CHOOSING YOUR TYPE OF USABP MEMBERSHIP

USABP has four types of individual membership:  Clincial, Associate, Student, and Affiliate.  Please read the following descriptions of each to determine which is the proper one for you.

The Clincial membership is for those who are practicing body psychotherapists and have the following qualifications: 
1) an academically recognized advanced psychotherapy degree from a program which incorporates body psychotherapy; or
 2) an academically recognized advanced degree in a psychotherapy discipline and certification from a recognized body psychotherapy program; or
 3) certification from a recognized body psychotherapy training program and training in formal principles of psychotherapy.

Eligibility for Clincal membership has two key elements:  psychotherapy training and body psychotherapy training.  

Your psychotherapy training can be from a recognized academic institution that awarded you an M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D., Psy.D. or other advanced degree for completing a program that included psychotherapy training.  Your psychotherapy training can also be from a recognized body psychotherapy training program that awarded you a certificate in body psychotherapy or a body psychotherapy modality, but that training must have included formal principles of psychotherapy.  

Your body psychotherapy training can be from an advanced degree academic program that included body psychotherapy (i.e., an academic program that included sufficient body psychotherapy training in its curriculum).  Your body psychotherapy training can also be from a recognized training program in body psychotherapy offered by a nonacademic training center offering training in general body psychotherapy or in a specific body psychotherapy modality (e.g., Core Energetics, Hakomi, Bioenergetics, Organismic, etc.).

If you do not have psychotherapy and body psychotherapy training, you may qualify for Associate membership.  

The Associate membership is for those who have the following qualifications:
1) formal professional health or mental health related training, but do not have body psychotherapy training; or 
2) qualified in body or touch centered practices.

Associate membership is intended for individuals who are psychotherapists, counselors, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, or others who work in the health or mental health fields, but do not have psychotherapy and body psychotherapy training.

Associate membership is also intended for massage therapists, bodyworkers, somatic practitioners, touch therapists, and others who work with the body or use body-centered methods, but do not have psychotherapy and body psychotherapy training.

If you do not qualify for Clincal or Associate membership, but you feel an affinity for body psychotherapy and want to support the profession and USABP and USABP's mission and goals, please consider the Affiliate membership.

Student membership is for those who are enrolled in a degree granting or certification program in body psychotherapy or related to body psychotherapy.  Student membership is limited to no more than 4 years.  After completing their program, or after 4 years have lapsed, Student members must "upgrade" to Clinical or Associate membership.  Student membership is not intended for practicing professionals.

Affiliate membership is for those who do not qualify for the other membership types, but feel an affinity for body psychotherapy and want to support the profession and USABP and USABP's mission and goals.