A Profession, A Calling, A Transformational Journey
In a world of increasing complexity, rapid change, and psychological fragmentation, the need for well-trained, flexible, and ethically grounded psychotherapists has never been greater. At the Association of Integrative Research, Counselling and Psychotherapy (ACCPI), we believe psychotherapy is not just a career—it is a vocation rooted in human encounter, clinical knowledge, and personal transformation.
The Integrative Psychotherapist is someone who can hold complexity, navigate the unknown, and respond strategically to each unique human being. Becoming such a professional is both a structured pathway and a deep inner journey.
This article outlines how ACCPI supports your development through training, supervision, professional recognition, and continuous growth.
Why Integrative Psychotherapy?
Integrative psychotherapy is based on the understanding that no single theory or technique can fully explain the richness of human experience. People suffer in diverse ways—and they heal in diverse ways. Integrative psychotherapy:
- Combines the best of different psychological traditions
- Aligns interventions with each client’s psychological, biological, and relational reality
- Emphasises common healing factors (like trust, meaning, and emotional attunement)
- Works across levels: body, mind, emotion, culture, and self
- Is grounded in both scientific evidence and human experience
At ACCPI, our approach—Integrative Strategic Psychotherapy (ISP)—offers a coherent framework for personalising psychotherapy without losing clarity or depth.
Pathways to Becoming a Psychotherapist with ACCPI
ACCPI’s training structure is based on European standards, and supports a developmental model of professional growth.
1. Foundational Training in Integrative Psychotherapy
This is a comprehensive programme combining:
- Theoretical foundations (developmental psychology, theories of change, psychopathology, ethics)
- Personal development (individual and group processes to enhance self-awareness)
- Clinical skills training (interventions across models, case formulation, technique matching)
The standard duration is 3 years, and includes over 1400 hours of combined theoretical, experiential, and clinical work.
Eligibility:
- University degree
- Motivation, maturity, and readiness for personal and professional development
2. Supervised Clinical Practice
After foundational training, you enter a period of supervised clinical practice, where you:
- Work with clients in real settings
- Receive regular individual and group supervision
- Refine your ability to formulate, intervene, and reflect
- Engage in continuous personal development
This phase is essential to becoming a psychotherapist in independent practice, and usually takes 2 years, depending on your pace and context.
3. Professional Accreditation with ACCPI
Upon completing your training and supervised practice, you may apply for certification as an Integrative Psychotherapist, recognised by ACCPI and aligned with European standards (EAP).
ACCPI recognises multiple levels of certification:
- Psychotherapist in Supervision
- Independent Psychotherapist
- Supervisor
- Trainer
- Senior Professional
Each level requires specific competencies, professional ethics, and evidence of continuous professional development (CPD).
4. Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Psychotherapy is a lifelong profession. Even after certification, ACCPI supports you with:
- CPD workshops and seminars
- Research participation and publication opportunities
- Training of trainers and supervisors
- Annual conferences and peer exchange
- Access to international standards and networks
You are never alone in your journey. The ACCPI community is a professional home, where excellence, ethical responsibility, and human warmth coexist.
What Makes ACCPI Training Unique?
Strategic Integration, Not Eclecticism
We train you to make clinical decisions based on structured case formulations, not random combinations of techniques.
Multiple Levels of the Self
You will learn to work with the proto-self, core self, plastic self, and external self, adapting your approach to the level where suffering—and change—are located.
Personal Transformation
Training is not just about technique—it is about becoming. You will deepen your emotional presence, your relational intelligence, and your sense of professional identity.
High Standards, Human Approach
Our standards are aligned with European requirements (EAP, EAIP) and delivered in a relational, supportive, and flexible learning environment.
Learn Directly from the Founder of Integrative Strategic Psychotherapy
You have the opportunity to receive training or supervision from dr. Oana Maria Popescu, founder of Integrative Strategic Psychotherapy, as well as from experienced professionals personally trained by her.
Multilingual and Multicultural Accessibility
Our groups are taught in English, Italian and Romanian, and include international students and trainers.
Ready to Begin?
If you are ready to commit to a training path that is:
- Grounded in evidence
- Rooted in relationship
- Responsive to complexity
- Personally transformative
- Professionally recognised
…then you may be ready to become an Integrative Psychotherapist with ACCPI.