Who can become a CIM member

All EFTA CIM members have extensive training in systemic family therapy that they actively use in their profession.

At the time of registration, members must be professionally active, which is why we ask that they enclose with their application (see below) a letter of recommendation from a colleague or superior attesting to the systemic work the practitioner does.

However, depending on the type of work they do and in which they use systemic skills, EFTA CIM recognises two distinct profiles:

1. Family Therapist: members who mainly carry out clinical work with couples and families;

2. Systemic Practitioner: members who carry out predominantly organisational or other counselling work based on the systemic analysis of contexts and relationships.

Specific admission criteria

We ask those applying to become EFTA CIM members to:

♦ Have completed a 4-year training that includes a minimum of 700 hours of training divided as follows and certified by the training institution(s):

◊ 450 hours of clinical training (systemic theory, clinic theory, exercises, role-playing; therapist’s self work; supervised in vivo clinical practice);

◊ 250 hours of autonomous clinical practice in a professional context or internship.

♦ Be professionally active in the clinical or counselling context and submit a letter of recommendation attesting to this. The letter must:

◊ be written by a colleague or superior who is not a trainer of the candidate;

◊ describe the relationship and role of the writer in relation to the candidate;

◊ describe which tasks he/she has been able to appreciate the candidate’s professionalism;

◊ specify that the work carried out by the candidate is systemic-family related.

Benefits of being a CIM Member:

  • Continuous training: high-level professional events
  • Collaborative space: an international network of professionals for postings and comparisons
  • Online visibility: your data published and searchable in the EFTA CIM Member database accessible on the EFTA website
  • Economic benefits:
    • reduced registration fees at EFTA’s international conferences ;
    • 33% discount on all books published by Springer ;
  • Updating:
    • electronic newsletter sent periodically;
    • information on the European Certificate of Psychotherapy for which EFTA is the preferred contact for family therapists.

How to join EFTA

1. Determine whether you wish to apply for membership as a Family Therapist or as a Systemic Practitioner.

2. Download the corresponding form, which includes the application letter, information sheet and payment information.

3. Fill in the form in its different parts.

4. Collect the necessary certification indicated in each part:

a. ensure that the certification you enclose clearly states the required information (number of hours of clinical training, number of hours of independent practice, etc.). If one or more certificates do not state this information directly, you may supplement them with documents from the institute describing the training programme corresponding to your certificate.

b. take care to indicate in each part of the form the name of the file with the corresponding documentation, so that it is easy to check that the criteria have been met;

5. Attach a detailed curriculum vitae.

6. Enclose the receipt for payment of the €38 administration fee (You pay this fee only once. Once your application has been approved and you have been admitted as a member, you will pay the annual membership fee).

7. Send it by email to: secretariat@eftacim.org

8. Wait for the complete application file to be submitted to the accreditation committee, which meets at least twice a year (but more often if necessary). This commission examines the dossier and makes the decision.

9. When your application is accepted, you will pay the annual fee of € 80 (from 2018) and become a full EFTA-CIM member.

10. As membership of the association is confirmed every year, the membership fee must also be paid annually. After resignation, a new application will be made by submitting a new dossier.