by Eileen Prendiville

It is important for IAHIP members to be aware of, and compliant with, criteria for re-accreditation long before attempting to renew their accreditation. This prevents disappointment and distress by enabling each member to ensure that they maintain eligibility for continued membership. IAHIP requirements are consistent with European and Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP) requirements. ‘Bye Law 1c’ details IAHIP’s criteria for re-accreditation as a member of the association. In general, each period of accreditation is valid for five years after which renewal is necessary. The following extracts from ‘Bye Law 1c’ are presented to remind members of some of their responsibilities in this area so as to ensure eligibility for continued accredited membership. Please read the full Bye Law (available at https://iahip.org/re-accreditation) to ensure fully accurate information.

The criteria by which eligibility for re-accreditation shall be judged involves four aspects:

  • practice as a psychotherapist
  • supervision of practice
  • continuing professional development
  • insurance

Practice as a psychotherapist
Such practice should normally involve a minimum of 400 hours of client work practice over a five-year period.

Supervision
To be eligible for re-accreditation, applicants must show that their practice as a humanistic and integrative psychotherapist is adequately supervised. The amount and kind of supervision considered adequate for those applying for re-accreditation for the first time is different to the amount and kind considered adequate for those who have already been re-accredited at least once.

For those who are applying for re-accreditation for the first time, the amount and kind of supervision required is as follows:

A. Amount of Supervision Required for First Re-Accreditation.
The psychotherapist is required to undertake one hour of supervision for every 25 hours of client work, with a minimum frequency of monthly supervision.

B. Kind of Supervision Required for First Re-Accreditation. Supervision must consist of any combination of the following two kinds:

  • Individual (One-to-One) Supervision
  • Group Supervision

For those who have already been re-accredited at least once, the amount and kind of supervision required is as follows:

A. Amount of Supervision Required for Second or Later Re-Accreditation. The psychotherapist is required to have undertaken one hour of supervision for every 50 hours of client work, with a minimum frequency of monthly supervision.

B. Kind of Supervision Required for Second or Later Re-Accreditation. Supervision may consist of any combination of the following four kinds:

  • Individual (One-to-One) supervision
  • Group supervision
  • One-to-One Peer Supervision
  • Peer Group Supervision

Descriptions of requirements in each of these categories are given in ‘Bye Law 1c’.

Continuing Professional Development
All applicants for re-accreditation must have continued their professional development as psychotherapists. An average of 50 hours per year of Continuing Professional Development is required (i.e., a total of 250 hours over each five- year period).

(i)  Acceptable forms of Continuing Professional Development may come from any of the eight categories listed below, (a) to (h).
(ii)  The hours to be counted must be drawn from at least three of these categories, though they may be drawn from a larger number of categories or even from all eight categories.
(iii)  A maximum number of allowable hours is set only for category (g).
(iv)  For at least three of the categories from which hours are drawn, there should be at least 10 hours over the five-year period.

The categories are as follows:

(a) Engagement as a client in personal therapy or group therapy or as a participant in other relevant experientially-based group learning activities.
(b)  Attendance at additional or advanced psychotherapy and related training programmes.
(c)  Attendance at psychotherapy conferences / symposiums / lectures / workshops / seminars / reading groups or other shared learning environments that address psychotherapy theory and practice.
(d)  Receiving supervision in accordance with the requirements detailed in ‘Bye Law 1c’.
(e)  Engagement in activities for or on behalf of the Association, e.g., committee work, membership of Governing Body, etc.
(f)  Working as a supervisor or as a trainer in the field of psychotherapy, or in related fields that call for psychotherapeutic skills.
(g)  Engagement in self-care and/or self-reflective activities and/or practices, e.g., meditation, yoga, martial arts, journaling. (Maximum average of 10 hours per year, i.e., maximum total of 50 hours over the five-year period.)
(h)  Writing and publishing articles or books relating to psychotherapy. (This form of continuing professional development is counted in the following way: (i) An article on psychotherapy in a journal counts as 15 hours in the year in which it is published; (ii) A book in the field of psychotherapy counts as 25 hours per annum for a five-year period (i.e., 125 hours in total). These hours may be divided across two five-year periods of re-accreditation, if required.

Insurance
All applicants for membership re-accreditation must show that they have adequate insurance for their work as psychotherapists.

Eileen Prendiville, psychotherapist and trainer at the Children’s Therapy Centre, Co. Westmeath, has been heavily involved in IAHIP committee work over the last eight years. She can be contacted at email: childrenstherapycentre@gmail.com; telephone: 087 6488149.

Further Information:
Further details on ‘Bye Law 1c’ are available on the IAHIP website (https://www.iahip.org/re-accreditation) or directly from the IAHIP office at email: info@iahip.org; telephone: 01 284 1665.