NEWSLETTER
News Updates
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The inaugural 'Counsellors and Psychotherapists' brochure was launched
at the PD event in November 2004. It lists 61 Clinical Members, including
8 rural members. It has been distributed to 2000 general
practitioners within metro and selected rural areas, as well as to
all counselling agencies and organisations in WA as a provider list.
If your workplace is able to display or circulate the brochures, bundles
of 25 or 50 can be obtained through the PACAWA office.
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PACAWA has held discussions with the Insurance Commission of WA on the
subject of set service fees for counsellors and psychotherapists.
In August 2004, PACAWA was notified that ICWA will now pay up to $110
per hour consultation, or a proportion thereof for a consultation less
than 1 hour, exclusive of GST. Their policy further states that
there must be a referral from a GP and the provider must be a member
of a recognised professional association, such as PACAWA. It was
also clarified with ICWA that many counsellors and psychotherapists
are not GST-exempt.
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The Management Committee has held discussions with
Carers WA regarding the National Carer Counselling Programme which aims
to provide subsidised counselling for carers. As a result, rural counsellors
who are Clinical Members of PACAWA and who meet certain professional prerequisites
are invited to apply to Carers WA for inclusion on their rural referral
list.
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From 1st July 2004, some allied health professions will be able to offer Medicare rebates (for up to five consultations) to people with chronic conditions and complex needs, including those suffering from long-term depression and anxiety. Referrals must be made by a GP. Allied health professions within this scheme include mental health workers, occupational therapists, psychologists and aboriginal health workers. For more information phone Medicare Plus on 1800 011 163, or
check www.health.gov.au.
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It has been decided to extend the function of PACAWA's Crisis Response Register into a provider list to be made available to various local agencies such as Victim Support Services and Red Cross where there is a need for referrals to be made to outside qualified practitioners available for consultations. The members listed are Clinical Members of PACAWA who have a minimum of 5 years clinical experience post training and hold solid expertise in the specialist areas of grief and trauma counselling. If you have not previously applied to be included in the Crisis
Response Register and wish now to apply for inclusion in the grief and
trauma counsellors provider list, please contact PACAWA, preferably by
email, for an application form.
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The Management Committee has recently reviewed the issue of nomenclature. Of ongoing concern to the association, and to the profession at large, is the indiscriminate use – and lack of appropriate regulation – of the occupation titles of ‘counsellor’ and ‘psychotherapist’. In PACAWA’s view, it is imperative that an industry standard prevails such that only those who have completed formal training in counselling or psychotherapy, and hold relevant qualifications, may utilise the titles of ‘counsellor’ and/or ‘psychotherapist’. Furthermore, this is an ethical requirement of all PACAWA members. PACAWA’s Code of Ethics states:
In practical terms, for example, this means that practitioners trained as counsellors should not use the title ‘psychotherapist’. For Trainee Members, a term such as ‘trainee counsellor’ or ‘trainee psychotherapist’ is suggested. |
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At the AGM in September 2003, a member raised a number of questions concerning PACAWA’s policy related to practitioner nomenclature. The following information is a modified excerpt from the formal response sent to the member following the meeting, and is being published for the interest of all members: "With regard to the issue of nomenclature, there have been a number of factors contributing to the decision to formulate a position statement at this time. Partly it is a function of evolution of the association, and maybe too of the profession within Australia, that this issue has become more foreground. A major consideration has been the need to ensure accountability to the public. Earlier in the year, it had been brought to PACAWA’s attention that some trainees were promoting themselves as 'counsellors' and 'psychotherapists' in order to acquire clinical experience during the course of their training, often without any prior training or qualification. Clearly, this directly contravenes the Code of Ethics of our association. Also, as PACAWA has taken, in recent years, a more proactive role in promoting its members to the public and to government and non-government organisations - such as through the Member Directory - our association needs to be confident that its members have been thoughtful and responsible in terms of their stated occupation title, as well as claims made concerning expertise. By encouraging members to consider their occupation title carefully, there has never been any intention to create an elitist division between psychotherapists and counsellors. While PACAWA faces many challenges brought about by encompassing both counsellors and psychotherapist within the one association, it has always been considered that the advantages of inclusion far outweigh any disadvantages. The philosophy of the association is to regard both as equally valuable, yet different, entities - although at the same time acknowledging that there is some inevitable overlap between the two. And although the terms 'counselling' and 'psychotherapy' are sometimes used interchangeably, for example in professional literature, PACAWA holds the view that there is, within our professional culture in Australia, a general consensus about difference. PACAWA’s definitions of counselling and psychotherapy can be found on the PACAWA website. PACAWA membership criteria do not differentiate between counselling and psychotherapy training. They are deliberately general in order to be applied to both counsellors and psychotherapists for the purposes of inclusive membership of the association. However, as a broad distinction between the two, it could safely be said that basic psychotherapy training is generally longer than basic counselling training. It requires that the psychotherapy trainee undertake considerable personal psychotherapy during the period of training, and that clinical supervision be undertaken with a qualified psychotherapist. As stated at the AGM, the committee has looked to the intention of the training course - that is whether it sets out to train students as counsellors or psychotherapists - as the main determinant in occupation title. At this point, the association does not view its role with training bodies as a prescriptive one. Possibly this will change with time, again as an evolutionary development. PACAWA awaits with great interest the outcome at national level of PACFA's training standards review, its development of a self-regulatory process, and the move towards accrediting training courses. All of these critical issues will have considerable impact on the profession and on PACAWA in due course." |
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PACAWA has now been in existence for over ten years, achieving a strong and consolidated position as the peak professional association for counsellors and psychotherapists in Western Australia. Dr Jan Resnick was the founding President of PACAWA which became incorporated
in 1993. Jan was a primary motivating force in the early days of PACAWA’s
existence, and contributed significantly to establishing autonomy for,
and acceptance of, the professions of counselling and psychotherapy.
