Definition of Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy

Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that has its origins in humanistic philosophies and acknowledges the validity and use of a variety of psychotherapeutic methodologies, that may be used in their own right or when combined represent an integrative psychotherapeutic methodology.

The practice of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy is the comprehensive, conscious and planned treatment of psychosocial, psychosomatic and behavioural disturbances or states of suffering with scientific psychotherapeutic methods, through an interaction between one or more persons being treated, and one or more psychotherapists, with the aim of reducing cognitive, emotional or behavioural patterns and or dis-ease, that will in turn promote the maturation, development, health and self-regulated wellbeing of the treated person. It is also informed by integrative approaches such as transpersonal modalities incorporating mind, body and spirit. It requires both a general and a specific training/education.

Description

Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy emphasises that persons are self-regulating, self-actualising and self-transcendent beings, who are responsible for themselves. Based on a phenomenological view of reality, the emphasis is on experience, and the nature of the therapeutic relationship is seen as a meaningful contact between equal persons.

Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy acknowledges the validity of a variety of approaches to the individual. While accepting the contribution of many approaches, it is concerned with discovering and working with the essential elements of the functioning individual as these are understood and made sense of in a humanistic perspective. It is open to the exploration of the inter-relationship and inter-connection of theory and method in two or more approaches and may employ these as is judged appropriate, or it may attempt to integrate these as one organised and coherent approach.

The overall aim of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy is to provide an opportunity for the client to work towards living in a more satisfying and resourceful way. The term psychotherapy includes work with individuals and groups of people and the objectives of the work will vary according to the needs of the client(s). Psychotherapy may be concerned with developmental issues, developing personal insight and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict or improving relationships with others. The role of psychotherapy is to facilitate the client’s work in ways which respect the client’s values, personal resources and capacity for self-determination. The aim is to empower clients and encourage them to take control of their lives.

Only when both the therapist and the client(s) explicitly and freely agree to enter into a therapy relationship does it become psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy is a non-exploitative activity. Its basic values are integrity, impartiality and respect.

The Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP) will offer recognition to psychotherapy training courses that it judges can enable trainees on those courses to achieve the necessary understanding, personal awareness, skills, and ethical orientation needed to practise effectively and ethically as humanistic and integrative psychotherapists, with due reference to codes of ethics and practice It is the responsibility of the training institute to ensure that all students completing training must be fully aware of their legal, moral and ethical obligations towards clients, be rigorous in their approach working within the limits of their own capacity and skills and be fully committed to ongoing professional development and supervision.

1.1 This Bye-Law states the basic principles and criteria used by IAHIP in evaluating which psychotherapy training courses may receive formal recognition. As well as embodying IAHIP’s view of what is good practice in training, it is in accord with IAHIP’s understanding of, and commitment to, the standards agreed for all member organisations of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP) and the European Association for Psychotherapy.

In order to be eligible for formal recognition a training course must meet certain minimum conditions.

2.1 One such condition concerns the philosophy or approach to learning on which the training is based. A guiding principle of humanistic and integrative training is that the trainees’ learning should be rooted in their own experience, and that they should be encouraged to integrate the various components of their training experientially. Adherence to this principle shall be one of the factors to be considered in considering the eligibility of courses for recognition.

2.2 As well as adhering to this fundamental principle, formal recognition requires that several other conditions must also be fulfilled. Some of these are detailed in the clauses that follow below. Other very important conditions, which are not repeated in this bye law, shall be the same as those required under Bye Law 2A.

2.3 All course trainers, supervisors and any others who make a significant contribution to the training programme shall agree to observe the principles embodied in the various Codes of Ethics and Practice of IAHIP.

2.4 Psychotherapy training courses must commit to accurately completing all forms/reports as required by IAHIP from time to time, including but not limited to a course record of hours in support of their graduates applying for IAHIP accreditation, and an annual course audit form.

Details of how the principles stated in this Bye Law are to be applied shall be as IAHIP decides from time to time but shall normally be as provided by IAHIP’s most up to date Recognition of Psychotherapy Training Courses Manual.

3.1 Recognition by IAHIP of psychotherapy training courses shall be an evidence-based process. It shall determine whether psychotherapy training courses meet with the standards set down in this and other bye laws of the IAHIP.

The process shall embrace the widest possible range of humanistic and integrative approaches to selection, staffing of courses, course content, assessment, external examinership and the protection of trainees' rights.

The onus shall be on applicant psychotherapy training courses to demonstrate systematic and clear processes of obtaining and maintaining evidence that the course meets all of the standards set down in the bye laws of IAHIP and to make such evidence available for course recognition purposes.

3.2 Recognition of psychotherapy training courses shall be for renewable periods of five years, subject to adhering to the conditions of recognition throughout each such period and to satisfying all requirements for re-recognition, including adhering to IAHIP Fees requirements.

3.3 Details of the committee charged with carrying out evaluations of training courses are given in Bye Law 5 (the Training Course Recognition Committee – hereinafter “the Committee”).

3.4 If a course has been refused recognition the specific reasons for the refusal shall be given, and a new application may be made when and if the deficits identified have been rectified.

3.5 Recognition of a training course may in certain circumstances be withdrawn by IAHIP where any changes to the recognised training have not been approved by the Committee. Grounds for withdrawal of course recognition include (but are not limited to):

(i) the course has changed in ways that mean that it no longer fulfils the conditions required for course recognition; or

(ii) the structures and procedures that maintain training standards are not being appropriately used or have been changed in inappropriate ways; or

(iii) the structures and procedures that protect trainees’ interests are not being appropriately used or have been changed in inappropriate ways; or

(iv) a situation has arisen where it is deemed that either the interests of the trainees, or the protection of the reputation of IAHIP, would be best served by a withdrawal of recognition.

