Fellowship recognition for widening access to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Professor Chris Williams has recently been awarded the title of Honorary Fellow of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). He is one of only 16 people to have been granted this accolade since 1972, and includes the developer of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) Professor Aaron Beck. CBT is the most widely used evidence-based form of psychotherapy. Professor Williams has been at the forefront of developing ways of helping people access CBT approaches aiming to help overcome the frustrations of waiting lists when accessing therapy. He has created a user-friendly and evidence-based way of delivering CBT using accessible and award-winning books, classes, and online websites so that people can work on their problems at home or in a library in their own time. Two of his books (Overcoming depression: a five areas approach and Overcoming anxiety: a five areas approach) have been included in the national book prescription scheme across England and are included in every library ( http://readingagency.org.uk/news/blog/announcing-the-reading-well-books-on-prescription-scheme.html ). In Scotland NHS 24 use his core books and popular free access online life skills course Living Life to the Full ( www.llttf.com ) to provide support for anyone who self-refers for telephone based support ( http://www.nhs24.com/UsefulResources/LivingLife ) .