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How do I
join PACFA?
Individuals cannot join PACFA - it is an "association of
associations". You need to join a PACFA Member Association in
order to show that you meet the professional standards now
required in the field. You will need to approach a PACFA Member
Association and go through their normal membership procedures -
you will have to prove that you meet their training standards,
their supervision and experience requirements, and commit
yourself to their ethical standards. All of these will have been
ratified as sufficient by PACFA.
Which
Associations have joined PACFA?
This site contains the current list of
PACFA Member
Associations.
How is PACFA going to benefit me?
In the long term, membership of a PACFA Member Association will
mean the widest public recognition of your professional
credibility. The
PACFA National Register of Psychotherapists and
Counsellors is widely circulated to other professionals who
refer people to Psychotherapists and Counsellors. It is also
available to members of the general public who are seeking
information about Psychotherapy and Counselling. The Register,
unlike a membership list, includes names of individual
Psychotherapists and Counsellors who have been accredited
through the National Register application process. Having your
name listed on the Register, under that of your PACFA Member
Association, will confirm that your level of training, your
expertise, your commitment to a high standard of ethical and
professional practice, have been verified.
How can I be on the Register?
First you will need to be a member of a PACFA Member
Association. Once you have been accepted for membership, your
Association will give you a
Register Application Form. The
Register has its own standards, which are higher than the
standards set for membership of a PACFA Member Association.
There may be some further eligibility criteria for listing
within the Section of the Register to which your Member
Association belongs (contact your Association for further
details). Details of the procedures involved in applying to be
listed on the Register have evolved over five years of work,
first by the Standing Conference of Educators and Trainers in
Counselling and Psychotherapy, and then by PACFA, with a view to
preserving diversity within the field, whilst at the same time
creating an infrastructure for accountability and the
maintenance of responsible professional standards within this
diverse field.
I
want to get further training. Can you tell me which courses will
meet PACFA's standards?
Educators and trainers have started looking at the
Training
Standards document produced by PACFA and are organising their
courses with a view to their graduates being accepted for
membership of PACFA Member Associations in their fields. PACFA
does not accredit courses, however if looking for a suitable
course, we suggest you:
1. Ask any training course coordinators whether they are taking
active steps to ensure their course at least meets PACFA's
minimum standards.
2. Request a copy of their curriculum, the hours of face-to-face
teaching, philosophy etc, and compare them with the PACFA
Training Standards document yourself.
3. Talk to any PACFA Member Association in the area in which you
wish to train and ask them about the status of the course you
plan to do - will it be acceptable training for membership of
their Association?
We are running a training course. How do we get accredited by
PACFA?
At present, training courses can be accredited by the Government
tertiary education boards in each state, but there have been no
standards set for professional level training in Psychotherapy
and Counselling. PACFA will be liaising with education boards
about this in the near future. We are aware that there may be a
need for independent accreditation, but PACFA will need to
decide whether this is specifically a role that it should take
on, and if so how it should be done. The Society of Counselling
and Psychotherapy Educators (SCAPE) will no doubt be working
with PACFA on this issue.
SCAPE can be contacted via the contact
details page on this web site.
Does my supervisor need to be PACFA accredited?
PACFA cannot endorse supervisors at the moment - the question is
rather whether your supervisor is acceptable to the Member
Association that you wish to join. It would, however, be good to
check whether your supervisor knows about PACFA and belongs to
an association that is considering joining, or already belong
to, PACFA.
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