Clause 14 of the Constitution states: Life members shall be persons of distinction who have contributed to the advancement of psychotherapy and may be elected from time to time on the nomination of Council at the Annual General Meeting.

  1. There shall be no more than eight (8) living Life Members at any one time.
  2. Nominations will be received by the Honorary Secretary from Branches, accompanied by a letter outlining the member’s particular contribution to psychotherapy which, in the opinion of the Branch, warrant acknowledgement in this way.
  3. Nominations for Life Membership will be sought in those years in which there are fewer than eight living Life Members.
  4. Council will consider all nominations received and determine the most meritorious person(s), having regard to the number of vacancies.
  5. The President will then notify this/these person(s) of Council’s wish to nominate them to the next Annual General Meeting for election as Life Member(s).
  6. Council will nominate those who accept nomination.
  7. The Annual General Meeting will vote on the nomination(s).
  8. Life Membership is conferred at the point at which the membership is voted on at the AGM.
  9. New Life Member(s) will be notified by the President.
  10. Council is not required to select any person for nomination to the AGM if it considers there is no suitable candidate in a particular year.
  11. There is no requirement for there always to be a maximum number of Life Members.

Comment: It would be usual for Branches to submit nominations in confidence and without the knowledge of the nominee in order to avoid embarrassment in the event that the nomination was not submitted to the AGM. Council would select only as many nominations as there were vacancies. At that point, the person(s) would be advised by the President that Council wished to nominate them to the AGM for election as a Life Member, giving them the opportunity to decline nomination if they preferred.

Updated April 2019

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP 2019 (PDF)