- The protection of the public
by the maintenance of high professional standards
- The promotion of fellowship,
understanding and support among psychotherapists in New Zealand
-
The provision
of training.
INTRODUCTION
AND OVERVIEW
The
New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists
The New Zealand Association
of Psychotherapists is a professional organisation which sets, examines
and maintains standards for the safe and ethical practice of psychotherapy
in Aotearoa New Zealand .
As a professional
body, the Association aims to protect the interests of its members
by:
1) The provision
of help and support to provide and maintain a high level of expertise
in order to practise safely and effectively. This is achieved by regular
supervision, personal psychotherapy, and the opportunity for contact
with, and support from, other practitioners at local branch level,
at the annual national conference and through the circulation of regular
publications;
2) The
Constitution, which defines the aims, structures and organisation
of the Association;
3) The
Code of Ethics, which offers firm guidelines for the influential
and sometimes delicate relationship between psychotherapists and clients;
4) The
Complaints Procedure, which allows complaints to be considered
carefully and which facilitates the resolution of difficulties arising
in psychotherapeutic practice. This ensures that clients and colleagues
have an ordered and official means of expressing concerns, and it
is designed with regard for all parties. As an adjunct to this, the
Association provides access to a professional indemnity insurance
scheme for members and provisional members.
A notable
development in recent years has been a commitment to explore ways
in which psychotherapy may be guided by the articles and spirit of
the Treaty of Waitangi.
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CHAPTER
ONE: SUPERVISION AND PERSONAL PSYCHOTHERAPY
Supervision
Supervision
is the basis of the Association’s guidance and assessment of
provisional members and is also a valuable means of developing psychotherapists’
skills throughout their professional lives. In fact, it is the primary
way the Association ensures that psychotherapeutic practice is safe,
effective and ethical.
The Association
is unusual among professional bodies in that most professions require
supervision only during the training period. Members of the Association,
however, continue in supervision throughout their working lives as
a welcome opportunity to discuss current work and develop understanding
of their clients.
Supervision
is founded on a close and often longstanding collegial relationship
which offers support, challenge and learning. In general, supervisory
sessions are welcomed by both supervisee and supervisor as a means
of developing skills and enhancing practice.
Supervision
may be arranged in a variety of ways. Generally, it involves one-to-one
meetings with a supervisor, but it may also involve peer supervision
in a group setting, where the psychotherapist presents work and
others respond to it. They may, in addition to the usual discussion,
present a tape, video or verbatim transcript of their psychotherapeutic
work. For those who live far from city centres, supervision may be
a mix of telephone calls, faxes and email, as well as face-to-face
meetings.
The frequency
of meetings or contact also varies. Ordinarily, provisional members
are asked to have weekly supervision for at least two years of their
time as a provisional member.
Benefits
Supervision benefits
the psychotherapist, the client and the community.
1) The psychotherapist
is offered a relationship that aims to guide, mentor, inspire, provide
emotional support, and develop insight and understanding. The most
important benefit of examining the relationship between a psychotherapist
and client is increased awareness and understanding of transference
and countertransference C the processes by which feelings are stirred
up in both psychotherapist and the client as they work together.
The difficulties
clients have in dealing with other people are often what brings them
to psychotherapy. A client's fear or suspicion or, equally, their
hopes or admiration in relation to their psychotherapist may indicate
how they relate to other people, past and present. The supervisory
sessions can usefully focus on helping a psychotherapist recognise
and understand each participant's experience of the psychotherapeutic
relationship. Feelings developed within the supervisory relationship
are often a live and current version of characteristic responses and
struggles which arise in the clinical encounter between psychotherapist
and client. Exploration, recognition and understanding of such parallels
can be very instructive and enabling.
In working
with an ordinary member, the supervisor can focus on the details of
clinical work and the running of the practice, while the supervisor
of provisional members, in addition to the usual attention to clients,
will focus on helping prepare the supervisee for admission to the
Association.
