European Brief Therapy Association Statutes
Adopted by the Extraordinary General Assembly July 9th 2013.
§ 1 Name
The name of the association is ’European Brief Therapy Association’ (EBTA).
§ 2 Registration
EBTA applied for registration in France on 5th of September 1993 and was accepted on 14th of January 1994. It is governed by the French law of 1901 July 1st and the Decree of 1901, August 16th.
The office of EBTA is in (Lyon) France. This may be changed by a decision of the Members Annual Meeting.
§ 3. Purpose
EBTA is an open organization for people interested in supporting solution-focused work in different contexts within the helping professions and communities in Europe in co-operation with other approaches, practices and research methods. EBTA supports the development of solution-focused ideas, theory and practice.
EBTA is a non-profit, civil society organization.
§ 4. Goals:
EBTA promotes, advocates and develops solution-focused theory, research and practice within psychotherapy, counseling, education and related areas of work as well as in other professional contexts like rehabilitation, specialized fields of health and social care in Europe and beyond.
EBTA promotes dialogue with other solution-focused actors and other approaches.
§ 5. Membership
Members shall be individuals in good professional standing in their country of origin, have basic exposure to solution-focused training or the equivalent (minimum 20 hours) and accept the purpose, goals and rules of EBTA.
A member is approved by the Board on the basis of a written application and by paying the membership fee.
A member can leave the association by submitting written notice to the Board. The membership is also terminated if the membership fee is not paid after a reminder. Membership is not transferable and no membership refunds are given.
A member who is thought to be acting against the interests of EBTA will be contacted by a member of the Advisory Board (task-group?) requesting a collegial consultation in order to resolve the concerns raised and to recommend next steps to bring the matter to resolution as swiftly and simply as possible.
Associate membership is available to those with interest in and support of the purpose and goals of EBTA, but who do not meet the membership requirements. Associate members have the same rights and duties as members, except they do not have voting rights in the Members’ Annual Meetings.
§ 6. Fees and incomes
To fund its operation, EBTA collects membership and conference levy. EBTA can also have incomes from publications and public appearances. EBTA can receive subsidies from public institutions as well as public donations.
The membership fee and conference levy are decided at the Members’ Annual Meeting. The membership fee is to be paid in advance, while the conference levy is paid by the organizers after the conference.
The Board handles incomes and expenditures (up to 10 000 €) yearly, Expenditure over this amount must be proposed and voted for at Members’ Annual Meeting.
EBTA funds will be administered in accordance with good management accounting practices appropriate in Europe.
§ 7. Structure
All major decisions are decided in a Members’ Annual Meeting as referred to in § 9. The proposals are prepared and decisions are actioned by the Board. The Board plans and co-ordinates the activities and handles the finances. The activities are carried out by Task-Groups.
§ 8. Fiscal year
The fiscal year of the association is 1 June – 31 May. The financial statement shall be checked by an auditor in time for the Members’ Annual Meeting which is usually held in September.
§ 9. Members’ Annual Meeting:
The Members’ Annual Meeting makes the general decisions about the purpose and the goals of EBTA. This includes but is not limited to issues to do with finances, changes in the statutes, elections of president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, all other board members and appointment of the auditor. The Members’ Annual Meeting decides the dissolution of the association. Major financial decisions (> 10 000 euro) are made by the Members’ Annual Meeting.
The Members’ Annual Meeting is comprised of members present.
All decisions except the dissolution are made with majority vote. Dissolution is done with two thirds majority and 1/3 of the members present. A motion is rejected, if there are the same number of votes.
An annual Members’ Annual Meeting is held during the annual EBTA conference usually in September. In this Members’ Annual Meeting the previous year’s and the forthcoming year’s plan of action and financial report, budget, including membership fees, must be presented and voted on to be accepted. The Board is elected and motions placed to the meeting are decided.
An extra Members’ Annual Meeting shall be held when one third of the members make such a request to the Board, together with good reasons for the request. The Members’ Annual Meeting shall be held within three months from the request being received by the Board.
The call for the Members’ Annual Meeting shall be done by the Board to each member’s known email address two months in advance. All motions made to the Members’ Annual Meeting shall be issued by the Board one month before. Nominees for new members to the board are done to the election task-group. Motions placed later can only be put forward as recommendations.
The Members’ Annual Meeting is chaired by the president or in his/her absence by the vice-president and if both are absent by any board member. The decisions are recorded in minutes signed by the chair and the secretary.
