Ethical Charter

EABCT ETHICAL CHARTER

(5th July 2022)

PREAMBLE

This Charter speaks to the common ethical framework that guides and inspires all EABCT member associations and EABCT itself toward the highest ethical ideals in their professional and scientific missions. It also guides their relationships within EABCT and with their wider social, cultural and political connections.

This Charter is clearly distinct from a code of ethics ruling the professional behaviour of individual CBT therapists. The Charter addresses the behaviour and values of associations; codes of ethics address the behaviour and values of therapists.

EABCT member associations are associations of people interested in, professionals practicing or studying CBT. They are not necessarily national associations or organisations and, in any case, they do not represent in any way the nations in which they may be located, nor the political agenda of these nations.

All CBT associations members of the EABCT support the aims, values and the constitution of the EABCT as well as this Ethical Charter.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND VALUES

The core values of the EABCT are honesty, decency, equality, diversity, respect for dignity and human rights, fairness, a spirit of teamwork, collaborative decision making, open communication, responsibility, and empirically based practice.

This Charter represents the commitment of all the EABCT member associations to help build a better world where peace, freedom, humanity and ethics prevail.

RESPECT FOR DIGNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

EABCT and all its Member Associations (MA) respect human rights as defined in the United Nations Universal Human Rights Declaration. This includes promoting practices in mental health that are respectful of human dignity and rights and denouncing any practice that is contrary to human dignity and rights.

All EABCT MA respect the unique worth and inherent dignity of all human beings and diversity among peoples, as well as customs of different cultures. This is to be limited only when a custom or a belief seriously contravenes the principle of respect for the dignity of persons or causes serious harm to their well-being, or is in contradiction with the universal declaration of human rights.

All EABCT MAs always stand against attitudes and behaviours that lead to human suffering and destruction.

PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY

All EABCT MA strive towards professional integrity and are responsible to hold all their members who would work against the core values of the EABCT and contrary to this Charter to account.

All EABCT MA act cautiously with precise information and without sensationalism when informing the public. They will not abuse cognitive behavioural psychotherapy or misuse their representation within EABCT for political, ideological or private purposes.

The general spirit within EABCT shall be one of co-operation and the organisation will strive towards maximum transparency, democratic approach and solidarity, while trying to resolve any situations which may give rise to conflicts of any kind. This also means that the EABCT supports accessibility and that it wants to accept new member associations especially from regions where CBT is not yet broadly disseminated, as well as to support them in their development. This is especially true for associations located in countries that limit political rights and civil liberties as these associations need most help.

Before accepting a new member association, the EABCT will ensure that the candidate association supports this ethical charter and can do so without any restrictions or outside control.

EABCT ETHICS COMMITTEE

Composition

The Ethics Committee is composed of at least five members with a 3-year terms that can be re-elected once. They are elected by the GM. EABCT ethical committee membership would not be compatible with membership of the ethical committee of a MA, or of EABCT Board. The committee should tend toward a balance in gender and geographical origins.

Missions

The missions of the EABCT Ethical committee are:

• To provide support to MA in the application of the Charter;
• To document and to provide guidance in case of complaint or worries that a MA or EABCT itself is not complying to the Charter;
• To provide support and advice to MA who would address ethical questions to the Ethical committee;
• To inform and to advise the Board about any ethical issue or concern that would be relevant for EABCT.

The Ethical committee has only an advisory function. It has no decision-making power, including regarding the sanctions that would apply to MAs in default regarding the Charter. Decisions are to be taken by the General Meeting or the Board according to the Constitution and the Rules.

Procedure

The Ethical Committee will write its procedures and terms of reference, and propose them to the Board.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHARTER

All EABCT MA will communicate the commitments outlined in this ethical charter to their members after it comes into force after the General Meeting (September 2022) vote.

EABCT ETHICAL CODE

11 March 2023

PREAMBLE

Ethical principles in this code are derived from the commonalities of the ethics codes of CBT associations that do already have such a code. CBT associations which are members of EABCT can have their own respective ethical codes, but they should not contradict this one. All provisions in this code should be respected by all the individual members of the CBT associations that belong to the EABCT.

1. Responsibility

CBT psychotherapists are aware of their professional and scientific responsibilities to their clients and the society. They must assure that their services are not misused or used contrary to the law of their respective country, unless a law would contradict the EABCT Ethical Charter.

2. Respect for individual rights and dignity

CBT psychotherapists respect the fundamental rights, dignity and worth of all people. They do not discriminate clients in any way, such as gender, race, political attitudes, sexual orientation, etc.

