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History |
| A history of the formation of a national professional organization |
The Association of Solution Oriented Counsellors and Hypnotherapists of Australia (ASOCHA) has emerged from a strong tradition of Solution Oriented training in Australia , steeped in an Ericksonian tradition, provided by Ampersand Australia and the Centre of Effective Therapy (CET), Melbourne , since the late 1980's.
A growing number of graduates from these training institutions began to express and demonstrate their need to become part of a nationally recognized and accredited structure, as well as to maintain an ongoing sense of community and professional support among themselves.
In mid 2000, ASOCHA became an incorporated body, and successfully applied to become a member organization of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia.
The ASOCHA Constitution provides that membership of ASOCHA will be open to any person who has completed Solution Oriented training and supervision that meets the minimum standards for PACFA membership. As such, those ASOCHA members who, for example have completed at least two years training through Ampersand Australia or CET, or equivalent training, and can demonstrate 50 hours of appropriate supervision, are eligible to join as Full Members, and thus become nationally recognized as having attained a minimum standard of qualification, set by PACFA. Associate Membership is available to those who are still in the process of meeting Full Membership requirements (refer Membership Section, ASOCHA Constitution).
It was anticipated that such a body would broaden the opportunities for students and graduates, and provide for a group of professionals who could participate in the benefits that such a community offers from a stronger, more networked, more diverse and more recognized base. The formation of ASOCHA has made it possible for members anywhere in Australia to contribute and participate in professional activities with a broader range of "like minded" professionals, as well as with those from a wide diversity of professional views (PACFA).
ASOCHA provides its members with a voice in the evolvement of common professional interests, and the link with PACFA allows for a voice in the advancement and developing standards of the counselling profession in general. So those members of ASOCHA who wish to get more involved on a political level will have a range of opportunities to represent the interests of Solution Oriented professionals, both locally and nationally. Other members may choose to continue to focus their participation on a local level, through for example the Bendigo Professional Counselling Group, supervision evenings (Melbourne [CET] and Bendigo [Ampersand Australia]), local meetings and training sessions, Annual Conferences (Australia wide), end of year celebrations (eg. Graduation ceremonies) and other local events.
The principals of Ampersand Australia and CET believe that ASOCHA has been a timely development that establishes Solution Oriented therapists well in a rapidly changing and evolving professional arena. The field of counselling is undergoing enormous expansion and change right now, across many domains, perhaps more so than we have ever seen.
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| "The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live." |
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| - Joan Borysenko |
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