2) Supervision
benefits the client by strengthening and sustaining the psychotherapist's
ability to reflect, understand and provide psychotherapy, and by offering
a valuable "second opinion".
3) Supervision
benefits the community by providing quality assurance through the
close monitoring of professional practice standards.
The
Supervisory Relationship
The relationship
of a supervisory pair needs to be close and trusting. Therefore, it
is important that supervisor and supervisee are well matched.
As the supervisory relationship is crucial and often long-lasting,
it is important that both supervisor and supervisee give careful consideration
to what they expect from each other as they establish a contract.
The aim and
spirit of supervision contracts is to assist the supervisee and supervisor
to achieve a clear and well defined working agreement which has the
support and approval of the Association through its Regional Supervisors’
Groups.
Regional Supervisors’
Groups are set up to discuss matters concerning supervision in general,
and the development of provisional members in particular. This helps
to ensure the safe, effective and ethical practice of psychotherapy.
The Regional
Supervisors’ Groups comprise people who have been ordinary members
of the Association for at least three years and who have had previous
supervisory experience. Membership of a Regional Supervisors’
Group confers the status of accredited supervisor of the Association.
Accredited Supervisor of NZAP’ cannot be used as a qualification.
All supervision
contracts have to be ratified by the Regional Supervisors’
Group. Contracts between provisional members and their supervisors
are discussed and approved by the Regional Supervisors’ Group,
with the chosen supervisor in attendance. Supervisors of provisional
members are expected to attend meetings of the Regional Supervisors’
Group regularly and to discuss the progress of their supervisees at
least once a year.
Members return
a signed and approved supervision contract to the Convenor of the
Regional Supervisors' Group, who sights it and advises the Executive
Officer of the Association. Once the Executive Officer has received
the annual subscription and the notice of approval of the supervision
contract, the Annual Practising Certificate will be issued.
In preparing
the annual contract, members are asked to present to their supervisors
a report on their ongoing training, personal growth and professional
development for the year. This might be an account of new areas of
personal and professional development and include a reflective summary
of workshops attended, books read and papers written.
The Association’s
Supervision Committee, at national level, publishes guidelines and
requirements and may be consulted by members through its Chair. Locally,
the Convenor of the Regional Supervisors' Group may be asked for information
and clarification.
Personal
Psychotherapy
Another valuable
way of understanding and reflecting on the relationship between psychotherapist
and client is for the psychotherapist to have been in the client's
chair. Therefore, the Association encourages provisional members to
have ongoing personal psychotherapy as part of their learning and
continuing professional development.
Personal psychotherapy
helps to ensure that the experience of being a client in psychotherapy
is understood and appreciated. A client seeks professional help when
faced with his or her own suffering. Psychotherapists need to know
this not only from their readings but from their own experience of
psychotherapy.
A unique benefit
that psychotherapy offers a client is the opportunity to be listened
to in a personal and skilled way. Many clients approach psychotherapy
anxious about revealing parts of their inner self. Finding an attentive,
non-judgemental listener helps them to open up. By experiencing this
as a client, a psychotherapist may gain a fuller understanding of
the value and potential of this special relationship.
It is the
most direct way that a psychotherapist C as the very instrument of
psychotherapy C is alerted to the operation of their own conscious
and unconscious patterns, which are likely to affect their perceptions,
judgements, needs and responses during the psychotherapy.
Personal psychotherapy
also makes the literature of psychotherapy more meaningful. Theory
begins to make sense most clearly when it illuminates a practitioner's
own experience and strong emotional moments.
When psychotherapists
are asked what was the most formative element in their professional
development, personal psychotherapy is usually given highest importance,
ahead of mentors, training, reading and research. Generally,
the frequency and intensity of the personal psychotherapy undertaken
will match that of the form of psychotherapy the practitioner chooses
to specialise in.
CHAPTER TWO: BECOMING A MEMBER
Psychotherapists
joining the Association bring with them vital energy, creating new
opportunities for individuals and the Association to flourish. We
continue to search for balance between the wish to welcome new members
and our concern to protect the standards which contribute to the value
and meaning of membership.
