1. History
The following by-laws have been agreed upon by the six member associations of the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (hereafter referred to as the WCCBT), which came into effect on 7th January 2019. These by-laws were developed by a sub-group of the World Congress Committee (WCC), to extend the remit of the WCC that successfully supported the organization of the tri-annual World Congress.

 

2. Mission
The World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (WCCBT) is a global multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the promotion of health and well-being through the scientific development and implementation of evidence-based cognitive behavioural strategies designed to evaluate, prevent, and treat mental conditions and illnesses.

 

3. Aims

    • The aims of the WCCBT are to:
    • (a) Support the development and profile of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (CBT) worldwide.
    • (b) Develop a worldwide network to share news,iInformation, and issues in CBT.
    • (c) Promote CBT and evidence based treatments for psychological disorders and to Improve wellbeing around the globe.
    • (d) Develop and support effective implementation of CBT through training.
    • (e) Facilitate and support research in CBT.

 

4. Incorporation and Authority
The WCCBT is applying to be legally incorporated in the state of New York, with offices in New York City. The rules contained in the most recent edition of “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall govern the WCCBT.

 

5. Membership and Benefits

5.1. Members of the WCCBT shall consist of regional and national associations, federations, not-for-profit and for profit organizations, and institutes (hereafter referred to as “organizations”) that represent behavioral, cognitive, and cognitive-behavioral therapists, students and trainees, and that educate, advocate on behalf of, promote, and disseminate behavioral, cognitive, and cognitive-behavioral therapies, broadly conceived.

5.2 Categories of Membership: There are two categories of members: Full members, and Affiliate members. The membership designation assigned to the organization is at the sole discretion of the WCCBT Board of Directors.

5.3. Full membership is given to the members of the World Congress Committee that predated the WCCBT (see article 1). These full members include one regional organization from each of the six geographical regions of the world (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia, North America, and South America), and the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy. As such, full Membership belongs to the following members:

  • Asian Cognitive and Behavior Therapy Association (ACBTA) representing Asia
  • Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) representing North America
  • Australian Association of Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT) representing Australasia
  • European Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT) representing Europe
  • Latin-American Association of Analysis, Behavioral Modification, and Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (ALAMOC) representing Latin America.
  • International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy (IACP)

5.4. If other regional organizations exist within a geographic region, the WCCBT will work to encourage a fair rotation of board representatives from the non-member regional organizations so long as the selected representative from the non-member regional organization obtains membership in the WCCBT member regional organization.

5.5 Full Membership may be made available in the future to not-for-profit regional organizations not currently represented in the WCCBT (e.g. Africa), that represent national associations, and that represent all forms of behavioral, cognitive, and cognitive-behavioral therapists, students and trainees, and that educate, advocate on behalf of, promote, and disseminate cognitive and behavioral therapies, broadly conceived.

5.6. Full Member associations shall

5.6.1 Subscribe to the goals of WCCBT as stated in the Mission Statement.
5.6.2 Represent all forms of behavioral, cognitive, and cognitive-behavioral therapists, students and trainees that educate, advocate on behalf of, promote, and disseminate behavioral and cognitive therapies, broadly conceived.
5.6.3 Be a registered not-for-profit organization.
5.6.4 Must have existed as an association for at least one year.

5.7 Full Members shall have the following benefits:

5.7.1. Reduced fees for their full members at the WCCBT congress;
5.7.2 The ability to place information on the WCCBT website and in the newsletter, subject to adopted guidelines.
5.7.3 The ability to hold national or regional conferences with the sponsorship and consultation from the WCCBT.
5.7.4 The ability to vote on all matters related to WCCBT.
5.7.5 The ability to have representatives on the Board of Directors.

5.8. Affiliate Membership There are three classes of Affiliate members that are available to organizations that meet one of the following criteria:
(1) Not-for- profit national member organizations that represent diverse forms of behavioral, cognitive, and/or cognitive-behavioral therapies within a geographical region of the globe, in terms of theoretical background, clientele, types of professionals accepted as members and activities but elect not to join WCCBT through a regional member organization or do not yet have a regional organization within their region to which they can belong.

