Membership Byelaws
of
THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNCIL FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY
(Prescribed under Article 53 of the Charity's
Articles of Association)
1. Interpretation
Save as provided in these Byelaws words and expressions which bear the particular meanings set out in the Articles of Association of the Charity shall bear the same respective meanings in these Byelaws.
2. Organisations
2.1 An Organisation shall fulfil the following conditions:-
2.1.1 It should be relevant to psychotherapy;
2.1.2 It shall possess an accountable administrative structure compatible with the Articles;
2.1.3 It shall not be a sub-unit or branch of any Organisation or institution which is separately eligible for Membership;
2.1.4 It shall possess a Membership of any standing, of no fewer than 50 persons;
2.1.5 It shall have been in existence for at least three years before application for Membership of the Charity; and
2.1.6 It shall possess a code of ethics and practice suitable, in the opinion of the Governing Board, for Membership of the Charity.
2.2 An Organisation which fails to meet the conditions may make a special case to the Charity at its Annual General Meeting as to why such Organisation should be admitted to Membership.
2.3 An Organisation which fails under any one of the conditions set out in paragraph 2.1 above may apply for Contingent Membership of the Charity if it can demonstrate its intention to rectify such matters within a time period specified by the Governing Board.
2.4 An Organisation which has been elected to Membership of the Charity shall be entitled to send two Delegates to all General and Section Meetings but shall only be entitled to one vote at any such Meeting.
2.5 An Organisation which is the only Member within a Section shall be entitled to send one additional Delegate to General Meetings in any year in which one of its Delegates is elected an Officer or Ordinary Member of the Governing Board or Chair of the Registration Board.
2.6 In any year in which one of its delegates has been elected to an office under clause (3) (1) of the Articles of Association, a Member Organisation shall be entitled to one additional delegate to General and Section meetings.
3. Sections
3.1 Sections shall be established by the Charity on the basis of similarity of philosophy between Organisations and adherence to a defined flag statement.
3.2 Sections will be the gateway to Membership of the Charity. Organisations which apply for Full Membership will be Members of the Charity only through their acceptance by a Section, which shall make a nomination to the Annual General Meeting that the applicant Organisation be elected to Membership.
3.3 No changes can be made to the structure of a Section, nor can any new Section be formed, nor may a Section change its name, without first notifying the Governing Board in writing and setting out the reasons for such change. The Governing Board may in its absolute discretion, make a recommendation, whether in favour or not, to a General Meeting of the Charity.
3.4 An Organisation may seek affiliation with a Section other than that in which it has Full Membership.
3.5 Each Section shall appoint one Representative to the Governing Board.
3.6 Each Section shall appoint Representatives to the Registration Board in the ratio of one Representative for every ten or part thereof approved training or accrediting Organisations in that Section. If a Section has ten or fewer such approved training or accrediting Organisations, it shall appoint one Representative; if it has more than ten but fewer than twenty it shall appoint two Representatives and so on; only Delegates of approved training or accrediting Organisations may serve on the Registration Board.
3.7 Each Section shall appoint Representatives to the Standards Board in the ratio of one Representative for every ten or part thereof approved training or accrediting Organisations in that Section. If a Section has ten or fewer such approved training or accrediting Organisations, it shall appoint one Representative; if it has more than ten but fewer than twenty it shall appoint two Representatives and so on. Delegates of all Members of whatever standing shall be eligible for appointment to the Standards Board.
3.8 Sections shall meet at least twice in every year and shall make a report to the Governing Board at least 48 days in advance of the Annual General Meeting of the Charity.
3.9 Each Section shall cause proper minutes to be made of all proceedings of all Meetings of such Section and all business transacted at such Meetings including the names of Delegates present.
3.10 Each Section shall cause a proper account to be kept of income and expenditure and the matters in respect of which such income and expenditure take place, and submit to the Governing Board at least 48 days in advance of the Annual General Meeting an account of the income and expenditure.