Comprehensive
training in psychotherapy has become increasingly available in tertiary
institutions in New Zealand since the 1990s. Before that time, training
could only be obtained through private courses, through practice under
the guidance of an experienced psychotherapist, or by training
abroad.
For many potential
members, the interest and career in psychotherapy grows out of a foundation
profession, such as psychology, medicine, nursing or social work.
Provisional
members come with a variety of experience. Some look to the Association
for professional development, some have completed their structured
training and have started practising psychotherapy, while others are
already senior practitioners, often with overseas qualifications and
experience.
The Admission
Committee is responsible for managing the process and setting the
standard which governs the transition from provisional to ordinary
membership. Its Chairperson is elected by Council and its members
are appointed to include a range of skills, experience, and regional
representation. The Assessment Policy and Procedures (also
known as the Orange Book) gives guidance and details of the requirements
of provisional members in their preparation and presentation for ordinary
membership.
Admission
to ordinary membership is based on the careful assessment of each
candidate’s written work and an interview by an assessment panel.
The written therapeutic study and work practice description, as well
as the panel assessment are opportunities for candidates to demonstrate
and discuss their clinical work, theoretical base and use of supervision.
Candidates are asked to show that they are competent in the practice
of psychotherapy and that they practise with integrity and safety.
In addition, they will have an opportunity to show their individual
and personal style of relating during the assessment interview.
Eligibility
for Membership
Anyone who
practises or is beginning to practise psychotherapy and has formal
training in psychotherapy or has equivalent training to be approved
by the regional interviewing panel may apply for admission to the
Association. The Association is an inclusive organisation, and membership
is based on concern for competent, safe and ethical practice, rather
than adherence to any particular school of psychotherapy.
Although the
professional requirements for membership are designed to enhance provisional
members’ psychotherapeutic skills, the process of attaining
ordinary membership is not intended to provide a complete training
in psychotherapy, since provisional members are expected to have had
training and experience as psychotherapists before applying to join
the Association.
Application
Procedure
Information
for inquirers may be obtained from the Association’s Executive
Officer. The document sent out invites inquirers to consider whether
joining the Association is something that best suits their interests
and involvement in psychotherapy and is intended to provide a clear
guide to help make that decision.
Those who
wish to proceed may then request an application pack and complete
the documentation which leads to an invitation to meet a panel
of senior local members of the Association. This is an opportunity
to discuss any questions that both parties may have and to engage
in consideration of clinical work and experience.
After being
accepted by the local panel, a provisional member is asked to undertake
(or continue) regular supervision with an ordinary member of the Association
and perhaps ongoing personal psychotherapy to prepare for the requirements
of ordinary membership. Provisional members are warmly encouraged
to come to their local branch meetings, to get to know and be known
by colleagues, and to benefit from the interest, support and learning
opportunities provided there.
Time
Frame
The time
needed to graduate from provisional membership to ordinary membership
will depend on experience and qualifications. However, it is normally
expected that a provisional member will complete the admission process
within five years of becoming a provisional member. The process may
be much shorter. For an extension of time beyond five years, the provisional
member should, in consultation with the supervisor, make application
to the Regional Supervisors’ Group, with an explanation of the
situation. Such approvals are usually considered and made at local
level.
There is no
minimum time which must pass between becoming a provisional member
and gaining ordinary membership of the Association. A provisional
member will be guided by his or her supervisor about readiness to
proceed.
Senior
Practitioners
-
It may be appropriate for
a senior psychotherapist to undergo a modified assessment process.
Such practitioners would usually have a recognised post-graduate qualification
in psychotherapy and ten years' post-qualification clinical psychotherapy
experience. Details of this process are published in the Orange Book.
Irrespective of what concessions might be granted, a senior and experienced
practitioner, like all provisional members, will be invited to attend
an assessment interview as part of the process of achieving ordinary
membership.
