By Anthony Barich
CATHOLIC Counsellors Professional Network (CCPN) has launched two global websites to assist mental health professionals, referring bodies and the general public and help “shore up the social legitimacy of practicing Christian mental health professionals”.
The sites – www.catholiccounsellors.info and www.christianpsychologist.info – have their genesis in a group of Catholic professionals who met informally in Perth to support one another in their Faith and explore the links between the practice of their Faith and the practice of their profession to better serve their Clients.
Dr Peter Watt, a founder of CCPN and a psychologist and psychotherapist in private practice, said that a basic tenet was that the inclusion of the Faith dimension would yield a fuller, more complete picture of the human person, and contribute towards an understanding of what constitutes ‘health’.
“A shared Faith would provide the group with a common language and reference point from which to then debate a complex diversity of clinical approaches and suggest a specific attitude towards treatment,” Dr Watt said.
The network became an official Catholic organisation in 1995 when a Code of Ethics was submitted to Archbishop Barry Hickey and endorsed.
The network later became a national organisation with members in most states, each subscribing personally to the code of ethics which, Dr Watt said, “emphasises a commitment to working in harmony with Church teaching, professionalism and on-going personal development, a deep respect for clients and a spirit of service”.
He said the code reinforces the accountability of counsellors as individuals, apart from the organisations and professional bodies that represent them.
The network originally published quarterly newsletters and updates of its membership register for the benefit of networking, and Mass was offered for clients as a regular intention.
However, as schedules became tighter, the group struggled to maintain regular meetings, whilst still existing as a network of practitioners.
After a suggestion by Franciscan priest-psychologist Fr Daniel Pietrzak, an open invitation was offered to Melbourne-based practitioners to determine whether there was an interest in meeting to form a group in Melbourne, and was received favourably.
Now, www.catholiccounsellors.info – a specifically Catholic register for members of this Internet-based professional network, designed for support and internal referral – has been launched.
The site aims to:
l Clarify and integrate Catholic principles within the counselling professions and develop and maintain the highest standards of professional conduct.
l Develop a Christian-based alternative to a purely secular orientation in counselling, drawing on the values of Christ and His Church.
l Provide prospective clients seeking counselling, with the option of a Catholic understanding of the human person.
l Maintain a register of clinically competent counselling professionals* working in harmony with Catholic Church teaching.
l Provide a forum to discuss professional issues, in the context of the Faith, including cases and various therapeutic approaches.
l Provide mutual support as Catholics.
l Maintain a faithful and comprehensive information base on faith and clinical issues within the counselling professions.
The other site, www.christianpsychologist.info, provides a free public listing of Christian practitioners who subscribe to its Code of Ethics, and is designed as a “ready-reckoner” to assist client referral.
Dr Watt and the CCPN also seek to list every pro-life/family psychologist on this site.
There is no charge for listing on either site.
The sites’ success depends on its ready uptake, which in turn depends on Catholic and Christian practitioners getting the word out.
For more information, contact Dr Watt on 9203 5278.