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April 2007 ISSN 1833-1661
PACFA eNews is the electronic news bulletin of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia. This email newsletter is designed to keep all PACFA MAs informed of PACFA activities and to invite your involvement. We hope that you will forward this eNews on to all your members and place relevant items on the agenda for discussion or decision-making at your own association meetings.
2007 PACFA National Conference - CALL FOR PAPERS EXTENDED until May 18th 2007
CONTENTS
Counselling and Psychotherapy In the News Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia Survey Insurance Update from Rowland House ·
PACFA celebrates its 10th birthday this year and it’s worth reflecting upon our humble beginnings.
The core for PACFA’s uniqueness emerges from its early origins as an inclusive consensus-based and widely representative peak body which sought to provide a place for the existing professional associations and diverse modalities.
The lack of a common accord and agreed standards for the counselling and psychotherapy field emerged in the 1990s. PACFA was formed in response to that identified need.
Today PACFA is a self regulating professional peak body comprising more than 40 professional associations for counselling and psychotherapy and over 3000 individual practitioners from a range of counselling and psychotherapy backgrounds.
As an incoming chief executive, I applaud the efforts of our visionary forefathers who recognized the uniqueness of the counselling and psychotherapy profession and the need to clearly develop and unify the professions. This identity is the foundation of any credible body. And building credibility is paramount to our future success.
To promote and successfully conclude negotiations around Medicare, health insurance funds, goods and services tax and to overcome discrimination of counsellors and psychotherapists in the employment field demands a national unified voice and credible structures of a self regulation model incorporating:
• Exacting professional standards; • National audited registration; • Rigorous ongoing professional development; • Independent course accreditation of psychotherapy and counselling training programs; • Advocacy and engagement of productive government relationships on behalf of the profession; and • Independent research and evidenced based best practice (in the broad sense of the term)
PACFA’s recent Canberra based negotiations further underscore that credible structures are paramount. Over the last 10 years, PACFA has laid solid foundations built on professional standards, registration, ongoing professional development and course accreditation of psychotherapy and counselling training programs.
Notwithstanding PACFA’s progress, it is clear that the lack of unity and professionalism with competing bodies, registration boards and disparate standards of training across Australia serve to increase confusion and division between government, policy makers, stakeholders, consumers and the community.
PACFA identifies this as a significant challenge and will strive to further foster and strengthen a clearly developed unified professional identity as the foundation of a credible and legitimate profession.
Bearing this in mind, it is useful to reflect upon a recent letter from the Australian Association of Relationship Counsellors explaining why membership of PACFA is essential to them as an association of relationships counsellors
1. PACFA is the peak counselling body in Australia.
2. PACFA provides an independent benchmark of standards and the most effective means to self regulation of the profession of counselling and psychotherapy.
3. PACFA through research seeks to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of counselling and psychotherapy.
4. PACFA is more able to represent the professions of counselling and psychotherapy than individual member associations for example to lobby government and health funds for recognition and more equitable consumer access.
5. PACFA represents a philosophical alternative to the health professions more closely aligned with the medical model.
6. PAFA in establishing a national register of practitioners promotes professional definition, accountability and access for consumers.
In the February edition of eNews, PACFA outlined written advice received from the Department of Health and Ageing. This advice caused considerable concern amongst members and a source of rapid feedback. As a consequence, PACFA sought clarification from the Department of Health and Ageing.
PACFA is now advised that there will not be any change to the Better Access Initiative until the Department of Health and Ageing has completed a review of the Better Access Initiative later next year and furthermore, any decision about future expansion to the Medicare Better Access Initiative is subject to subsequent Government’s deliberations and future budgetary implications. Importantly however, PACFA seeks to ensure that our members are well positioned to demonstrate their suitability and competence in evidence-based approaches in counselling and psychotherapy with mental health clients should there be any future amendment or expansion to the Medicare Better Access Initiative.
This can be accomplished by providing our members with the opportunity to undertake training in specific evidence-based therapies to enable the up-skilling of well trained and experienced counsellors to meet the National Mental Standards.