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CHAPTER
THREE: STRUCTURE OF THE ASSOCIATION
Members of
the Association are supported by a professional structure that includes
a Constitution, a Code of Ethics, a Complaints Procedure and a Professional
Practice Review Process. This structure is maintained by members at
regional and national levels. An Executive Officer is employed part-time
to administer the Association's affairs.
Council
The Council
of the Association is its governing body. It is composed of:
- The President
- The President-Elect
- The Immediate Past President
- The Honorary Secretary
- The Honorary Treasurer
- The Chair of the Admission
Committee
- The Chair of the Ethics
and the Professional Standards Committee
- and six ordinary members.
The President-Elect, the
Chair of the Admission Committee, and the Chair of the Ethics and Professional
Standards Committee are elected by Council from nominations received
from members. All other positions on Council are elected at the Annual
General Meeting, which is traditionally held in conjunction with
the Annual Conference. All positions are for a term of two years. With
the exception of the presidency, people may be re-elected to their positions
for up to two further two-year terms.
The Executive Committee of
Council comprises the President, the President-Elect, the Immediate
Past President, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer, the
Chair of the Admission Committee, and the Chair of the Ethics and Professional
Standards Committee. Portfolios held by individual members of Council
include Supervision, Public Issues, Bicultural Issues, and Provisional
Members’ Concerns.
Council normally meets three
times a year C twice for a weekend in Wellington and once immediately
preceding the Annual Conference. Much of the work is done between meetings
by individuals or committees of Council. The three full Council meetings
are the times for reporting, discussing and assessing progress of ongoing
issues, re-focussing on core principles and passions, and, through each
other, maintaining connection with the issues which are stirring the
concerns and strong feelings within the membership as a whole. In accordance
with the core principle of the primacy of relationship, meeting agendas
provide space for members to re-connect personally before applying themselves
to business matters. Sharing accommodation and meal times deepens
both personal and working relationships. Debate and decision making
is often intense, agendas are long, and the experience overall is exhilarating
and satisfying for participants.
Members may contact anyone
on Council to have their concerns placed on the agenda for meetings.
Any member may attend Council meetings as an observer. Prior arrangements
should be made through the Executive Officer to ensure there is adequate
space for all attending.
Also in attendance at Council
meetings are the Executive Officer, who acts as minute recorder, and
any others who may be invited for specialist input.
Treaty
of Waitangi
When the Association was
formed in 1947 it comprised a group of Pakeha whose psychotherapeutic
view was Euro centric, in line with the dominant societal culture. There
is little recorded formally about any acknowledgement of or relationship
with Maori, the Treaty of Waitangi partners. The birth of Te Roopuu
Whakaora Hinengaro, the name which formally claims the Association to
be a bicultural organisation occurred in 1993 C 46 year later. Since
then both Pakeha and Maori names appear on its official documents.
Discussion at the time centred
around keeping the integrity of the Association by not committing
itself merely to words, but to a path. This spirit is reflected in the
Association’s Code of Ethics.
The Association has a Bicultural
Committee which is charged with assisting it to find and walk the path
of partnership. Its challenge is that Association members are committed
first as citizens, then as psychotherapists, to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Honouring this commitment is both an individual responsibility and one
for the Association.
With regard to the Association's
responsibility, everything the Association does, all its policies, procedures,
protocols, statements, etc., need to be considered in the light of the
Treaty of Waitangi to ensure that these are in accord with the spirit
and practice of partnership. This has far reaching implications. It
means ongoing consideration of the process of how this might be put
into practice and how it might be tested. This is not a static situation,
but a living organic way of being that calls for ongoing attention by
the Association to be true to its Code of Ethics.
Categories
of Membership
Provisional membership
is gained through a local panel interview and subsequent recommendation
which has been ratified by Council. It is for those in the process of
working towards ordinary membership and includes many of the benefits
of membership. Voting rights may be conferred by Council in specified
situations.
Ordinary membership
(also referred to as full membership) is granted after the Admission
Committee’s recommendation has been ratified by Council.
Membership certificates are presented at the Annual Conference.
