Updated 12th July 2008
There are only five months left to the closing date of our practice here in Canberra (13th December), and our plans have already entered a higher gear. There is a lot to do when relocating to another country, and we are going through those tasks one by one, with a lot of care and attention. Emotionally it is a big deal to close a practice after more than 9 years of work and thousands of hours of participating in such a meaningful way in people’s personal journeys. So while we are taking all the necessary practical steps to make our move possible, we are not neglecting our own and our clients’ feelings about the closure of the practice and our departure from Australia.
We plan to leave Canberra on the 24th of December and spend Christmas with Ian’s parents in Sydney. Two or three days later, depending on flight availability, we will fly to Singapore and stay there for a couple of days to break the journey down a bit. From Singapore we fly to London, and after a short visit there we will arrive in Inverness probably during the first week of January.
One of the first things we plan to do, in addition to finding a house somewhere outside Inverness, is register ‘Fully Human’ as a company. We will also search for offices for our practice, which we would like to open in a pleasant spot in Inverness itself.
Starting a practice and Avigail’s book
In the short term we see ourselves building and developing our counselling practice. At the same time Avigail will concentrate on finishing and publishing her book on her ‘starship captain’ approach to wellbeing and personal development. Avigail has been working on this approach for a number of years and has had great success using it with her clients. Ian started to practice it when he began to see clients last year also with great success.
Behind the funny title (‘starship captain’) lies an approach that combines the latest in neuroscience with humanistic principles. It brings together ways of working with clients and with ourselves that are drawn from a wide range of humanistic and existential modalities. Avigail first presented her ideas in 2005 at a PACFA conference in Melbourne. She decided to write it up as a self-help book because she believes that this approach needs to be accessible to everyone. The real innovation is the systematic and deliberate focus on brain integration. All good therapy leads in some way to better brain integration but Avigail now believes that it has to become the explicit focus of the therapeutic work.
We have enough knowledge now to combine traditional good quality humanistic therapy with what we know about the brain. The outcome is a very empowering form of therapy that not only helps clients overcome symptoms in the short term, but leaves them with life-long skills to continue to develop and grow. Clients come out of therapy with the two most important things we believe they need: better self-awareness and emotional skills. This is a lively, energetic and very human approach. It is just as useful and relevant for people with a history of childhood trauma as it is for those who had a better start to life but who are seeking to grow and develop beyond where they are now.
We both know that all the clients we are leaving behind are much more mature, healthy and confident than they were when they started therapy with us. They all have the skills to continue to grow and develop in their lives. Those who are parents and are working on developing their ‘captain’ are raising a new generation of children who have the opportunity to grow up with truly mature and aware parents. We have invited all our clients to keep in contact with us when we are in the UK from time to time if they wish, and let us know how they are going.
Seminars, workshops and groups
The next thing on our list will be to start offering short seminars and workshops in the areas we both enjoy teaching. For example, we are thinking of seminars on relationships, on assertiveness and boundaries, dealing with change and grief and many other issues. We would like to explore and see what is needed in the Highlands and teach/facilitate in areas that are of interest to us but that are also needed and that will benefit the people living in the Highlands.
We are both trained and qualified group facilitators and are interested in running groups on various issues. For example, Ian is interested in working with young men and Avigail is interested in working with people who are searching for avenues for personal development. But of course we will see what is needed and do our best to provide it.
A new professional journal
In the longer term we have a dream to start a new professional journal based on the principles of equal dialogue between people. In the development of the journal we will rely heavily on Ian’s knowledge and experience in information and web technology and in publishing. More on this at a later stage.
An accredited training institute
And in the much longer term we have a dream to start an accredited psychotherapy and counselling training institute in the Highlands. We have both been inspired by the example of David Jansen and Margaret Newman, who many years ago started the Jansen Newman Institute in Sydney as a husband-wife team. David and Margaret have taught and inspired generations of therapists over the years, and have contributed a great deal to the development of quality therapy in Australia. We are both fortunate to be JNI graduates. But we’ll see how we go. This is an ambitious and long-term plan.
Contributing to professional associations
We are both members of the BACP. Avigail was accepted as an accredited member in May this year and is now on the UKRCP. We expect that Ian will qualify to apply for BACP accreditation in a couple of years. Avigail is thinking of joining either a BACP or COSCA committee, and hopes to make some useful contribution to the profession in this way. We both believe that psychotherapy and counselling must conform to high standards of training and practice, and therefore fully support the regulation and accreditation of professionals in these areas.
If you have any questions about anything you have read here feel free to contact us any time.
