 

Evidence 3A1 is the DClinPsy Certificate throughout these examples.

Example of Section 3a - Taught CBT hours of Core Professional Training

There is no need to repeat this information in Section 3c – Taught CBT Recognised Specialist Training – please detail any CBT training courses in addition to your doctorate in 3c. You can leave it blank if you didn’t complete any. 

You may also present some or all of your remaining 100 taught CBT hours in Section 3e – Other CBT CPD Training and Experience. Please consult the Practitioner Accreditation Guidelines for completing this section and all other parts of the form not referred to here. 

Example of Section 3d – Self Directed Study

The Practitioner Accreditation application form asks you to provide evidence of 250 self-directed study hours from within any CBT specialist training.

If you can’t provide this from you DClinsPsy course, we will accept evidence from other CBT courses, CPD or independent study. This evidence may be, reading lists from courses, lists you have created of books and articles read and videos watched, references from case studies and assignments.

Example of Section 3f – Case Studies

Using your DClinPsy to meet most or all of the MTS

If you prefer to use your DClinPsy as evidence of more than 100 CBT taught hours and/or two case studies, you must provide detailed evidence of all your training as described in the Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist Accreditation Guidelines.