VOLUNTEER COUNSELLORS NEEDED

Solace is a charity based in Leeds that provides counselling to asylum seekers and refugees.

They are about to expand their counselling service to Bradford and are looking to recruit two volunteer counsellors with at least a Diploma in Counselling or equivalent to work for half a day a week in Bradford on either a Thursday or Friday.

Please contact them for further details and an application pack on 0113 249 1437 or email info@solace-uk.org.uk

Please see http://www.solace-uk.org.uk/ for more information about Solace.

Still Alive And Well?

PCAyorks became a virtual / e-group for some time due to lack of resources but is set to gradually revive itself in 2008. The original 'co-ordinator', Paul Colley, will also return from sabbatical sometime in 2009, when a more fully-functioning group will hopefully rise from the ashes - watch this space!.

Mid-August Post

Hope the dampness of August has not depressed you too much. A few things:

1. Next (last scheduled) meeting
We are due to meet again on Sunday, 17 September, from 1pm at the Voluntary Services Centre, Bradford. The Day Centre on the 3rd floor will be available to us on this occasion. I hope as many of you as possible can attend – particularly since this is the last scheduled meeting and there is the very real danger of us running out of steam altogether and the whole thing grinding to a standstill.

Apologies, plans to attend, thoughts about future meetings and/or the future of the group generally, and any other comments – please mail back soon to pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk

2. URGENT request for counselling placement
We have been approached by a Diploma student in a very difficult situation. He has until November to clock up another 23 practice hours for his Diploma or faces the prospect of all his work over the last two years coming to naught. If you are aware of any individuals seeking FREE counselling, or of any agency which could offer some work, please get in touch at the earliest opportunity. He has been CRB checked/cleared, and his CV is available on request.

3. Counselling Skills tutor/s required
Some teaching is currently available at Shipley College, starting from this September 2006:

NCFE level 2 Introductory Counselling Skills Course – 20 weeks at 2hrs per week
NCFE level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills – 30 weeks at 3-4hrs per week

Anyone interested should contact Elaine Dewhirst, Shipley College 01274 327254 ASAP.

[PC]

New password for members section

The password for access to download papers from the "members only" section has changed.

To get the new password, click on CONTACT US (top left hand corner) to email a request. No anonymous requests please!

The summer has been a quiet time for uploads, but there are plans to share a bundle of new material starting next month.

Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

Barbara Brodley - key paper on directivity

Barbara Temaner Brodley, a key thinker and writer on the person-centred approach, has very kindly made available - for distribution to those of you who are students/trainees (and which of us isn't) - the following 'study aid':

NON- DIRECTIVITY IN CLIENT-CENTERED THERAPY
http://rapidshare.com/files/264850780/Brodley_-_Non-Directivity_in_CCT.pdf

A close variant on this paper recently appeared in the WAPCEPC journal.

IF YOU READ ONLY ONE PAPER POSTED ON THIS BLOG, MAKE IT THIS ONE!

User-led consultation

Anyone interested in facilitating user-led consultation - or just interested in the published outcomes of a really well-run example in the mental health field - could do much worse than check out the following:

Slough User Led Consultation (SULC), supported by East Berkshire Mind – ALL TALK – A Study of Talking and Mental Health

or http://digbig.com/4jfts

The NIMHE / CSIP post

Not strictly (in fact hardly ever!) PCA-related, but nevertheless a useful resource for those of us working in NHS provided/funded mental health services, NIMHE – The National Institute for Mental Health In England - is responsible for "supporting the implementation of positive change in mental health and mental health services".

It has recently become part of the Care Services Improvement Partnership, whose main sponsor is the Department of Health.

There are eight development centres, (our own regional centre being NIMHE NEYH - North East, Yorkshire & Humber), through which the majority of the work is delivered.

There is also something called the NIMHE Knowledge Community – something you might use as a resource, or join in a more active way – and links to other resources, such as the Mental Health Library.

When it gets its website sorted, The NIMHE (now CSIP) Newsletter is usually worth getting – you could try subscribing to it (one pdf every couple of months) by emailing Karen.Cardy@nimheneyh.nhs.uk.

A copy of the latest newsletter (May-June 2006) can be downloaded from:
http://rapidshare.de/files/23338203/NIMHE_NEYH_May-Jun06.pdf

[CLICK ON FREE DOWNLOAD AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.
Any problems, contact pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk ]

The Eddy Elmer Post

For those of you with a broad interest in the field of psychology - and a healthy sense of humour - the following site, with its myriad links, is demonstrably a labour of love, and cannot fail to hit the spot:

http://www.eddyelmer.com/psychology

To quote from a recent email from the man himself:

"I think the PCA is really important and the more information there is about it online, the better."

Couldn't agree more!

The Jerold Bozarth Post

The Jerold Bozarth Post

Jerold D. Bozarth, PhD, Professor Emeritus at The University of Georgia, has been a prolific and highly-influential writer on the person-centred approach. The following links are to a selection of his papers (they have not all been uploaded to the PCAyorks collection yet).

Why Person-Centered Therapy?
The Essence of Person-Centered Therapy
The Foundation of Person-Centered Therapy
Forty Years of Dialogue With The Rogerian Hypothesis
Actualization
The Basic Encounter Group
The Large Community Group
Psychotherapy Outcome Research
Non-directiveness in Client-Centered Therapy
The Specificity Myth

BAPCA event on verge of cancellation

Apparently the August tented PCA gathering (see previously circulated emails and post in April - see below) is in danger of not happening at all due to lack of bookings.

If the event doesn't go ahead BAPCA stands to lose £500! Not reason to go in itself, but not a good situation.

Are any of us interested? If you have already booked, or are interested in going, we could maybe get a contingent together, possibly car-share. Please email pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk if you are thinking about it - as well as getting in touch with Bernard Mooney (who is organising it) at b.mooney1@ntlworld.com