International Standards of Training and Supervision in Psychological Therapies based on Contextual Behavioural Science

Contextual Behavioural Science (CBS) is home to a number of psychological therapies, notably Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), Clinical Applications of Relational Frame Theory (cRFT), and Process Based Therapy (PBT) as a meta model - a framework that organizes therapeutic work around empirically supported processes of change, rather than specific treatment protocols. At present there is limited consensus nor sufficient empirical data on the best methods for training people to be able to deliver CBS oriented therapies. This lack of clarity increases the risk of therapy drift, offers minimal guidance to learners, and makes it challenging for organisations to ensure they provide quality services to their users. This document represents an articulation of minimum training standards in CBS oriented therapies. By necessity, it reflects the current state of knowledge, science and practice of CBS therapies in 2025. It will be reviewed at a minimum of every five years, and will be particularly sensitive to data-driven developments within the field of CBS training and evaluation. For that reason, we hope that researchers and clinicians use this training standard and the related work of the ACBS Strategic Pillar on Competency and Dissemination to measure and evaluate training in CBS therapies. The purpose of these standards is to provide guidance on training and supervision to people who wish to learn, teach, research, and quality assure CBS-oriented methods of psychological therapy. These training standards are not intended to be mandatory, or restrictive, but rather they articulate a consensus on fidelity and quality.