The Association for Psychological Therapies (APT) is a body providing recognition of excellence,
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
, resources, and accreditation to professionals working in
Mental Health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
and related areas, mainly in the UK's
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
and Independent Health providers, but also in Canada and Australia.
History
The Association for Psychological Therapies was founded in 1981
[Association for Psychological Therapies]
"The Association for Psychological Therapies"
‘’Association for Psychological Therapies’’, Retrieved 28 February 2019 by
Dr William Davies and Dr Derek Perkins, two clinical Psychologists based in
HM Prison Birmingham
HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was operated by G4S from 2011, before it was returned to HM Prison and Probation Service in August 2018. The government takeov ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Initially the focus was on their respective specialisms, namely violence-prevention and sex-offending, although it rapidly expanded to
Aaron T. Beck’s newly developed
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...
(CBT) led initially by clinical psychologist Don Rowan.
During this stage courses were tutor-dependant, so a course on CBT led by one tutor might have a quite different emphasis from a CBT course led by another. With NHS teams increasingly commissioning multiple courses, especially CBT and Preventing Face-to-Face Violence, it became necessary to standardise course content so that commissioning organisations could rely on the same content being delivered across their teams, and that happening during the 1980s, with
Paul Gilbert
Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...
being largely responsible for developing the standardised CBT course.
APT's head office is now located in
Thurnby
Thurnby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thurnby and Bushby, in the Harborough district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is just east of Leicester's city boundaries.
Thurnby village proper is set to the ...
, Leicestershire and was incorporated as a
Private Limited Company
A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United Sta ...
under the name APT Training and Consultancy Ltd on 26 May 2006.
APT now employ over 50 tutors on a consultancy basis, and have provided professional development to over 125,000 people working in the helping professions.
In 2018
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health care for people living in Birmingham and Solihull, England. It became a Foundation Trust in July 2008.
Sue Davis CBE was appointed as the Chair for the Trust in N ...
, was found to have infringed a trademark registered by APT for the name ‘
RAID
Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to:
Attack
* Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground
* Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business
* Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
’. Standing for Reinforce Appropriate, Implode Disruptive since 1990. The High Court judge, HH Melissa Clarke, found that the trademark had been infringed. The case, held in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, was the first ever to be heard by the
Intellectual Property Enterprise Court
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC; previously the Patents County Court or PCC) in London is an alternative venue to the High Court for bringing legal actions involving intellectual property matters such as patents, registered desi ...
outside of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Notable Past Tutors
Apart from
Paul Gilbert
Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...
who would later go on to found
Compassion-Focused Therapy Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) is a system of psychotherapy developed by Paul Gilbert that integrates techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy with concepts from evolutionary psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, Buddhi ...
and become professor of Psychology at the
University of Derby
, mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher
, established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status
, type = Public
, chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...
, other tutors at that time included Clive Hollin who would author amongst others the Handbook of Offender Assessment and Treatment, and the Psychology of Interpersonal Violence and become Professor at the
University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_labe ...
, Neil Frude who would author Understanding Abnormal Psychology, found the
Books on Prescription scheme and become Professor at
Cardiff University
, latin_name =
, image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University
, motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord
, mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord
, established = 1 ...
, and Hazel Nelson who would author Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Schizophrenia and Cognitive-behavioural Therapy with Delusions and Hallucinations A Practice Manual. APT Co-founder Derek Perkins had ceased active involvement by the end of 1983, but would continue to offer support and go on to become Head of Psychology at
Broadmoor Secure Hospital and Professor of Psychology at
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
.
Resources developed
Tools that APT have developed include
The RAID® System to help those working with disturbed and
challenging behaviour
Challenging behaviour, also known
as behaviours which challenge, is defined as "culturally abnormal behaviour(s) of such intensity, frequency or duration that the physical safety of the person or others is placed in serious jeopardy, or behaviou ...
, with research showing a reduced number of incidents of challenging behaviour in medium secure LD wards. Other tools and resources developed by APT include the DICES®
Risk Assessment
Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of:
# identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and
# making judgments "on the to ...
and
Management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
System, used by
mental health professionals
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a ...
to assess and manage the risks of
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
,
non-suicidal self-injury
Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilatio ...
,
self-neglect
Self-neglect is a behavioral condition in which an individual neglects to attend to their basic needs, such as personal hygiene, appropriate clothing, feeding, or tending appropriately to any medical conditions they have. More generally, any lack ...
and
vulnerability
Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally."
A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...
, violence to others, and sexual assault, and Davies's structured interview for assessing adolescents in crisis.
Accreditation
The APT has its own accreditation system and does not seek accreditation from any outside bodies, instead relying on transparent self-accreditation that is intended to help anyone to see what attendees on its courses have achieved.
[Association for Psychological Therapies]
"The Association for Psychological Therapies"
‘’Association for Psychological Therapies’’, Retrieved 23 February 2021 This means that anyone is able to see the syllabus of any specific course and how it has been rated by attendees on two measure: Presentation quality, and Relevance.
[Association for Psychological Therapies]
"The Association for Psychological Therapies"
‘’Association for Psychological Therapies’’, Retrieved 23 February 2021
APT is an independent organisation and has never sought affiliation with other bodies such as BABCP or the BPS. APT courses have no academic entry requirements as such, although they are designed for and attended by mental health professionals (mainly mental health nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists) in the NHS and major independent healthcare providers.
Awards
APT was shortlisted for the
Learning and Performance Institute, Learning Provider of The Year award in 2019 gaining the bronze award, and APT's Academic Director (Dr William Davies) was shortlisted for the
Investors in People
Investors in People is a standard for people management, offering accreditation to organisations that adhere to the Investors in People Standard. From 1991 to January 2017, Investors in People was owned by the UK government. As of 1 February 20 ...
, Leader of the Year award in 2020.
[Investors in People]
"The Investors in People Awards 2020 Shortlist"
‘’Investors in People’’, Retrieved 12 October 2020
Notes
{{Reflist, 2
Psychology organisations based in the United Kingdom