3.6 The initial judgement as to whether recognition should be withdrawn from a course will be made by the Committee.

The Committee may take account of information received from trainees, trainers, supervisors, members of IAHIP or members of the general public. If there is good reason to believe that any of the circumstances mentioned in clause 3.5 above may exist, the Committee may bring their concerns to those in charge of the course and conduct any investigation it believes necessary to judge whether withdrawal of recognition is or is not warranted.

In forming its judgement, the Committee will consider especially

a) the right of potential clients to know that psychotherapists are trained to an appropriate level,

b) the right of trainees to be treated justly and to be given an appropriate training, and

c) the right of members of IAHIP to protect the reputation and good name of IAHIP and of the profession of psychotherapy.

3.6.1 If the Committee judges that withdrawal of recognition is not warranted, no further action will be taken. If it judges that withdrawal may be warranted, it may suggest ways in which the course or its structures or its personnel could be changed to avoid such withdrawal. If it judges that recognition should be withdrawn, it will provide those in charge of the course with a written explanation of the reasons for the judgement.

3.6.2 The Committee shall inform the Governing Body of their judgement that recognition should be withdrawn from a course.

3.7 Applicants whose applications for course recognition or re-recognition are refused by the Committee, or courses whose recognition has been withdrawn, may appeal this decision if the Committee did not properly follow its own procedures.  The appeal process is outlined in Bye Law 10A.

Each course shall have an independent external examiner who would be a professional in the field. The external examiner needs to be, and be seen as, independent and unbiased, and so they should have no other current association with the course or the organisation that runs it, and no current significant personal relationship with any of the training staff.

4.1 Recognised courses shall appoint a suitably qualified external examiner of high standing who is independent of the course, and who issues an annual (or biannual) report which shall be available to IAHIP as part of its course audit process.

Training courses in humanistic and integrative psychotherapy shall have the following entry requirements:

5.1 Candidates must possess either a degree or equivalent in human sciences (medical, psychological, social, educational etc) based on a course of a minimum of three years. Where the applicant does not have such a qualification, other recognised prior learning pathways must be validated by the recognised training course provider- in a manner approved of by the Committee.

5.2 Candidates shall have personal qualities that make them suitable for the profession of psychotherapy. They shall be required to have a commitment to personal development.

5.3 Candidates shall be required to indicate:

(i) if they have been expelled from membership of a professional body and if so, why;

(ii) if they have had a complaint of a professional nature upheld against them and if so for what reason;

(iii) whether they are currently under investigation by a professional body; and

(iv) whether they have any criminal conviction or are currently under investigation in connection with a criminal charge.

A positive answer to any of these questions is important information to those selecting candidates but need not preclude acceptance onto a course in all cases.

6.1 Training courses shall have clear entry criteria and a clear selection process. Selectors shall endeavour to be aware of their own bias. The selectors shall adequately assess that the entry requirements are met.

6.2 Selectors have an obligation to bring the demands of a postgraduate psychotherapy course to the attention of candidates in a meaningful way.

Each training course shall have a clear assessment procedure which may include varying degrees of self-assessment.

7.1 Assessment of trainees shall take place at least annually during training and shall involve the assessment of both theoretical and practical work. Those supervising the clinical practice of the trainees shall be involved in the assessment process.

7.2 By the end of the training course the trainee will have to satisfy the assessors that,

(a) they possess a minimum of personal and professional maturity, and

(b) they demonstrate a commitment to working to the ethical standards of IAHIP.

(c) they demonstrate professional competence to the appropriate level for a psychotherapist at the beginning of their career and aligned with the norms of the profession.

Training courses shall have mechanisms for safeguarding the rights of trainees including:

(a) Clear, accurate and appropriate information about the course, about its formal structures and procedures, and about course recognition and any material anticipated changes.

(b) Commitment to the Codes of Ethics and Practice of IAHIP and such ethical requirements for trainers as shall be specified and required as part of the Annual Audit conducted by the Committee on behalf of IAHIP.

(c) Adequate and safe opportunities for trainee consultation and feedback to training staff.

(d) An in-house complaints procedure.

(e) An assessment appeals procedure.

(f) Provision to trainees of written statements, and possibly other records, of their progress and status on the course, including recommendations for further development, at the end of each training year.

9.1 Each course shall have enough staff to minimise boundary problems between various roles. The training provider shall be accountable for the work of all course staff.

9.2 At least two of the staff on each course shall be designated “core trainers” in order to ensure continuity of oversight of the work and progress of each trainee throughout the training.

9.3 The core trainers shall be accredited members of IAHIP. Each core trainer shall have a minimum of five years’ experience as a psychotherapist and be practising as a psychotherapist.

9.4 The size of the training group must be congruent with the training objectives and the model of working. Decisions about staff-trainee ratios must take account of the learning objectives and methods of assessment and of the importance of being able to give individual attention and recognition to each trainee.

9.5 All trainers working with groups of trainees, and especially those who facilitate the Group Learning component of the training, must be familiar with the theory and practice of group work and have considerable experience conducting groups.

9.6 Courses which accept trainees for entry by giving exemptions on the basis of prior learning must take responsibility for ensuring that by the end of the course such trainees will have fulfilled all the course requirements for accreditation (i.e. all the requirements as set out in Bye Law 2A). The course must be able to show that it has structures or procedures that ensure that this responsibility is fulfilled.

The training course shall endeavour to support trainees in acquiring adequate experience of, and learning opportunities in relation to, psychosocial crisis and collaboration with other healthcare specialists and professionals.