4. Membership
4.1 Membership is open to organisations which support the aims and objectives of the Council. There will be five categories of membership: Full Membership, Special Membership, Associate Membership, Institutional Membership and Contingent Membership:-
4.1.1 Full Membership shall be for organisations having a significant commitment and making a contribution to psychotherapy and/or psychotherapeutic counselling;
4.1.2 Special Membership shall be for the British Psychological Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists;
4.1.3 Institutional Membership shall be for organisations which by virtue of size and multiple orientation do not fit readily into any Section;
4.1.4 Associate Membership shall be for organisations with an interest in psychotherapy but not eligible for, or not wanting, Full Membership;
4.1.5 Contingent Membership shall be for organisations which have been accepted by a Section as meeting its criteria, but which failed to meet the definition of an Organisation as contained in these Byelaws.
4.2 Only Full Members, Special Members, and Institutional Members shall be entitled to vote at Meetings of the Charity when there shall be one vote per Member. Associate Members and Contingent Members shall have no right to vote, but shall have the right to attend General Meetings of the Charity.
4.3 Contingent Members and Associate Members shall have no right to stand for Membership of the Governing Board, the Registration Board or the Standards Board. Their delegates shall not be eligible for co-option onto sub-committees relating to ethics and discipline, but shall be eligible for co-option onto any other sub-committees appointed by the Governing Board under Article 37.
5. Application for Membership
5.1 Applications for Membership from Organisations shall first be considered by the Governing Board which shall determine if the applicant is an Organisation within the provisions of paragraph 2 above.
5.2 If approved the applicant shall be invited to approach any of the Sections and all applications shall be considered by the Sections.
5.3 Sections shall forward the titles of Organisations applying for Membership and recommended for Membership by each Section to the Governing Board in writing six months in advance of the Annual General Meeting. In the event of a disagreement within the Section the views of the minority shall also be conveyed to the Governing Board.
5.4 The Governing Board shall receive the advice of the Section as set out in paragraph 5.3 above and shall make a recommendation for or against Membership of the applying Organisation to the Annual General Meeting.
5.5 Applicants must receive a majority of 75% of votes cast at an Annual General Meeting to be admitted as a Member. Applicants which fail to achieve this majority may reapply the following year but not more than two years consecutively.
6. Governing Board
6.1 The composition of the Governing Board is as set out in Article 3.
6.2 The duties of the Governing Board shall be:-
6.2.1 to carry out all policies decided in General Meeting of the Charity;
6.2.2 to meet at least four times a year;
6.2.3 to present to the Annual General Meeting Organisations which have passed the scrutiny of the Sections and which may apply for Full, Contingent or Associate Membership;
6.2.4 to recommend, where appropriate, the creation of a new Section or other new form of Membership to the Annual General Meeting;
6.2.5 to appoint committees according to Article 37.
7. The Registration Board
7.1 The Registration Board shall be composed of:-
7.1.1 Representatives in the ratio of one Representative for every ten of part thereof approved training or accrediting Members in that Section. If a Section has ten or fewer such approved training or accrediting Members it shall appoint one Representative; if it has more than ten but fewer than twenty it shall appoint two Representatives and so on; only Delegates of approved training or accrediting Members may serve on the Registration Board;
7.1.2 One Representative appointed by each of the Special Members;
7.1.3 One Representative appointed by each of the Institutional Members.
Only Delegates of the aforementioned approved Members shall be eligible for appointment to the Registration Board. No Delegate, being already a Representative on the Governing Board shall be appointed to the Registration Board.
7.2 The person elected as Chair of the Registration Board shall not be counted as one of the Representatives of the Section, Special Member or Institutional Member and shall be replaced on the Registration Board by the Section, Special Member or Institutional Member that the Chair would otherwise have represented on the Registration Board.
7.3 The term of office of a Member of the Registration Board shall be one year; Members may be reappointed without limit of time.
7.4 The term of office of the Chair of the Registration Board shall be no more than five years consecutively. He/She may nevertheless offer himself/herself for re-election after an interval of one year.