3. Professional competence and training

CBT psychotherapists have a valid education recognized by the EABCT or by the responsible official body in their national health system. They maintain high standards of competence in their work with continuous professional development and supervision. They recognize the boundaries of their competencies and provide only those services for which they are qualified. They routinely evaluate their own practice and incorporate new research knowledge and findings in their work. They are aware of possible harmful effects of their interventions and use appropriate procedures to prevent them. They engage in appropriate self-development and self-care in order to prevent burn-out. If they become aware of personal problems that may interfere with their work performance, they seek professional assistance or suspend their work. When working online, CBT psychotherapists should be knowledgeable of communication apps. In all contexts of their work, they are aware data security issues and clients’ rights.

4. Informed consent

CBT psychotherapists start their professional work with clients after obtaining informed consent from them with respect to the law of their country. Before getting consent, the therapist must explain the nature of the therapy, his / her credentials and responsibilities as well as limitations to confidentiality. This consent lasts until it is revoked, or the therapist ends the therapeutic relationship with a justified reason taking into account the dignity and well-being of the client and referring them to another therapist. For people who cannot give consent themselves the consent is requested from their legal guardian or institution they are entrusted to.

5. Confidentiality

CBT psychotherapists protect confidential information obtained from their clients (even after death), recognizing that the extent and limits of confidentiality may be regulated by the laws of their respective country. Confidential information can be disclosed only at the request of official bodies and institutions according to the legislation of the respective country, but always with the knowledge of the client. Confidentiality may also be broken in order to prevent a serious harm to the client or other people. The same principle applies to contacting other professionals or persons who could be harmed by the client.

6. Client’s welfare

CBT psychotherapists work in the best interest of their clients, protect their well-being, and do not exploit them in any way (financially, sexually, etc.).

7. Professional relationships

CBT psychotherapists maintain good relations with their colleagues and other mental health professionals with whom they cooperate. If psychotherapists notice that colleagues are violating ethical rules, they will try to tactfully invite them to reconsider their actions or report them to the appropriate authorities.

8. Public statements and advertising

CBT psychotherapists will refrain from advertising but will inform their potential clients about the services they offer. This means that they will inform potential clients about their practice and avoid any unsubstantiated claims.  In public statements, they will avoid sensationalism and be careful not to discuss specific cases. This also includes posts on social media.

9. Assessment techniques

CBT psychotherapists do their best to keep the safety of tests and other assessment techniques within the limits of their legal authority. They strive to ensure that the results of assessments and their interpretations are not misused by others. They also provide professional opinions on individuals only after they have conducted an examination of these individuals, and they explain the results of the assessment to the individual in question. They do their best to use instruments whose validity and reliability have been established for use with members of the population tested, that are also appropriate to an individual’s language preference.

10. Research in the field of CBT psychotherapy

A CBT psychotherapist conducts research with consideration and concern for the dignity and well-being of the people participating and with knowledge of the regulations and professional standards that govern the conduct of research involving human beings. Researchers creating a research design will need to consider the impact of the proposed research on the research participant and their relationship with the researcher to avoid any unnecessary harm to the participant. Researchers will need to consider the emotional and practical impact of research, and potential conflicts of interest where the participants comprise existing or former therapy clients of the researcher.

11. Record keeping

CBT psychotherapists need to control, store and retain records and data relating to their professional work. They have to make sure that the data is protected by lock and key or strong passwords.

12. Fees

If a CBT psychotherapist raises fees, the clients should be notified in advance. If the clients cannot pay the new price, a reasonable arrangement should be proposed in order to help them cope with this transition, such as proposing to be transferred to a different psychotherapist after several sessions at unchanged fee. CBT psychotherapists can also offer their services for free as long as the resulting arrangement is not exploitative.

13. Continuous education

CBT psychotherapists recognize the need for continuous education and personal improvement and are open to new procedures and changes in their work. They are engaged in supervision and/or intervision (group supervision) practices on a regular basis.

14. Termination of therapy

CBT therapy can be terminated when it becomes reasonably clear that the client no longer needs the service, is not likely to benefit, or is being harmed by continued service. Client behaviours that could result in termination of therapy are threatening or endangering the therapist (e.g., stalking, assault). Other reasons for termination would be the impossibility for the therapist to pursue his or her work (e.g. retirement of the therapist, illness or burnout).  The therapist should seek for a collaborative decision regarding the termination of the therapy. Therapy can also be terminated by the client without having to give any justification.

15. Specific prohibitions and recommendations

CBT psychotherapists should never engage in romantic or sexual relations with their current clients and should avoid doing so with former clients.

CBT psychotherapists should try to avoid multiple relations with clients, especially on social media (e.g. befriending clients).