Consequently, PACFA welcomes confirmation of further discussions in the coming weeks with the Department of Health and Ageing about training in specific evidence-based therapies.
Furthermore, PACFA continues to receive significant feed-back from members of member associations that the current Medicare provisions are acting against them in a discriminatory way. Members should relay their experiences to me to enable PACFA to consolidate its position and concerns before the policymakers.
Given this changing external environment, PACFA will continue to strongly advocate before policymakers that counselling and psychotherapy have been shown to be highly effective with a wide range of mental health, social and psychological problems, as evidenced by numerous extensive meta-analyses of psychotherapy.
Importantly, PACFA continues to work in collaboration with the Mental Health Council to achieve better recognition for psychotherapists and counsellors Likewise we will continue to reaffirm PACFA’s standing and credibility before government.
Farewell Samantha Noyes Samantha has tendered her resignation from PACFA after a little over 2 years with us. During her tenure, she has been on many occasions, the sole voice and face of the PACFA office. When Milan had become seriously ill in 2006, she took on the leadership role - for which PACFA and the Board were extremely grateful and indebted.
Samantha has been a wonderful support to me; an exceptional talent with a deep and rich knowledge of our organisation.
On behalf of the Board and her PACFA colleagues, we wish Samantha every success and happiness in her new endeavours wherever they may take her.
John C O’Neill
Major International Study on the Development of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. An important component of PACFA’s strategic research agenda is to expand our knowledge of the Australian counselling and psychotherapy workforce and its potential contribution to improving the health of the nation. A recent study by Sharpley, Bond & Agnew (2004) found that 79% of a small community sample thought there should be more counsellors available in the community. Despite these favourable consumer views, counsellors and psychotherapists are poorly integrated into health and community services (Schofield, 2004). There are no doubt many reasons for this, including limited health resources and growing demands for those resources, more successful advocacy by the more traditional health professions, and slow structural responses to demand for change and recognition of newer professional groups.
The poor integration of counselling services may also be due to the lack of consensus on practice and training standards for the profession, inadequate knowledge of research demonstrating efficacy and effectiveness of counselling, and lack of data about or confidence in the backgrounds, training and practice development of more acceptable models of care for those suffering from psychological and mental disorders. Such workforce information is a necessary foundation for health workforce reform and greater inclusion of counselling and psychotherapy services.
To advance this strategic research agenda, PACFA researchers have developed a collaboration with key international researchers, Prof David Orlinsky from the University of Chicago and Prof Helge Ronnestad from the University of Oslo, who have undertaken a major 15 year international study (N= >15,000 from over 30 countries) on the development and practice of therapists (Orlinsky et al, 1999; Orlinsky & Ronnestad, 2005).
Key questions addressed in the international Collaborative Research Network (CRN) study include:
1. How do therapists develop over course of their career?
2. What factors influence psychotherapeutic development?
3. To what extent do patterns, processes and facilitators (or inhibitors) of professional development differ by profession (training, title) and theoretical orientation or by interactions between these?
4. To what extent do personal, sociodemographic, and work environment characteristics influence therapist development and work satisfaction?
In the second half of the year, we propose to undertake an Australian version of this international study. The broad objective of this study is to develop a profile of the counselling and psychotherapy workforce and practice patterns in Australia. This will inform workforce policy and planning, review of professional practice and training standards, and identify consumer characteristics and needs for services.
We are currently seeking funding to support the study and we will be working closely with professional associations to distribute the survey in cost-effective ways. If you have any ideas about sources of funding, please contact Margot Schofield at PACFA on 03 9486 7600.
Orlinsky, D.E., Ambühl, H., Rønnestad, M., et al. (1999). Development of psychotherapists. Psychother Res, 8, 127-153. Orlinsky, D.E. & Rønnestad, M.H. (2005). How psychotherapists develop. Washington: APA. Schofield, M.J. (2004). Counselling and psychotherapy services in the Australian healthcare system: A long way to go. Healthcare Counselling & Psychotherapy Journal, October, 23-24. Sharpley, C.F., Bond, J.E., & Agnew, C.J. (2004). Why go to a counsellor? Attitudes to, and knowledge of counselling in Australia, 2002. Int J Adv Counsel, 26(1), 95-108.