§ 10. Board
The Board leads the association. It does the housekeeping, prepares and oversees the yearly plan of action within the limits of the budget as agreed in the Members’ Annual Meeting. The Board appoints, coordinates and terminates the task-groups. The Board’s term is the time between the yearly Members’ Annual Meetings.
The Board consists of eight to twelve members mainly from the task-groups and with working or housing ties in Europe preferably from a diversity of European countries. All Board members carry out a dedicated task during their service.
Board membership is valid for one year and ends if a board member leaves the association or announces his/her resignation at a regular Board meeting.
The Board meets at least twice a year in person. Other meetings are held as teleconferences, if the president or three board members ask for it. Task-group members can be invited to be present at Board meetings.
A Board meeting has a valid quorum when half its members are present. The Board makes decisions by consensus and by majority vote, if no consensus is reached. In case of a tie, the president has the casting vote.
§ 11. Task-groups
Most practical matters of the association are handled by task-groups. Task-groups are appointed, coordinated and terminated by the Board. Task-groups report to the Board and the Members’ Annual Meeting.
Task-groups can be initiated by the Board or by members. Board initiated task-groups have at least one Board member. Member initiated task-groups have at least a Board member as a contact person, who supports and communicates about requests and any issues of concern between the Board and the task-group.
A task-group can have various numbers of persons depending of the task. All task groups can co-opt people who are not EBTA members to participate in task group work, when this is considered to be of benefit to EBTA. Task-groups can be open or closed. They can be permanent or time limited.
The task-group decides its own way of working together and ensures it respects and supports the work of other task-groups and are aligned with the purpose, goals and best interests of EBTA.
Permanent task-groups are: executive task-group, advisory task-group, election task-group, web-task-group, conference task-group and research task-group. The Board makes sure that these task-groups stay active. Their roles and composition are the following:
The executive task-group represents EBTA in general matters and is responsible for the administration and book keeping of the association. The executive task-group is formed annually as part of the EBTA Board election. It consists of the president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. The maximum time of duty for each position is three years.
The president represents EBTA, chairs the Board meetings and the Members Assembly and follows-up on the boards’ decisions. The vice president represents EBTA and chairs the Board meetings in the absence of the president. The secretary keeps and circulates the notes of Board meetings and of the Members Assembly, sends out and receives communications with EBTA members. The treasurer administrates the budget of EBTA and presents an annual balance to the Members Assembly.
The election task-group prepares a candidature list for the Members Annual Meeting after consulting the board and calling for applications from members. The list should be published on the web-site two months prior to the meeting. The head of the election task-group is a member of the board who is not part of the executive task-group.
The research task-group promotes and disseminates research on solution-focused practice. It selects the project(s) that will receive the annual EBTA Research Grant, keeps an updated list of relevant research publications on solution-focused therapy and serves as a an advisory body for member researchers on solution-focused practice. The head of the Research task-group is a member of the Board.
The web task-group serves as a communication channel between EBTA members and to the solution-focused community. It is responsible for the EBTA website. The head of the Web task-group is a member of the Board.
The advisory task-group promotes ethical practices within EBTA. It creates an ethical code, provides ethical guidance and mediates in conflicts among EBTA members. The advisory task-group may act on the request of any EBTA member. The Advisory task group is composed of widely respected members of the solution-focused community and past board members; current board members do not participate in it.
The conference task-group acts as a link between the board and the organizers of the annual EBTA conferences. It suggest to the board the future conference organizers, supports them in their preparations and collects experiences of the conferences for future use. The conference task-group is composed by the organizers of the past, current and next EBTA Conference.
§ 12. Representatives of the association
The President and Vice-President act as the legal representatives of EBTA. This authority can also be delegated by the Board to other Board members for a specific purpose.
§ 13. Internal rules
A set of internal rules may be established by the Board. These Internal rules specify matters within the statutes. In case of a conflict, the statutes overrule the internal rules. The Members’ Annual Meeting can change the internal rules.
§ 14. Changes to the statutes and dissolution
Changes to these statutes and dissolution of the association can be made in a Members’ Annual Meeting with 2/3 majority vote.
In case of dissolution, one or more liquidators are chosen and any resources shall be vested in accordance with Article 9 of the French law of 1901, July 1st, and the Decree of 1901, August 6th.
(In the event of voluntary dissolution, statutory or pronounced by justice, the goods of association will be reserved in accordance with the statutes or, in the absence of statutory provision, according to the rules determined in general meeting.)