BYE-LAW 16C

CRITERIA FOR ACCREDITATION OF HUMANISTIC AND INTEGRATIVE PSYCHOTHERAPISTS FOR GRADUATES OF COURSES OTHER THAN IAHIP ‘RECOGNISED TRAINING COURSES’

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 This Bye Law sets out the minimum criteria that an applicant must meet in order to be accredited as a psychotherapist and accepted as a member of the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP) for those who have successfully graduated from a core training other than an IAHIP ‘Recognised Training Course’. These criteria have been drawn up so as to comply with the standards agreed with the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP) and the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) as a minimum.

1.2 To be accredited as a psychotherapist and accepted as a member of IAHIP, an applicant must:
a) be able to demonstrate that they practise psychotherapy from a humanistic and integrative ethos, and
b) give specific undertakings as to their professional and ethical practice if accredited.

1.3 The humanistic and integrative nature of an applicant’s practice is ascertained through:
a) evidence of completion of a specialist psychotherapy training course (ie parchment and comprehensive transcript), and
b) evidence of relevant Continuing Professional Development in Phase 2, and
c) a comprehensive report from the applicant's Phase 2 supervisor(s), and
d) a personal statement demonstrating how they practice psychotherapy in a humanistic and integrative way.

1.4 For the purposes of accreditation, a psychotherapy or supervision ‘hour’ is a session of 50-60 minutes duration. A combination of shorter sessions that accumulate to 50- 60 minutes does not constitute a psychotherapy or supervision session.

2. PHASES
2.1 The overall psychotherapy training completed by an applicant consists of two phases.

2.2 Phase 1 is the specialist core training as a psychotherapist on a course that is taught at postgraduate level. (The standards and criteria met here are outlined in Appendix 1.)

2.3 Phase 2 is the post-training phase (pre-accreditation) that must be of at least one year’s duration and no more than five years’ duration. It must include the specified elements in subsequent clauses.

3. PHASE 1 TRAINING
3.1 The training course completed in Phase 1 must extend over a minimum of four years, be taught to at least NFQ Level 9 or EU/UK Level 7, and must have been preceded by a relevant undergraduate degree of a minimum of three years’ duration.

3.2 Where the applicant does not have a relevant undergraduate degree, other prior learning pathways must be validated by the training course in accordance with statutory guidelines. Evidence will be required.

3.3 Split training (where students transfer from one psychotherapy training course to another) is permitted so long as each part is at least two years in duration, and the gap between each part must not exceed two years. The training organisation accepting the student for years 3 and 4 must ensure that the student’s first part of training was for at least two years, and that the learning outcomes, standards and other criteria of years 1 and 2 have been fully met and verified. Evidence will be required.

4. PSYCHOTHERAPY AS A CLIENT
4.1 During Phase 1 and Phase 2 combined, there must be a total of at least 250 hours of psychotherapy undertaken as a client. Evidence of all 250 hours is required.

4.2 Phase 1 minimum requirements are:

a) Individual Psychotherapy: 120 hours, and

b) Group Psychotherapy or Process Group: 60 hours

4.2.1 At least 75% of individual psychotherapy hours must take place face-to-face/in person; a maximum of 25% may take place remotely.

The Covid Adjustments, which applied to all students who commenced training in Autumn 2019 and up to and including all students who complete training in September 2025, will be honoured and accepted for the purposes of Accreditation. Students who were granted a deferral during this time will be accommodated.

4.2.2 All Group Psychotherapy and Process Group hours must take place face-to-face/in person. No hours of Group Psychotherapy or Process Group conducted remotely will be counted for accreditation purposes.

4.2.3 Only individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy and process group undertaken during Phase 1 can be used to fulfil the requirements of Phase 1. Hours done before or after Phase 1 cannot be used for this purpose.

4.3 All individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy and process group required in Phase 1 and Phase 2 must be conducted by either: a) IAHIP accredited psychotherapists, or b) suitably qualified psychotherapists accredited by an equivalent professional organisation, and who pursue their own practice from a humanistic and integrative ethos in a way that is congruent with the applicant’s orientation as a humanistic and integrative psychotherapist.

4.4 Group Psychotherapy and Process Group must not be evaluated or assessed by the training course, and ethical boundaries must be ensured (ie the psychotherapist/facilitator must have no input or influence on student evaluation or assessment).

4.5 Group Psychotherapy and Process Group does not count towards course Group Learning hours specified in Appendix 1.

4.6 The balance of 70 hours can be made up of (from either Phase):
a) further individual psychotherapy, and/or
b) further group psychotherapy or process group, and/or
c) psychotherapeutic experience facilitated by either (i) an IAHIP Member, or (ii) a professional qualified in their field and accredited by a relevant professional body.

5. CLINICAL PRACTICE
5.1 A minimum of 500 hours clinical practice are required in Phases 1 and 2 combined.

a) A minimum of 200 hours must be completed in the Phase 1 training course, to a maximum of 300 hours. Hours in excess of 300 will not be counted for accreditation purposes.

b) A minimum of 200 hours must be completed in Phase 2.

5.2 All clinical practice hours must be supervised in accordance with the provisions of this Bye Law.

5.3 Time spent in consultation with or offering psychological support to a client’s partner, parents or family, or in consultation with another professional (social worker, doctor, etc.), does not count towards clinical practice hours for the purposes of accreditation.

5.4 Clinical practice must not take place in the first two years of training.

5.5 In Phase 1: a maximum of 25% clinical practice hours may take place remotely. All remote clinical hours must have the approval of the supervisor(s).

5.6 In Phase 2: a maximum of 50% clinical practice hours may take place remotely. All remote clinical hours must have the approval of the supervisor(s).