Retired membership
is for members no longer practising psychotherapy, including related
activities such as supervision, teaching, training or service administration.
There is a reduced subscription. Ordinary membership may be resumed
within three years of retirement by submission of a current supervision
contract to the Regional Supervisors' Group, and payment of the full
annual subscription. The same process for reinstatement of status, applies
for provisional members who resign or take leave of absence.
Ordinary members may signify
their membership by the use of the initials MNZAP or Member NZAP. Provisional
and retired members must use the unabbreviated wording to indicate their
membership category, for example, Provisional Member NZAP. The logo
of the Association may only be used for official business.
Life membership
is an honour conferred by Council on chosen senior members who have
made significant contribution to the Association over many years. At
any time there may be a maximum of six life members.
There is also a further category
known as correspondents, who are not actual members. Correspondents
incur a fee to cover costs of sending correspondence and newsletters.
Correspondent status may be applied for by ordinary members and provisional
members who wish to take time out from professional psychotherapeutic
practice.
All members are subject to
the Association’s Code of Ethics. Clarification about subscriptions,
alteration of membership status, retirement, temporary suspension of
membership or other queries may be sought from the Executive Officer.
Regional
Branches
The Association has established
regional branches in Otago, Canterbury, Nelson/Marlborough, Wellington,
Central Districts (Palmerston North and Hawke’s Bay), Bay of Plenty/Waikato
, and the Northern Region ( Auckland and surrounding areas).
Each branch has a regional convenor. Meetings are organised according
to each region's needs and to facilitate the business of the Association
at local level. Over recent years, there has been a continuing devolution
of responsibility and management from central to local level.
Conferences
The Annual Conference is
usually held early in the year and hosted by regions in rotation. It
runs from Thursday evening to midday Sunday and is the important
professional event which gathers members and others from around the
country and beyond. It is a chance for participants to meet, share ideas
and find professional and social contact among colleagues. Delegates
may present practical or research papers and workshops, as well as benefit
from the opportunity to meet and listen to international guest speakers.
It has been the custom to hold an open symposium to which the public
is invited. Membership certificates and other awards and acknowledgements
are presented.
Individual regions run the
Annual Conference in distinctive ways, with chosen themes for discussion
and development in workshops and groups. A regular feature is the popular
Saturday night dinner dance which offers good fun.
The Annual General Meeting
is held during the conference, at which Council officers are elected,
Association business is conducted and policy formed. Consultation with
the membership is valued and thorough and provides members ample opportunity
to understand and be involved in the workings of the Association.
Branches organise
local conferences and workshops for their members, and these add to
the opportunities for professional development, learning and meeting
together.
CHAPTER
FOUR: CODE OF ETHICS
The Code of Ethics of the
New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists broadly defines the conduct
that clients and the general public can expect from Members and Provisional
Members of the Association. It also articulates the core principles
and values of the Association and, in this way, provides a guide for
responsible practice.
Inherent in this code are
four principles which have been generally agreed as being fundamental
to discussions on ethics:
This Code of Ethics takes these as
guiding principles, providing a positive model for the practice of psychotherapy.
The Association further affirms
that the mental health and well-being of clients is intimately related
to the wider social context in which they live and seeks to promote
this view in the community at large and to challenge actively those
policies and practices that cause clients harm. The Association recognizes
the bi-cultural basis of Aotearoa New Zealand society and is committed
to fostering the spirit and upholding the principles of the Treaty of
Waitangi.
This Code of Ethics holds
that a psychotherapist's primary obligation is to the welfare of clients.
This first priority is followed by responsibility to self, colleagues,
to the profession, the community and to the psychotherapist’s
employing institution. This rank ordering of responsibilities is helpful
in determining professional priorities and in resolving disputes involving
conflicting interests.
The Code of Ethics is intended
to encompass all spheres of a psychotherapist’s practice.
Competent practice is the individual responsibility of every psychotherapist,
whether working with clients, supervisees or trainees. Association policies
on supervision, training and personal psychotherapy are designed to
assist this.