World Council for Psychotherapy Conference 2011 The preliminary Announcement for the World Congress for Psychotherapy is now available on www.wcp2011.org. You are invited to go to this website and complete the online “Register Interest” Form. PACFA is the official lead organising body for this Congress and represented on the organising Committee by Sophie Holmes, Tim Johnson-Newell, Anthony Korner (Chair of organising Committee) and Margot Schofield.
Associations are invited to contact a member of the Organising Committee to discuss ideas for Keynote and Plenary Speakers and developing streams around the congress theme of World Dreaming. This will be an exciting event in the history of psychotherapy and counselling in the Australasian region. See attached Preliminary Announcement or visit website.
Margot Schofield
Letter to the Editor
Herald Sun 15 March 2007 MEDICARE Help Plan
Your article of 13 March highlighted a black hole in the government’s health policy. We may be living in a time when the economy is powering ahead, but the need for counselling services for ordinary people is exploding. Why? 62% of people with a mental illness receive no assistance at all or depend on informal support, usually from unpaid carers or family. Counsellors and psychotherapists can provide a more affordable and efficient service Australia wide. A Lifeline Centre reported that it helps approximately 350 people per month; however 16,000 calls/month have to be redirected. Three out of every five calls relate to mental health needs, either about the caller or a friend. Average call times used to be 17 minutes, they are now 55 minutes. 1.8 million Australians report a long term mental or behavioural problem. 50% of preadolescent children have the potential to develop long term mental illness. 40% of Australia’s prison population suffers from a mental illness.
How then can the government's current health policy deny ordinary Australians access to Medicare rebates when visiting qualified and registered psychotherapists and counsellors? PACFA represents registered and accredited counsellors and psychotherapists and, despite ongoing representations to Government for the inclusion of qualified counsellors and psychotherapists to the Medicare rebate scheme, this issue remains "too hard" for Government. The Government must support the development of a register of qualified professionals in the areas of counselling and psychotherapy. The longer we delay, the greater the waiting lists. The longer we delay, the greater the likelihood that our mentally ill will be forced to seek assistance from unqualified therapists.
At a time when service needs are exploding we ask the government to be more sympathetic to the mental health needs of ordinary Australians. Little wonder only 7% of our total health budget is allocated to this serious problem.
Ron Perry President PACFA
Counselling and Psychotherapy In the News
BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER - CHALLENGING THE LABEL (All In TheMind: 07/04/2007)
Self-harm and self-denigration, radical mood swings, and diabolical, destructive behaviours. For those labelled as having borderline personality disorder (BPD), life is intolerable; not least because it's often stigmatised by the very profession responsible for giving it. This week, we hear some confronting stories. Of the estimated one to two per cent of the population said to have the disorder, most are women. But are these difficult women or women with difficult histories. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2007/1889932.htm
Study Shows Many Mental Health Needs Go Unmet (March 28, 2007)
Psychiatrists' first large-scale assessment of the general population shows nearly 30 percent need mental health care and about one-third of them get it. ... > http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326152642.htm
Australian Policy Online (APO) is a comprehensive clearinghouse of social, economic, cultural and political research. Edited by Swinburne University's Institute for Social Research, the site offers reports from APO members, government and other sources via a tailored versions of Infoxchange Australia's content management application.
The site is fully searchable, and features a calendar of upcoming events and a directory of useful links. Subscribers to APO are kept up to date through a weekly Infocast, and they can also receive separate RSS feeds for new reports and for new events and commentary. Take a look at http://www.apo.org.au.
Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia- SURVEY PUT YOUR FEDERAL MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ON THE AGENDA
It’s a federal election year. For the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (MIFA) that means we have a real opportunity to tell government what it’s doing well – and more importantly what it needs to be doing better in relation to mental health. We want to ensure that mental health stays on the national agenda and that political parties develop policies and plans addressing mental health issues and moving towards better outcomes.
Please consider completing our nationally conducted survey at http://www.mifa.org.au / by April 23rd. In May 2007 MIFA will publish the results from the survey and ask the current and alternative governments and other significant political parties to respond. Political responses will then form a subsequent paper which will also be made available.
*Please take the time to complete the survey and encourage your colleagues, friends and family to complete the survey by April 23rd at http://www.mifa.org.au/
Natasha Miliotis Executive Director Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia (MIFSA)
Location: 1 Richmond Road, Keswick Postal: P.O. Box 310, Marleston 5033 Ph: (08) 8221 5160 Fax: (08) 8221 5159 e-mail: natasha@mhrc.org.au Web: www.mifsa.org
ACT: Catholic Social Services Australia is looking for a Policy Officer.
New South Wales: Mission Australia is seeking a Program Manager for its Job Placement, Employment and Training (JPET) and Job Capacity Assessor (JCA) Services.
Northern Territory: The Northern Territory Council of Social Service is looking for a Workforce Strategy Project Officer.
South Australia: The Asthma Foundation of South Australia is looking for a Community Participation and Communications Officer.
Victoria: Wesley Disability Community Services, a service of the Wesley Mission, require a Community Access Planner for the North/West region.
Details of these and many more community, notfor- profit and government vacancies are available at http://www.employment.infoxchange.net.au
Indigenous Gambling and Problem Gambling Submission Based Gambling Research Grants Model- Indigenous Gambling and Problem Gambling
Identification number for the Grants will be tender number 131/06
This is the first round of Grants offered by Gambling Research Australia (GRA) and it has the theme of Indigenous Gambling and Problem Gambling. This theme is a broad topic that encompasses several elements. GRA has identified a number of key questions within this topic and they are detailed in the Applicant Information Pack (AIP) which will be available from www.tenders.vic.gov.au (tender number 131/06 under Department of Justice, Victoria) from Wednesday 14 March 2007.
A copy of the AIP may also be viewed at the GRA website from Wednesday 14 March 2007 at
The Applicant’s research topic must be directly related to the Indigenous gambling theme and should be related to one or more of the key questions identified in the AIP. The AIP also provides questions and answers related to the Grants Model in addition to details for completing and lodging a submission. The GRA is seeking participation and input from a variety of disciplines and collaboration between researchers in making submissions.
Submissions will close at 2.00pm Thursday 3 May 2007 (see AIP for full details). Submissions will only be considered if they meet the selection criteria and other requirements as outlined in the Applicant Information Pack. If you intend providing a submission for this round of grants, please register at the tenders website and download a copy of the Applicant Information Pack (from 14 March 2007).
Sony Pictures - Reign Over Me On March 22, Sony Pictures released the new drama REIGN OVER ME. The film stars Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Liv Tyler and an exceptional performance by Adam Sandler in his 3rd dramatic role.
Adam Sandler's character Charlie Fineman, is a man lost in grief and denial after tragically losing his wife & children. Charlie's life is about exclusions, he indulges in loud music, plays the drums, paints over walls, plays video games, avoid friends & family... anything to avoid thinking & talking or dealing with the trauma of his loss. When it all becomes to overwhelming he shuts out the world with music namely the song 'Love Reign O'er Me' by The Who. In the film he is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and displays 'avoidance symptoms' as described above.
To view the trailer please click on link below: http://www.sonypictures.com.au/movies/reignoverme/index.html
The 12 Levels of Being Sharon Snir Published by Shekhina Books Members Price $25 incl. postage
Sharon Snir, Gestalt Therapist, Spiritual Teacher and founder of The 12 Levels of Being professional development seminars and workshops, has recently published a book that presents a fresh new perspective to understanding the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual cycles of human development. The 12 Levels of Being form the foundation from which all human beings
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