We are not alone. No, this is not the opening to an intergalactic thriller but a statement of fact about the shared professional challenges faced by counsellors and psychotherapists the world over.
People everywhere need the same professional support for much the same reasons. This has long been the case, but possibly amplified in recent times by geopolitical tensions, climate change and the openly shared experiences in just about every country and society of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
The pandemic certainly raised community awareness of mental health and the adequacy, or otherwise, of support services in different parts of the world. This shared experience also extends to mental health care professionals and was one of the common threads running through the annual conference of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy in Galway in October.
It was a privilege to attend the conference, themed ‘Can your brain be shaped?’, and to meet with distinguished leaders. We also met with the International Counselling Association, the American Counselling Association, and the British Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.
From these conversations it was clear that we are not alone in Australia in having to campaign continuously against challenges to our profession’s legitimacy among other allied health professionals.
ACA members will be well aware of our efforts to achieve equal recognition and our tireless campaign against the incongruity of the demand for our services rising exponentially while our clients are denied Medicare support for the professional care and support we provide.
This is a global disparity within healthcare services, so it will be of ongoing value to monitor the progress of counselling and psychotherapy associations in other countries.
Other common ground clearly apparent globally was the priority everyone places on delivering good healthcare outcomes, and also the increasing awareness of the role that mental health plays in achieving the UN’s global Sustainable Development
Goals. The flipside is the frustrating gaps in access to this care that continue to exist.
One measure being rolled out, as in Australia, is the ongoing development and provision of telehealth as a way to overcome some access challenges. There is also a need for greater regional representation in Asia-Pacific region, more easily transportable counselling and psychotherapy qualifications, and international standards to support counsellors and psychotherapists.
Closer to home, this edition of Counselling Australia also looks at the fascinating research of Professor Felice Jacka, who leads the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University. Her work in the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry and the links between diet and the risk of mental disorders is at the forefront of preclinical, observational and clinical research in this field.
I have a nutrition qualification and, as a counsellor, I personally grapple with the question of what comes first, food or mood? Either way, the relationship and entanglement of food and mood is incredibly powerful – whether it’s what is in the food, the size of the meal or the lack of nutrients that sets up a mood boost or depressor.
We also take a members’ opinion on the recent literature review, which aims to summarise recent research about the efficacy, or otherwise, of drug intervention, and we provide an update on how to watch for scams and cyber protect yourself given the recent Medibank private data breach.
In all, it’s a great summer 2022–23 edition that we are proud to bring to you.