1.
Psychotherapists' Responsibilities to Clients
1.1 Value client well-being.
Psychotherapists shall hold the needs and well-being of clients as a
paramount concern and accord priority to the psychotherapeutic aspect
of their relationships with clients.
1.2 Practise non-discrimination.
Psychotherapists shall be sensitive to diversity and shall not discriminate
on the grounds of colour, creed, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
age, disability, social class, religion or political belief.
1.3 Ensure informed consent.
Psychotherapists shall seek to ensure that the client is willingly engaging
in psychotherapy and has an adequate understanding of the process to
be undertaken.
1.4 Practise respectfully.
Psychotherapists shall have respect for the uniqueness and dignity of
clients and shall treat them with courtesy and fairness.
1.5 Maintain client confidentiality.
Psychotherapists shall hold client information in confidence, within
the confines of the law. Since considerations of safety or legal obligations
may on occasion override confidentiality, psychotherapists shall discuss
these limits with clients.
1.6 Respect client privacy.
Psychotherapists shall respect the client’s right to privacy.
1.7 Practise in a safe context.
Psychotherapists shall practise in surroundings that support safe
practice.
1.8 Foster self-determination.
Psychotherapists shall foster client self-determination and choice,
except where these may cause harm to self or others.
1.9 Protect client well-being.
Psychotherapists shall have regard for the needs of clients who are
unable to exercise self-determination or to ensure their own personal
safety and act to protect the clients' best interests, rights and well-being.
1.10 Maintain client anonymity.
Psychotherapists shall preserve the anonymity of clients when
clinical material is used in education, training, research or publications,
unless prior informed consent has been gained.
1.11 Facilitate client access
to services. While psychotherapists may exercise the right not
to accept a client, they will ordinarily take reasonable steps to ensure
that the client has information regarding access to colleagues or other
services.
1.12 Practise impartiality.
Psychotherapists shall strive to be impartial and offer their services
without favouritism or bias when dealing with more than one party.
1.13 Practise safely. Psychotherapists
shall take reasonable steps to ensure that clients, whether in individual,
family or group settings, suffer neither physical nor psychological
harm during the conduct of psychotherapy, accepting that considerable
distress may be an inevitable part of the process.
1.14 Practise non-exploitatively.
Psychotherapists shall recognise the power imbalance in the psychotherapeutic
relationship and shall not abuse this power, nor exploit the relationship
with the client for personal gain or gratification.
1.15 Maintain appropriate
sexual boundaries. Sexual harassment and any behaviours or comments
by psychotherapists which might reasonably be interpreted as being sexually
demeaning or as a sexual advance, are unethical.
1.16 Abstain from sexual
relations with clients. The establishment of a sexual relationship between
psychotherapist and client is unethical.
1.17 Avoid sexual relations
with former clients. Sexual relationships between psychotherapists and
their former psychotherapy clients are unethical when the dynamics of
psychotherapy can reasonably be expected to influence the relationship
in an ongoing manner.
1.18 Abstain from abuse of
clients. Psychotherapists shall not verbally or physically abuse clients.
1.19 Terminate psychotherapy
with care. Psychotherapists shall terminate their services to clients
in a suitably professional manner.
2.
Psychotherapists' Responsibilities to Self, Colleagues and the Profession
2.1 Uphold professional integrity.
Psychotherapists shall aspire to high professional standards and conduct
themselves in ways that uphold the integrity of their profession.
2.2 Acknowledge limits of
practice. Psychotherapists shall acknowledge the limits of their skills
and methodologies and refer clients or supervisees to others when appropriate.
2.3 Portray themselves honestly.
Psychotherapists shall accurately portray their qualifications and experience.
2.4 Practise self-care. Psychotherapists
shall have regard for their own health and well-being so as to ensure
that their standards of practice are not impaired.
2.5 Continue professional
development. Psychotherapists shall continue to develop their professional
knowledge and skills, through clinical supervision as well as by other
educational means.
