The PACFA Ethics Committee is responsible for reviewing and developing PACFA’s Code of Ethics and overseeing the administration of PACFA’s complaints handling process. Complaints handling is a key function that PACFA undertakes as a peak body for the self-regulating profession of counselling and psychotherapy.
Members of the Ethics Committee are senior and experienced practitioners from the counselling and psychotherapy field. Through their membership of the Ethics Committee, committee members make a substantial contribution, on a voluntary basis, to ethical standards within the counselling and psychotherapy profession in Australia.
For information on how to make a complaint about the ethical conduct of a practitioner, PACFA or a PACFA Member Association, go to the Complaints page.
Download the Ethics Committee - Terms of Reference
Download the Position Description - Ethics Committee Chair
Helen Phelan (Chair) has had over 30 years of experience in organisational development in many contexts where her work included policy, training, group leadership, project planning and equity matters. Helen has applied this work to social justice and human rights issues, especially exploring and responding to systemic discrimination. This was the main aspect of her work in the Equal Opportunity Commission and in WA Police for many years in Perth. She holds a Masters in Human Rights. Helen is a qualified Sociometrist (a speciality of Psychodrama working with mapping and enhancing the connections between people in relationships, groups and organisations). She is a member of the Australia Aotearoa New Zealand Psychodrama Association, a Member Association of PACFA, and was AANZPA Delegate to PACFA for eight years. She currently supervises therapists and psychodramatists and has her own practice mainly focusing on professional Supervision.
Committee members:
Doug Aberle has been practicing as a Gestalt therapist for more than 35 years and is a graduate and faculty member of Gestalt Associates Training Los Angeles (GATLA). Doug has a private practice in Gestalt Therapy in Perth along with a Business Consulting and Coaching Practice which also draws on his Gestalt training. Doug supervises Gestalt therapists in Perth and runs Gestalt Therapy training workshops locally and internationally. As part of his role on the faculty of GATLA, Doug delivers a theory track on using Gestalt in organisations as well as providing clinical group training and individual live supervision of trainees from around the world. Doug is passionate about Gestalt Therapy, its profound respect for the client and its emphasis on the innate power of awareness and contact. He has a particular interest in seeing the long-term, experiential nature of the psychotherapeutic apprenticeship recognised in the qualification frameworks of PACFA.
Dr Kathryn Imray
Scott Kratzmann
Karyn Krawford
Ann Moir-Bussy, PhD, is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Indigenous Futures, Education and the Arts at Charles Darwin University, and is supervising PhD students in Counselling and mental health. Ann has been a counsellor and psychotherapist for over 27 years and first joined PACFA at its inception, after having served on the Australian National Network of Counsellors in the ACT after her Master of Counselling Degree in 1994.
She served as Vice president of ACA until 2022. She is a Fellow of ACA, a registered supervisor and a member of the College of Supervisors. From 2002-2017, Ann worked as a Coordinator of Counselling programs, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Counselling at the University of New England, Hong Kong Shue Yan University and the University of Sunshine Coast. Ann holds a PhD in counselling, a Master of Counselling, Bachelor of Education, an Advanced Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy, NLP and Psychotherapy. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on counselling and education in counselling, supervision, personal development, and transformation.
Ann is now a Clinical Registrant of PACFA, and with a long experience of teaching ethics to master’s students, is happy to now serve on the Ethics Committee.
Chris Simon, within Doctoral studies in America, studied counselling within that seminary’s APA accredited school of psychology. As a subsequent tertiary college counsellor, he was involved in the development of a PACFA accredited master’s degree program within the Sydney College of Divinity - a program which he then completed himself. Originally a committee member of the Counsellors and Psychotherapist Association of NSW (chairing the Standards Committee) he subsequently became a clinical member and an accredited supervisor of the more recently reconstituted PACFA organisation. Chris is a fellow of Alphacrucis University College. Currently, (in ‘retirement’!) he has a small practice that involves both counselling and supervision.
Merle Saber (M.A, BSc, LMFT, LPCC) is a dedicated marriage and family therapist and mental health counselor with decades of experience helping individuals navigate life’s challenges. Throughout her career, Merle has worked to create a safe and supportive environment where clients can explore their emotions and tackle obstacles head-on. Her compassionate approach, combined with evidence-based techniques, enables her clients to achieve meaningful and lasting change in their lives. Working with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues, Merle utilises a variety of therapeutic models tailored to each client’s unique needs. Whether through CBT, mindfulness techniques, or psychodynamic approaches, Merle is committed to help individuals develop coping strategies to build resilience and emotional balance. Beyond her clinical work, Merle is passionate about volunteering in her community.
For Ethics enquiries email [email protected]