6. SUPERVISION OF CLINICAL PRACTICE
6.1 A minimum of 150 hours of clinical supervision must have been received during the combination of Phases 1 and 2, and evidence must be provided.

6.2 During Phase 1:

6.2.1 At least 75% of supervision hours must take place in person; a maximum of 25% may take place remotely. The Covid Adjustments, which applied to all students who commenced training in Autumn 2019 and up to and including all students who complete training in September 2025, will be honoured and accepted for the purposes of Accreditation. Students who were granted a deferral during this time will be accommodated.

6.2.2 A ratio of at least one hour of supervision to four hours of client work is required (1:4), with a minimum frequency of monthly supervision.

6.2.3 Supervision can be either individual, or in group, or a combination of both.

6.2.4 Where supervision is in a group, the group must not exceed four supervisees. Each supervisee must have the opportunity to make a meaningful presentation and must receive one hour of credit for each hour of group supervision. Group supervision sessions must last at least 30 minutes per supervisee (eg 90 minutes for a group of three supervisees, or 120 minutes for a group of four supervisees). This does not imply that time must be strictly allocated equally to each individual.

6.2.5 Didactic supervision (e.g. clinical seminars), additional to that provided above, may be included as supervision of clinical practice, up to a maximum of 50 hours of the required minimum of 150 hours.

6.2.6 All supervisors from Phase 1 must terminate the supervision once the supervisee has completed their training course. A grace period of 3 months into Phase 2 is permitted to facilitate this transition.

6.3 During Phase 2:

6.3.1 A ratio of at least one hour of supervision to eight hours of client work is required (1:8), with a minimum frequency of monthly supervision.

6.3.2 At least 50% of the supervision in the Phase 2 must be individual supervision.

6.3.3 Where supervision is in a group, the group must not exceed four supervisees. Each supervisee must have the opportunity to make a meaningful presentation and must receive one hour of credit for each hour of group supervision. Group supervision sessions must last at least 30 minutes per supervisee (eg 90 minutes for a group of three supervisees, or 120 minutes for a group of four supervisees). This does not imply that time must be strictly allocated equally to each individual.

6.3.4 A full Supervisors report is required for all Supervision hours during Phase 2.

7. ACCEPTABLE SUPERVISORS
7.1 During both Phases 1 and 2, all supervisors, whether individual or group supervisors, must be either:

a) IAHIP accredited supervisors, or

b) supervisors accredited by other equivalent professional organisations acceptable to IAHIP, and who pursue their own practice from a shared humanistic and integrative ethos in a way that is congruent with the supervisee’s orientation as a humanistic and integrative psychotherapist.

7.2 There must be a clear distinction between line management and Clinical Supervision. The avoidance of dual relationships provides maximum benefit for the supervisee and protects the integrity of the supervisory relationship. Supervision should not have a disciplinary function, which it is inevitably open to if the supervisor is also the line manager, trainer or course director. Therefore, for accreditation purposes, an applicant who received supervision from a line manager, or other person with similar authority, cannot count these clinical hours or supervision hours towards accreditation.

8. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)
8.1 Applicants who are applying for accreditation more than two years after they have graduated from their core training course, must give evidence of their continued professional development as humanistic and integrative psychotherapists.

8.1.1 Applicants applying for accreditation between 24-36 months after graduation are required to have undertaken at least 10 hours of CPD.

8.1.2 Applicants applying for accreditation between 37-48 months after graduation are required to have undertaken at least 20 hours of CPD.

8.1.3 Applicants applying for accreditation between 49-60 months after graduation are required to have undertaken at least 30 hours of CPD.

8.2 Acceptable forms of CPD can be from any combination of at least two of the following four categories, and evidence must be provided:

a) attendance at additional or advanced training programmes or workshops directly related to the practice and skills of psychotherapy; or

b) engagement in voluntary activities on behalf of the Association, ie membership of a committee or working group, or as co-ordinator of a Regional Network. Being a Pre- Accredited Associate of IAHIP is a requirement for these activities.

c) writing and publishing articles related to psychotherapy in a peer-reviewed journal (such as Inside Out). Each published article counts as 15 CPD hours.

d) additional clinical supervision hours over and above the normal supervision requirements outlined in Clause 6 above.

9. INSURANCE
9.1 All applicants for accreditation must provide evidence of current adequate professional indemnity insurance for their practice as psychotherapists.

10. UNDERTAKINGS
10.1 All applicants for accreditation as a psychotherapist and membership of IAHIP must undertake:

a) to abide by the Codes of Ethics and Practice of IAHIP, and

b) to present themselves for re-accreditation as IAHIP requires, and

c) to renew their membership of IAHIP annually, and

d) to demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional development, and

e) to be committed to maintaining appropriate ongoing supervision and support in accordance with IAHIP requirements, and

f) to ensure they maintain adequate and up-to-date professional indemnity insurance for their practice as psychotherapists.

11. IMPLEMENTATION
11.1 The Accreditation Committee is the competent body to implement this Bye Law in accordance with the provisions of Bye Law 1, and the decisions of the Accreditation Committee as to whether an applicant for accreditation fulfils the conditions of membership shall, subject to the right of appeal below, be final.

11.2 Applicants for accreditation, whose applications are refused by the Accreditation Committee, may appeal this decision if the Committee did not properly follow its own procedures. The appeal should be made in writing to Governing Body, giving the basis for the appeal. The Governing Body will appoint an Ad-Hoc Appeals Board to hear and adjudicate on the appeal. The “Grounds for Certain Appeals” and “Terms of Reference for Appeals Process”, for the time being in force, shall apply.