2.7 Maintain participation
in the profession. Psychotherapists shall, throughout their professional
lifetimes, maintain participation in collegial activities.
2.8 Restrain commercial self-interest.
Psychotherapists shall adhere to professional rather than commercial
standards in conducting their practices, advertising services and setting
fees, which shall be reasonable and commensurate with the services provided.
2.9 Be respectful of colleagues.
Psychotherapists shall be respectful of colleagues, supervisees and
trainees and shall treat them with courtesy and fairness.
2.10 Respect the practice
of colleagues. Psychotherapists shall not solicit the clients of colleagues
and shall not assume responsibility for another psychotherapist's client
without encouraging appropriate communication with the colleague concerned.
2.11 Respect collegial confidences.
Psychotherapists shall respect the trust placed in them by colleagues,
supervisees and trainees and not misuse information given in confidence.
2.12 Maintain appropriate
boundaries. Psychotherapists shall be responsible for setting, monitoring
and maintaining clear boundaries between psychotherapeutic, supervisory,
training and other relationships.
2.13 Maintain anonymity of
supervisees and trainees. Psychotherapists shall seek to maintain the
anonymity of supervisees or trainees when clinical material is used
in education, training, research or publications, unless prior informed
consent has been obtained.
2.14 Maintain appropriate
sexual boundaries. Sexual harassment of colleagues, supervisees or trainees
is unethical.
2.15 Abstain from sexual
relations with current supervisees/trainees. The establishment of sexual
relationships between a psychotherapist and his or her current supervisees
or trainees is unethical.
2.16 Abstain from abuse of
colleagues. Psychotherapists shall not verbally or physically abuse
colleagues, supervisees or trainees.
2.18 Assist unwell colleagues.
Psychotherapists who become aware of a colleague’s ill-health
compromising the care of clients, supervisees or trainees have a duty
to assist the colleague to receive appropriate help.
2.19 Act upon unethical behaviour.
Psychotherapists shall have a responsibility to clients and
to the profession to initiate appropriate action if they become aware
of unethical behaviour by a colleague.
2.20 Maintain knowledge of
relevant law. Psychotherapists shall be familiar with current law affecting
their practice.
3.
Psychotherapists' Responsibilities to the Community
3.1 Honour the Treaty. Psychotherapists
shall respect the values and beliefs of the Tangata Whenua and seek
to determine how the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi can influence
and guide the practice of psychotherapy.
3.2 Be legally responsible.
Psychotherapists shall practise within the law.
3.3 Promote non-discrimination.
Psychotherapists shall seek to promote non-discrimination in the wider
community.
3.4 Promote equity. Psychotherapists
shall seek to improve social conditions through the fair and equitable
distribution of community resources.
3.5 Encourage social justice.
Psychotherapists shall encourage socially just practices in their professional
relationships within the community.
3.6 Encourage social debate.
Psychotherapists shall encourage debate in the shaping of social policies
and social institutions.
4.
Psychotherapists' Responsibilities to Employing Institutions
4.1 Uphold professional standards.
Psychotherapists shall avoid compromising their professional standards
when these conflict with institutional requirements.
4.2 Promote quality services.
Psychotherapists shall seek to maintain and improve the policies and
quality of service in institutions or agencies in which they work, using
as a guide the standards of practice expected by the Association.
4.3 Use resources appropriately.
Psychotherapists shall use the resources of their employing organisations
responsibly and with regard for their intended purpose.
Currency of this Code of
Ethics until February 2007
CHAPTER
FIVE: COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
ll members of the Association
accept that they are accountable for their actions. The existence of
the Complaints Procedure demonstrates one aspect of the Association's
concern for the provision of quality psychotherapy and the maintenance
of high professional standards. Complaints may arise with or without
foundation, and it is the Association's responsibility to resolve the
questions raised and provide an outcome.
Procedures have been developed
to assist Council in dealing with complaints made against members
(or provisional members) of the Association. The aim is to provide natural
justice and consistency and a process that is fair, effective, timely
and subject to external scrutiny.
