The Discipline of Behavioural Health is thrilled to announce the Master of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy postgraduate course is now accredited by the Psychotherapy & Counselling Federation of South Australia (PACFA) and the Australian Counselling Association (ACA). The outcome means that graduates can hold the title of Psychotherapist and obtain registration with the two leading professional accrediting bodies in Australia.

Discipline lead for Behavioural Health and Course Coordinator for the CBT postgraduate courses, Paula Redpath along with the team of academics, Anthony Venning, Fiona Glover, Sharon Brown, CBT students and industry partners provided an incredibly solid application that is testament to the commitment, continuous improvements, co-design and credibility that underpins the values and philosophy of quality higher educational and research offerings in Medicine and Public Health.

The PACFA panel acknowledge numerous strengths of the Master of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy course:

• Very well developed and well designed for purpose
• The breadth of the staff training and experience in health professional and psychotherapy areas are impressive
• The compulsory unit on motivational interviewing has capacity to enhance the development of students as psychotherapists, not simply CBT specialists
• The range of professional experience that is apparent in the students. Many of them are in significant roles in the health sector prior to graduating
• The passion of the staff for the work that they do is very commendable and is a significant feature of the facilitation of the course
• The balance between the academic and theoretical in the program, in particular the way it is informed by current practice
• The personal development of students during the course. Students recognised that they themselves had experienced personal and professional growth during the course and their placements
• The extensive placements undertaken during the course and the breadth of experience they provide to students
• Group supervision complements and positively adds to the academic theory and the placement experience.

Upon graduating, students are eligible to apply for provisional membership and on completion of post-qualifying supervisory practice requirements as set out by PACFA, can apply for full membership. Graduates are accredited to practice and hold the title of Psychotherapist (CBT).

We congratulate the Discipline of Behavioural Health on this major achievement.