Association for Psychological Therapies
The Association for Psychological Therapies (APT) provides recognition of excellence, training, resources, and accreditation to mental health professionals. Its work mainly supports the UK National Health Service and private providers, with some activity in Canada and Australia.
APT was founded in 1981 by Dr William Davies and Dr Derek Perkins, two clinical psychologists based in HM Prison Birmingham. It began with a focus on violence-prevention and sex-offending and soon expanded to Aaron Beck’s cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), led by clinical psychologist Don Rowan. In the 1980s, as NHS teams began commissioning multiple CBT courses, standardizing course content became important. Paul Gilbert helped develop the standardized CBT course.
The head office is in Thurnby, Leicestershire. APT was incorporated as APT Training and Consultancy Ltd on 26 May 2006. It now employs over 50 tutors on a consultancy basis and has provided professional development to more than 125,000 people working in helping professions.
In 2018, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust was found to infringe APT’s RAID trademark (Reinforce Appropriate, Implode Disruptive since 1990) in a High Court case held in Birmingham. It was the first Intellectual Property Enterprise Court case outside London.
Notable tutors included Paul Gilbert, who later founded Compassion-Focused Therapy and became a professor at the University of Derby; Clive Hollin, author and professor; Neil Frude, author and professor; and Hazel Nelson, author of key CBT works. Co-founder Derek Perkins ceased active involvement by the end of 1983 but remained supportive and later became Head of Psychology at Broadmoor and a professor at Royal Holloway.
APT has developed tools such as the RAID System to help with disturbed and challenging behavior, with research showing fewer incidents on medium-secure LD wards. Other tools include the DICES Risk Assessment and Management System for assessing risks like suicide, self-harm, self-neglect, and violence, and Davies’s structured interview for assessing adolescents in crisis.
APT runs its own accreditation system and does not seek accreditation from external bodies. It uses transparent self-accreditation, letting attendees see course syllabi and ratings on two measures: Presentation quality and Relevance. APT is independent and has not affiliated with BABCP or BPS.
Courses are designed for mental health professionals (mainly NHS staff and major private providers) and have no strict academic entry requirements.
Awards and recognition include being shortlisted for the Learning and Performance Institute’s Learning Provider of the Year award in 2019 (bronze) and its Academic Director, Dr William Davies, being shortlisted for Investors in People Leader of the Year in 2020.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:27 (CET).