About Interest Groups
PACFA Interest Groups are informal groups of members who come together to explore aspects of practice and to provide networking, learning and support opportunities.
Interest Groups are new to PACFA and members are encouraged to support the new Interest Groups that have been formed so that we can offer members a range of interesting groups relating to their shared professional interests.
Interest Groups relate to:
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Modalities, interventions, client groups or work settings
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Social policy issues affecting practice
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Professional standards in areas of shared interest
Diversity in Gender, Body, Kinship, and Sexuality
The Diversity in Gender, Body, Kinship, and Sexuality Interest Group aims to raise awareness, advocate for, and promote promising practice within PACFA, both within the category of 'LGBTQI+', and also for a range of cultures, communities, and people whose genders, bodies, sexualities, and kinship are excluded or marginalised by terms like 'LGBTQI+'. We are in the process of changing the language we inherited to promote greater awareness and inclusion across our work. This includes developing practice resources and professional development opportunities around working with people with lived experiences of oppression and exclusion due to their genders, bodies, sexualities, and kinship.
Older People Interest Group
In December 2020, the Older People Interest Group was formed, aiming to raise awareness of counsellors with experience in working with older people and advocate for their recognition, raise issues to Government through appropriate channels, and promote good practice when working with older people.
The latter may include developing or highlighting sound practice resources, and creating professional development opportunities for working with older people. We welcome your ideas for professional development and your support as we develop this Interest Group through 2021.
Contact: [email protected]
Proposed new Interest Groups
There are future plans to start another two interest groups:
Infants, Children, and Young People
EOI’s are invited from members who are interested in joining a SIG dedicated to the infants, children, and young people and it is open to any member who works therapeutically with children (0-11 years) and young people (12-25 years). The SIG aims to draw together counsellors and psychotherapists working in a wide range of settings and with diverse training and experience who have a strong interest in professional practice and professional development relevant to this cohort.
The SIG will bring focus to early intervention and prevention as priority areas; however, will also aim to promote the effectiveness of developmentally appropriate and self-deterministic therapies including play therapy, creative arts therapy, parent-child therapies, group therapy, and bush adventure therapy as examples.
The SIG will focus on the following objectives:
Clinical Practice:
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To develop low-cost PD’s to support counsellors and psychotherapists already working with, or looking to learn how to work effectively with infants, children, and young people and their families and/or carers.
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To offer a community of practice that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and consultation, and provides opportunities to share information, knowledge, and expertise.
Leadership:
To provide consultation to PACFA regarding Federal and/or state policy and legislation concerning the mental health and emotional well-being of infants, children, and young people and assist with drafting documents.
Partnership:
To partner with other key agencies and bodies and build a stronger reflexive alliance and strategic partnerships that enable us to achieve the goals of the SIG.
Education:
To develop and extend the practice knowledge and expertise of counsellors and psychotherapists at any stage of their career.
Advocacy:
To elevate the voices of infants, children, and young people and act as their advocates for their inclusion in society, policy, and initiatives that impact or involve them. Promoting infant and child-centred or led frameworks, policies, and practices will be a key priority. This might include innovative projects that focus on amplifying their voices in spaces where they are silenced or overlooked.
The SIG will be framed up from several pillars of practice that will orient “why we do”, “what we do”, and “how we do it”, and continually reviewing this. They are:
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Infant/child/young person-led practice
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Trauma-informed practice
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Healing-centred engagement
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Cultural safety
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The rights of the child
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Infants, children, and young people are understood as having capacity to be agents of change.
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Infants, children, and young people are held in mind and kept in view.