Ione Lewis [1], Australian College of Applied Psychology
The author of this article served as President of PACFA for four years from 2010 to 2014, and is the immediate Past President. She was a member of the group that founded PACFA and a Board member in the 1990s. This long experience with establishing and progressing the mission of PACFA positions her well to analyse PACFA’s history and its progress in meeting its constitutional objects.
Abstract
This article examines the identity of the profession, and the demographics of the national workforce of counsellors and psychotherapists in terms of their educational qualifications, age, professional experience, employment status, and geographical location, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics census data and four workforce studies. It provides context for and insight on the future direction of counselling and psychotherapy as a profession, including trends in service provision arising from advances in information and communication technology and time-poor client populations, and the need for PACFA’s training and ethical standards to keep pace in addressing new forms of education and practice enabled by technology.
Address for correspondence:
Professor Ione Lewis
Australian College of Applied Psychology
Email: Ione.Lewis@acap.edu.au