As Deputy Convenor of PACFA’s College of Psychotherapy since 2023, I was part of the PACFA College of Psychotherapy Leadership Group that developed PACFA’s first ever Clinical Competencies for Certification as a Registered Clinical Psychotherapist. It has been a privilege to contribute to this landmark document, which captures the depth and breadth of our profession and provides a shared framework for clinical excellence in psychotherapy practice across Australia.
Q: What are the new Clinical Competencies for Registered Clinical Psychotherapists?
The Clinical Competencies outline the knowledge, skills, and personal attributes required for certification as a Registered Clinical Psychotherapist with PACFA. They define what a fully trained and experienced psychotherapist brings to their clinical work and what distinguishes psychotherapy from other helping professions such as counselling, psychology, and social work.
Q: Why are these psychotherapy competencies important?
These competencies mark a significant milestone in recognising psychotherapy as a distinct, evidence-based, and relationally grounded clinical practice within Australia’s mental health field. They provide a shared professional foundation while celebrating the richness and diversity of psychotherapeutic approaches practised across the country.
Q: What makes psychotherapy distinct from other forms of mental health support?
Psychotherapy is a holistic and deeply human practice. It views symptoms and emotional pain not simply as disorders to be treated but as disruptions in the developing self, often shaped by trauma, stress, and life experience. Psychotherapists work with the whole person across emotional, mental, physical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing.
Q: How are the competencies structured?
The competencies are organised into six domains that reflect the broad areas of activity in psychotherapy practice. They can be used to guide training curricula, identify learning outcomes, and evaluate the quality of courses. They are also useful for employers, educators, and organisations seeking to understand the role of a professional psychotherapist.
Q: What do these competencies mean for clients?
They mean that Registered Clinical Psychotherapists are held to high professional and personal standards. Our commitment to ongoing learning, supervision, and personal development ensures that clients receive safe, ethical, and reflective care that supports deep and lasting change.
Q: Why is this publication significant for the profession?
The release of these competencies is more than an administrative step. It represents a celebration of the depth, rigour, and heart that define psychotherapy as a profession, and it strengthens our collective identity within the broader field of mental health care.
Q: How do these competencies connect with the new National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists?
PACFA has been a strong advocate for the inclusion of psychotherapists within the new National Standards, recognising that both counsellors and psychotherapists make vital and complementary contributions to the community. The recognition of psychotherapists within these Standards marks an important step forward for the profession and opens the way for future discussions about credentialling and title protection as reform progresses. The College of Psychotherapy remains the only national pathway for psychotherapists to be formally recognised for their advanced clinical training and expertise as Registered Clinical Psychotherapists, with the new Clinical Competencies providing the framework that supports this distinction.
Q: Who is the PACFA College of Psychotherapy Leadership Group?
Ermanno Bergami, PACFA Registered Clinical Psychotherapist (RCP), PACFA Certified Clinical
Supervisor, Director of Training Functional Analysis Psychosomatic Psychotherapy (Australia).
Martha Calhoun, PACFA Registered Clinical Psychotherapist (RCP), PACFA Certified
Clinical Supervisor, Association of Transpersonal and Experiential Psychotherapists (ATEP)
full member, Director of Training Transpersonal and Experiential Psychotherapy (Australia).
Jodie Gale, PACFA Registered Clinical Psychotherapist (RCP), Psychotherapeutic
Counsellor and PACFA Certified Supervisor, Founder of the Psychosynthesis Centre &
Trauma Warriors (Australia).
Ernst Meyer, PACFA Registered Clinical Psychotherapist (RCP), PACFA Board Member,
PACFA College of Psychotherapy Convenor, full member of the European Association
for Body Psychotherapy (EABP), founder and co-director of the Institute of Somatic
Psychotherapy (IOSP) (Australia).
Lindy Spanger, Clinical Soul Centred Psychotherapist, PACFA Registered Clinical
Psychotherapist (RCP), PACFA Certified Supervisor, Clinical member of Association of
Soul Centred Psychotherapy (Australia).