7.5 The duties of the Registration Board shall be:-
7.5.1 to administer the Register of Psychotherapists and the Register of Psychotherapeutic Counsellors according to the regulations from time to time determined by the Governing Board;
7.5.2 to review the registration of any psychotherapist or psychotherapeutic counsellor if grounds for doing so are put before it;
7.5.3 to publish the Register of Psychotherapists and the Register of Psychotherapeutic Counsellors at such intervals as are appropriate;
7.5.4 to meet at least four times a year;
7.5.5 to furnish the Governing Board and the Standards Board with minutes of its Meetings, except that all confidential matters affecting the registration of an individual shall be recorded separately and shall only be available to Members of the Registration Board, to officers of the Charity and to any committee of appeal;
7.5.6 to furnish the Governing Board with the number and nature of all complaints received.
7.6 A Professional Conduct Committee shall be set up as a sub committee of the Registration Board which shall determine its composition.
8. The Standards Board
8.1 The Standards Board shall be composed of:-
8.1.1 Representatives from the Sections in the ratio of one Delegate for every ten or part thereof approved training or accrediting Organisations in the Section. If a Section has ten or fewer approved training or accrediting Organisations it shall appoint one Representative; if it has more than ten but not more than twenty it shall appoint two Representatives and so on;
8.1.2 one Representative appointed by each of the Special Members;
8.1.3 one Representative appointed by each of the Institutional Members;
8.1.4 the trustees shall have the power to appoint two extra Members of the Governing Board to serve on the Standards Board;
8.2 Delegates of Full Members, Special Members, and Institutional Members shall be eligible for appointment to the Standards Board. [Delegates of Contingent Members and Associate Members shall not be eligible for appointment].
8.3 The person elected as Chair of the Standards Board shall not be counted as one of the Representatives of the Section, Special Member or Institutional Member and shall be replaced on the Standards Board by the Section, Special Member or Institutional Member that the Chair would otherwise have represented on the Standards Board.
8.4 The duties of the Standards Board shall be:-
8.4.1 to devise the standards for training and regulations necessary for the proper pursuit of psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic counselling and to advise the Governing Board and the Registration Board accordingly;
8.4.2 to advise the Governing Board and the Registration Board upon all other matters pertinent to training;
8.5 The term of office of a Member of the Standards Board shall be for one year. A Member may be appointed for no more than six years consecutively. He may nevertheless offer himself for re-election after an interval of one year.
9. Review of Membership
9.1 The Governing Board and the Sections shall jointly review the grounds for Membership of the Charity of each of the Members of the Sections not less than once in every five years, and shall report the outcome of such reviews to the next occurring Annual General Meeting.
9.2 The Governing Board shall review the grounds for Membership of the Charity for each of the Institutional Members not less than once in every five years and shall report the outcome of such reviews to the next occurring Annual General Meeting.
10. Withdrawal of Membership
10.1 A complaint made in writing about a Member shall be referred to the
Governing Board which shall inform the Delegates of the Member. If there are grounds for believing that the criteria for continuing Membership no longer exist the Governing Board shall either require the Member to take action to rectify the situation or shall require the member to withdraw from membership. If the Member shall not satisfy the Governing Board and shall not resign the Governing Board shall recommend to the next succeeding General Meeting that Membership be withdrawn. Any motion so put shall succeed if it receives 75% of the votes cast.
10.2 An Organisation cannot claim to be a Member of the Charity unless it has been admitted by vote at an Annual General Meeting.
10.3 An Organisation whose Membership has been withdrawn at an Annual General Meeting may no longer claim to be a Member of the Charity.
11. Withdrawal of Membership of a Section
11.1 The Governing Board shall investigate any Section if there is reason to think that it is not complying with the Regulations as set out in the Articles and these Byelaws.
11.2 If a Section is found to be in breach of any of the regulations as described in these Byelaws then the Governing Board shall require the Section to take action to rectify the situation. If the Section shall not satisfy the Governing Board, the Governing Board shall recommend to the next succeeding General Meeting that Membership of the Section be withdrawn. Any motion so put shall succeed if it receives 75% of the votes cast.
11.3 All Members of the Section which has its Membership withdrawn shall thereupon cease to be Members of the Charity.
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