(2) Not-for- profit organizations that represent specific forms of behavioral, cognitive, and/or cognitive-behavioral therapy within a specific country or geographical region of the globe, in terms of theoretical background, clientele, types of professionals accepted as members and activities

(3) For profit organizations that represent broad or specific forms of behavioral, cognitive, and/or cognitive-behavioral therapy within a specific country or geographical region of the globe, in terms of theoretical background, clientele, types of professionals accepted as members and activities.

5.9. All affiliate member organizations must:

5.9.1 Subscribe to WCCBT goals as stated in the Mission Statement.
5.9.2 Have a minimum of 25 members or employees.
5.9.3 Pay the annual dues assessed to it by the WCCBT by March 31 of each calendar year
5.9.4 Must have existed as an organization for at least one year.

5.10 Affiliate Members have the following benefits: 5.10.1 Have reduced fees for their members at the WCCBT congress 5.10.2 Are able to place information on the website and in the newsletter, subject to adopted guidelines. 5.10.3 Are able to hold national or regional conferences, with the sponsorship of the WCCBT.

 

6 . Governance and Elections

6.1. The WCCBT Board of Directors shall consist of 12 members, including two representatives from each of the full member associations detailed in article 5.3.

6.2 The Board of Directors shall appoint the following officers from among itsmembership: President, President-elect, Past- President, Secretary, Treasurer, and two Members at Large. If necessary, the Board of Directors may include more than 12 members, in order to fill the roles of Past-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

6.3 The responsibilities of the WCCBT Board of Directors and its officers are elaborated in the policies and procedures of the WCCBT.

6.4 Election of Officers to the Board

6.4.1 The Secretary will seek nominations for vacant officer posts of the WCCBT at least 3 months prior to the end of each year to enable the full complement of members of the Board of Directors.
6.4.2 A representative of the proposing member association should present the curriculum vitae of the nominee for discussion. The representative from at least one other member association is necessary to second the nomination.
6.4.3 If there are no nominations, the Board of Directors will nominate officers, and send information to the member associations one month before the end of the year. In nominating Officers to the Board, the Board of Directors should give due consideration to ensure that Officers are drawn across the six member associations, and are from a variety of national member associations within the six member associations. Officers can be nominated from members or representatives of the six member associations or from members of the Board.
6.4.4 All Officers are appointed for 3 years. To ensure continuity, board terms will be staggered so that they do not occur in the same year, with no more than 4 elections or re-elections in any year. The Board will ensure continuity by seeking nominations for officers to serve a shorter period if necessary.
6.4.5 All members of the Board of Directors have one vote in any election process. The President will not normally vote but shall have the determining vote in the event of a tie.

 

 

7. Meetings of the WCCBT

7.1. Meetings of the Board

7.1.1. The Board of Directors shall meet at least twice each year via tele or video conferencing, and ideally once a year in person in geographically broad places across member associations. 7.1.2. A quorum shall be 50% of the Board plus one. 7.1.3. Meeting schedules must be set at the beginning of each year. The agenda and supporting materials for each meeting must be circulated at least two weeks in advance. 7.1.4. Meetings may be called by the President, or by 50% plus one member of the Board of Directors.

7.2 General Meeting of Members

To ensure accountability of the Board of Directors, and to facilitate communication, a General Meeting of all Members and the constituents that they represent, will be held every three years at the World Congress.

7.2.1 The agenda for the General Meeting will include at minimum:
1. Opening/Introductions 2. President’s Report 3. Treasurer’s Report 4. Reports from Officers 5. Calls for nominations for future World Congresses 6. Any other business 7. Closing

7. 2.2 The General Meeting of members shall be organized by the WCCBT and facilitated by the member association that organizes the World Congress that year.
7.2.3 The General Meeting of members shall be held in the host country of the World Congress,
7.2.4 The hosting member association is encouraged to organize some hospitality, such as a social event, to help to promote the congress to all Member associations.