Jan stepped down as a member of the Management Committee following the
September 2002 AGM, after a decade of very dedicated service.
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The tragic bombings in Bali in 2002 precipitated an initiative by PACAWA to develop a register of members willing to offer service to the community in the face of such a disaster. An invitation was extended to Clinical Members who hold significant expertise in the areas of trauma and grief counselling. The immediate and open-hearted response of a large number of our experienced members was then compiled into a formal register. In this instance, the register has been made available to members of the public who have been directly or indirectly affected by the bombings via the Department of Community Development (DCD), Victim Support Services, Red Cross and Department of Health WA. There has, in fact, been a strong response to the crisis from the counselling community at large, as reflected in the numerous offers of support made to DCD, resulting in an unprecedented networking of government agencies and private practitioners. In recognition of the generous response of these clinicians, DCD provided a free professional development seminar aimed at further strengthening and validating the skills on offer from the community. A high regard for the value of counselling professionals has been most evident throughout PACAWA’s discussions with DCD and other bodies. Without doubt the contacts and protocols established in response to this recent event will
serve the counselling community to be better prepared for any
such future crisis.
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The collapse of HIH in March 2001 and the terrorism attacks on Sept. 11th 2001 have brought about many changes to the Insurance Industry. As you will no doubt be aware these changes incorporate potentially reviewing, both financial and Practice related issues as the subsequent ripple effect can mean , "lengthy delays in finalising insurance contracts, additional premium costs, and fewer insurers offering cover after imposing more stringent terms and conditions". Insurance Brokers, AON Professional Services are pleased to advise PACAWA members that the PACAWA group scheme with AON continues to exist with the new insurers being Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Australia Ltd . Whilst, ‘Group Schemes’ are created to achieve a number of goals, the main goal of a ‘Group Scheme’ is to "deliver to members the ideal combination of enhanced policy coverage and premium economy". There is often confusion between the three classes of insurance, both in terms of whether cover is required and which policy responds to which exposures. The confusion particularly arises with respect to personal injury and property damage claims, where all policies have potential application. Following is a summary of the essential features of each policy: Public Liability Insurance indemnifies an organisation for its liability arising from claims for bodily injury and property damage suffered by a third party as a result of an unexpected occurrence in the course of business. Professional Indemnity Insurance indemnifies an organisation in respect of liability caused by breach of a professional duty. Where an organisation provides or holds itself out as having a special skill upon which others rely, a duty of care arises. Directors’ & Officers’ (Management) Liability Insurance is designed to indemnify individual directors and officers for their personal liability arising from the management of the company, (e.g. business strategy, investments, work standards and policies, insurance, public statements etc..) as opposed to the provision of professional services. The remainder of the article has a focus on some of the changes that have occurred in year (Oct. 2002 to end of Sept. 2003) with regard to Professional Indemnity Insurance and some that have eventuated as a result of negotiations between AON and PACAWA. These changes are outlined below:
I wish to thank James Sinclair and Shamus Breen (AON –Principal and Account executive of Professional Services) for their input and support to PACAWA and to this article-and to acknowledge selected information from the AON Website and their correspondence to PACAWA via the member services rep. For further information please access AON website www.aon.com.au Disclaimer: This article
is intended as a general guide only. Situations can vary, therefore, before
taking any action, please refer to the exact wording on your Policy Document
and/ or seek appropriate professional advice. The author assumes no responsibility
or liability for any action taken as a result of information provided
in this article.
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