Psychotherapists in the Association
are professional practitioners who understand that psychotherapy
takes place within the context of complex relationships. Sometimes
psychotherapy raises boundary issues and ethical questions which are
difficult for psychotherapist and client to manage. In those circumstances
it is wise to consult a supervisor first. There may be occasions when
it seems appropriate to complain. The Association has a process available
to members, clients, or others to enquire whether a complaint about
a member is appropriate and would be supported by the Association.
If a psychotherapist or a
client wants to find out whether their concerns are substantive enough
to form the basis for a complaint the first step is to contact the Complaints
Convenor through the Association’s Executive Officer. The Complaints
Convenor is a senior member of the Association whose sole responsibility
is to ensure that the process is followed correctly and that people's
rights and confidentiality issues are attended to. Sometimes simply
talking to the Complaints Convenor results in a way forward without
using more steps in the process. In situations where the Convenor fails
to resolve the issue or judges its nature to be in possible breach of
good professional standards or the Association’s Code of Ethics,
he or she forwards the complaint to the Complaints Assessment Committee.
This small committee is independent of the Complaints Convenor and has
a lay person in attendance. If they decide the complaint should proceed,
the complainant and the respondent are advised accordingly. A well-designed
procedure ensures that each person's rights are protected. These steps
are shown in a flow chart which the Association can make available to
members and clients. If a complaint is proven, there are provisions
for ensuring that members are held accountable.
There is also a Professional
Practice review procedure which provides the opportunity for a practitioner’s
work to be discussed and reviewed carefully. This scrutiny may be requested
or required by Council. The Ethics and Professional Standards Committee
meets as required, is convened by its appointed chairperson and draws
its members from around the country. It reports its findings to Council
and to the practitioner under review. This is another aspect of the
Association’s concern to promote and support safe ethical practice
and to provide guidance and review of individual practice. The Committee
takes care to be respectful and helpful to those concerned. Its work
may be instead of, or in addition to, the function of the complaints
process.
The Complaints Procedure
sits alongside the Code of Ethics and the Constitution of the Association.
The Association reviews the process and makes amendments when necessary.
The aim is to enable psychotherapists and clients to feel supported
and safe. The psychotherapy profession is enhanced when boundaries are
in place and there are pathways to resolve important ethical issues.
CHAPTER SIX: BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
Psychotherapy is a solitary
profession that attracts a wide range of interesting and sometimes unusual
and colourful individuals. The Association brings its members together
to meet, to get to know each other, to argue, to challenge and support,
to share problems, and to enjoy familiar and evolving opportunities
for companionship.
Members are people who are
passionate about the potential of psychotherapy in the lives
of individuals and communities. Maintaining a high standard of ethical
professional practice, enabling access to psychotherapy for all New
Zealanders, the inclusion of a psychotherapy-based viewpoint in community,
national and international issues are some of the aspects which engage
members’ energies. Joining together as a professional body allows
a more prominent and effective voice in such matters.
The admission process is
often experienced as a challenge by provisional members. The hard work
of writing a psychotherapeutic study generates both anguish and satisfied
relief. However, in retrospect, the process may be viewed rather differently
by the new member.
The regard with which membership
of the Association is held in the wider community and
among other professionals is a significant benefit. The consistent standards
of admission, the carefully designed Code of Ethics, the clear procedures
for dealing with concerns and complaints are important aspects of this.
For all members, local branches
provide fellowship and regular meetings which offer stimulating presentations
and discussion, often about the Association and its activities.
In branch meetings, individual voices are heard, issues debated and
information disseminated. Members who have been away to conferences
are often asked to share their learning with colleagues back home.
The experience of being involved
in the management of the organisation is regarded as a major benefit
for many. There are numerous opportunities for all members, ordinary
and provisional, to become involved in the day-to-day running of the
Association, both at local and national levels. To implement practices
which embody strongly felt concerns and enthusiasm is a privilege. The
roles and collegial relationships that develop from this are extending
and satisfying.
