An idea of organizing a scientific association focused on cognitive and behavioral approaches to psychotherapy came from Professor Bizon’s colleagues and had his support. Establishing cooperation with a group of Italian psychiatrists during the European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Meeting in Venice in 1997 marked a turning point. At the next EABCT meeting, a formal cooperation agreement was reached between Agnieszka Popiel from the II Department of Psychiatry in Warsaw and Professor Tullio Scrimali from University of Catania, where cognitive therapy have been used for treating schizophrenia for the past twenty years. Unfortunately, a full realization of the idea of launching the Polish Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies came after professor Bizon’s death; the founding meeting was held in December 1998. The first election meeting took place in May 1999 and the following members were elected to the first Board of Directors: Agnieszka Popiel, Andrzej Kokoszka, Ewa Habrat-Praglowska, Marek Zebrowski i Jakub Szamanski. At the beginning the Association had 25 members, mostly psychiatrists and psychologists from Medical Academy and the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw.

In cooperation with the Italian Association (Societa Italiana di Terapia Comportamentale e Cognitiva - SITCC) and the European Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (EABCT), a regular 3-year training course in cognitive psychotherapy was organized. Acknowledged international lecturers, including such outstanding cognitive therapists as A. Freeman and E.T. Dowd, led the course. The training was conducted according to the standards of the Italian Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (SITCC). All course participants became members of SITCC and those who successfully completed the examination procedures received certificates/licenses from Societa Italiana di terapia Comportamentale e Cognitiva.

The next step for the PABCT was to become a member of the European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT). For the past thirty years, EACBT has served as an umbrella organization of associations for cognitive and behavioral therapies from various European countries. Each association needs to meet very strict criteria of acceptance; beyond requirements regarding statutes and members, the main criterion relates to the training standards. Each member of the Polish Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies is a member of EABCT, which now has over 25,000 individual clinicians and researchers from 31 countries in its membership. The most numerous associations are British (with 5200 members) and Dutch (over 2300 members). As an umbrella organization, the EABCT regulates the European training standards for cognitive therapists and organizes annual meetings that serve as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences about cognitive and behavioral therapies. The Polish Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies became a member of the EABCT in 2000.

In 2001, the Polish Association organized its first conference, which took place in Konstancin-Jeziorna. The title of the conference was “Cognitive-behavioral Therapies in Psychiatry.” Attendance at the conference exceeded all expectations of the organizers. 250 individuals participated in the event, and distinguished professionals from USA, UK, Italy, and Hungary conducted various workshops and lectures. Professors: Tullio Scrimali, E. Thomas Dowd, and Arthur Freeman were awarded honorable membership of PABCT. Centers from Katowice, Krakow, and Warsaw shared their experiences with using cognitive therapies, mainly for treating depression.

As well as leading training seminars and workshops, some guests invited by the Polish Association gave lectures to wide audiences interested in psychotherapy. So far, the following professionals visited us: T. Scrimali (Italy) E.T. Dowd (USA), A. Freeman (USA), F, Dattilio (USA), M. Reinecke (USA), T. Borkovec (USA), Y. Teichman (Izrael).

Over the past years, members of the Associations have been actively participating in international conferences on cognitive and behavioral therapies. We were present at: XXVIII Congress of European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Dresden, Germany 1998 - 1 presentation, International Congress of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Catania, Italy 2000 - 5 symposia presentations, 1 symposium chair, and 1 poster, World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Vancouver, Canada 2001 - 4 symposia presentations, 2 posters, 1 symposium and 3 session chairs, XXXI Congress of European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Istanbul, Turkey, 2001 - 3 symposia presentations, 1 symposium and 1 session chair, XXXIII Annual Congress of the EABCT, Praha, Czech Republic, 1 workshop, 2 session chairs, 6 symposium presentations, and 4 posters).

In November 2003, the number of the PABCT licensed therapists was 16. More than 100 were participating in the cognitive and behavioral therapies training courses.