To Benefit Psychotherapists, Specialist Therapists, Counsellors and Counselling Psychologists
Who Are Therapists For Change
The core group consists of a small, dedicated and committed number of psychotherapists, specialist therapists, counsellors and counselling psychologists who are both accredited and pre-accredited.
Members come from different areas of the country, have diverse training backgrounds, are connected to different accreditation bodies and possess various levels of work experience.
What binds this group is a desire and vision for better conditions and opportunities in our work as psychotherapists.
Our motivation comes from the positivity and support we have experienced by working together.
We have been successful in growing our membership. Hundreds of psychotherapists completed our recent survey on attitudes and levels of satisfaction with work opportunities. The results confirmed that therapists are struggling financially.
Our recent meeting at the Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin, was well attended and provided a platform for healthy debate and exchange of opinions, ideas and suggestions. Our official membership increased to over fifty therapists on the night.
Additionally, many more psychotherapists are making their views known on our e-mail and Facebook page.
Why Come Together To Work For Change
Highly qualified psychotherapists and practitioners are unable to earn a living wage in the existing system.
There is exploitation of psychotherapists and practitioners working towards accreditation in the charity sector and other areas. They are viewed as a steady and cheap provider of therapy.
Tax compliant, self-employed, qualified therapists are competing against less qualified professionals acting as therapists in salaried positions.
As a result of the above, therapists cannot secure long term paid work in these sectors. Clients are deprived of a coherent and transparent service and our own profession is undermined.
While the H.S.E. provides counselling on behalf of the State, the provision of this service is augmented and supported every day by non-paid and low paid therapists. The statistics are undocumented and some of these therapists work under the cover of funded charities and are not recognised as eligible for contract or employment with the HSE. One simple solution is for the accrediting bodies to stipulate that therapists graduate from colleges ready for employment, with their placement hours already completed.
State Regulation will not provide the solution to all of our problems, it is up to us to contribute to the debate and inform the Regulatory Body of some of the practicalities and difficulties we meet daily while trying to provide our services.
When all therapists from all modalities unite, we are in a stronger position to drive for change. We will have a united and stronger voice and can contribute to a vision of what the profession will be striving for in the future.
Plan Of Action / Vision
Our vision for our future would see equality of work opportunity and wage standards with those of other health professionals.
To have cohesive representation in the area of ethical/professional standards and in the area of pay and condition issues.
To listen to our current membership in order to develop a culture of support and participation in the shaping of our professional future.
To lobby and campaign and put forward relevant motions at Accreditation Body meetings for now and to the State Regulator in the future, in the pursuit of our goals.
To develop a working relationship with Impact Union who have agreed to negotiate on our behalf with any relevant party.
To encourage co-operation and collaboration between Therapists for Change and representative bodies in regards to our aims.
The elimination of exploitation of all therapists.
Aims and Objectives
To provide a platform for all interested parties to discuss the current working conditions and opportunities available to psychotherapists.
To encourage and develop continuing cooperation between members of Therapists 4 Changes and members of other relevant bodies in our profession.
To remove separation and create awareness/action around the importance for therapists to have representation in the area of pay and conditions.
To create balance between psychotherapists’ work in the charity/community sector and the right to earn a living wage.
To adhere to the values of openness, accessibility.
To work towards the elimination of exploitation of all psychotherapists and practitioners.
To challenge falling sessional rates of pay in employee assistance programmes
To promote the values of respect, teamwork, support, adaptability and advancement.