7.3 Other Scientific Meetings

7.3.1 WCCBT member associations may arrange training events or mini-conferences between World Congresses. Such activities may be endorsed by the WCCBT Board of Directors and use the affiliation of the WCCBT, subject to compliance with By-laws.
7. 3.2 To help to ensure the success of World Congresses, the WCCBT Board of Directors will not endorse any local or regional conferences held within two months and the same geographical region as the WCCBT congress.

 

 

8. Revenue and Budget

8.1.1 The WCCBT will be initially financially supported by the member association’s contributing to the activities of the Confederation (administration, website, communications, etc.) in kind.

8.1.2 An outline plan to generate revenue and develop a budget to fund the activities and cover the costs (e.g., office space and duties, incorporation, legal fees etc.) of the World Confederation will be submitted to the WCCBT Board for approval annually.

8.1.3 The host association of the World Congress will be responsible for facilitating the General Meeting of Members and funding the meeting rooms and the facilities (e.g. audio- visual equipment) necessary for the WCCBT general meeting.

8.1.4 All costs incurred by the Board of Directors and Representative of the member association(s), such as travel and accommodation, will be paid by the member association they represent.

8.1.5 The Board will receive a complimentary registration for any WCCBT congress they attend in order to fulfil their responsibilities.

8.1.6 No Board member or officer shall receive compensation from WCCBT for services rendered in that capacity.

 

 

9. Limitations of Liability and Indemnification

9.1 Nothing herein shall constitute members of WCCBT as partners or joint venturers for any purpose. No member, officer, director, employee or member of a committee of WCCBT shall be liable for his or her act or failure to act or for the act or failure to act by any other member, officer, director, employee, or member of a committee of WCCBT.

9.2 The Confederation shall indemnify and save harmless any officer, director, employee, or committee from any claims (and expenses, including attorney’s fees, reasonably incurred in connection with opposing or defending against any claims) arising out of or pertaining to any act or omission of such person on behalf of the Confederation, except in the event of criminal, wanton or grossly negligent conduct; provided such office, director, employee, committee gives prompt written notice to the Confederation of the assertion of any such claim and cooperates with the Confederation and its insurer(s) in opposing and defending against such claim.

9.3 The Board of Directors may, by majority vote of the Directors not involved in the matter, indemnify and save harmless any officer, director, employee, committee from any and all claims (and any expenses reasonably incurred in connection with the defense of any claims) arising out of or pertaining to any act or omission of such person while acting on behalf of the Confederation if such person acted in good faith, was not opposed to the best interest of the Confederation and its members, and reasonably believed that he/she was not violating any criminal laws; provided such officer, director, employee, committee gives prompt written notice of any such claim to the Confederation and cooperates with the Confederation in opposing and defending such claim.

9.4 The Confederation irrevocably waives any claims it may have against any officers or directors for damages to the Confederation on arising out of or pertaining to any act or omission of such persons except those claims arising out of or pertaining to the intentional doing of an unlawful act by such persons.

 

10. Conflict of Interest Policy

All officers, coordinators, committee chairs, and senior staff are required to acknowledge and comply with WCCBT’s conflict of interest policy.

 

11. Employee and Volunteer Protection Open Door and Whistleblower Protection Policy

Pursuant to the New York State 2013 Nonprofit Revitalization Act, WCCBT has developed an Employee and Volunteer Protection Open Door and Whistleblower Protection Policy.

 

12. Distribution of Assets on Dissolution

In the event of the termination, dissolution, or the completion of the affairs of the WCCBT in any manner or for any reason whatsoever, its remaining assets, if any, shall be fairly distributed its member organizations.

 

13. By-law Changes

Changes to these by-laws can be made by the Board of Directors, as necessary, and must be reported to the membership at the next General Meeting of members.

 

Adopted: December 16, 2019