APACS Newsletter, EZINE Issue 4/13 (Restricted to members only)

RESOLUTIONS It is well known that New Year’s resolutions do not have a high success rate. While many people opt to ditch the annual goal-setting event, about 40 to 45 percent of American adults set at least one resolution come New Year’s (that should be quite similar to Singapore) Unfortunately for many, the results turn into a pattern: January 1, we start off determined to follow through on our goals. Excited and energized, we think that this year will be different from the last, when our resolutions went by the wayside. Come February or even mid-January, the majority of us have abandoned our goals altogether.

Dec 2013

Inside this issue President Message..2-3 Membership ............. 4 CEU/Supervision.... 5 Eye Screening .......... 6 Membership ............ 7 Clin Supr Course ..... 8 Prepare/Enrich....... 9 ACA Nat'l Conven ... 10

So why do we continue to make resolutions every year even though so few of us follow through? One reason is the allure of starting from scratch. “The beginning of the year offers a fresh start and a clean slate,” according to Nona Jordan, a coach who’s known as the “business yogini” and helps female entrepreneurs improve their business.

ICA setup ................... 11

The idea of bettering ourselves is another motivator. “Most of us have a natural bent toward self-improvement,” said John Duffy, Ph.D, clinical psychologist and author of The Available Parent: Radical Optimism in Raising Teens and Tweens. And even though the New Year is an arbitrary date, Duffy explained that it “gives us time and a goal date to prepare for the change, to fire up for the shifts we plan to make.”

The Association’s first AGM will be held on the 15th February 2014 at 4:00pm. The current board will retire and a new Executive Committee will be elected for the period 2014-2016. It is essential that members to attend this meeting so that a quorum can be achieved.

Wanting to make resolutions is a good thing, Michael Jordan believes. “The fact that people keep making resolutions even when they don’t always follow through ultimately means that they have hope and a certain level of belief in their ability to change and be more of who they really want to be,” she said.

Articles ....................... 12-15 Special points of interest

Some research confirms that setting a resolution can get you closer to your goals. One study found that 46 percent of individuals who made resolutions were successful compared to four percent who wanted to achieve a certain goal and considered it but didn’t actually create a resolution.

The agenda is:

Therefore, as an association, we continue this tradition in settling resolutions for the coming year and these will be the direction we will be gearing towards in 2014.

3. Election of Officers for 2014-2016

1. President’s report 2. Treasurer's report

4. Any other matters

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Hi fellow members, This will be my last message for my term of office and I must admit that I had really enjoyed writing to all of you. Looking back brings some nostalgic emotions – they are nonetheless positive emotions. Many of you have journeyed with me for the past two years and I have found the journey extremely enriching in the sense that it had added greater life’s experiences for me. The journey had not been smooth

“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.” Anonymous ETHICS All

members

are

but each setback and frustration had added to my greater spiritual strength and resilience.

strongly reminded to discharge your counselling and therapy conduct and behaviour in accordance to the Association’s Code of Ethics and to the highest ethical standards of the community. The Association’s Code of Ethics is featured in the website and members are required to consult it when necessary

I would believe that we have done rather well considering the fact that we are now only one and three quarters years old. Membership strength is now just over 100 local members with about five overseas members. In the international scene, six members presented workshop papers in the 3rd Asian Pacific Rim Psychotherapists and Counselling Conference held in Kuching in July 2013. Five members presented in a seminar entitled “Gerontology: Issues, risks and intervention” hosted by the University Pelita Haparan in Jakarta on 6th December 2013. We were there primarily to lend support to the Indonesians who were organizing the new Indonesian Counselling Association. The event and fellowship with our Indonesian counterparts was memorable. A list of members constituting the 2014-2016 Executive Com-

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IMPORTANCE OF GROUP WORK

mittee have been proposed and drawn up. They shall be officially nominated during our forthcoming Annual General Election scheduled for mid-February 2014. The Hon. Secretary Emilia will give notice of this AGM when the time draws nearer. The incoming President Prem, will take over the helm of the association in due course. Please offer him your support generously when the time comes. The association’s financial position is healthy and a full report will be presented by Hon Treasurer Robert during the AGM. Please note that according to our constitution the Vice President automatically takes over the Presidency when the incumbent President retires. This is to provide continuity of the administrative process. The association will be organizing more activities during President Prem’s year. Please give your support – after all associations exist and thrive through the active participation of members themselves. Meanwhile, I have been informed that some members have yet to settle their annual dues. Please bring your dues up to date and show your social responsibility. The treasurer will be writing to those who are in arrears. With all good wishes, Jeffrey Po, Phd

To succeed at the task in hand everyone involved needs to combine their efforts. If everyone does their job well, then it increases what the team can accomplish. This teamwork has to be recognised by everyone and know that great things can happen if individuals master the fundamentals and work together as one unit. Everyone has their own unique role, but each person's individual role must be recognised and appreciated. Teamwork is something that must be a high priority and given constant attention. Every player needs to understand how important it is for them to work smoothly together if they want to be successful. Each player must be dedicated to the whole team and be willing to act unselfishly. When challenges arise (as they always do), the team needs to have the resources, accountability and commitment to deal with them in a constructive and positive manner. A sense of teamwork will play an integral part in this.

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MEMBERSHIP KIT All those who have applied for membership and duly approved by the Association’s Executive Committee will be advised as to when they can come and collect their membership kit. The kit will include the following items:

All members are reminded that membership renewal is to be made be-



Welcome letter

through December 2014. For members who have been accredited at the



Membership certificate

various levels, please include in your renewal the fees related to the ac-

 Accreditation certificates (when relevant)

creditation level. In addition, for those who have been accredited to



Membership card

opment log form.



Association’s constitution

Details of accumulation of CEU points are shown in the “Counselling su-

fore Dec 2013. The renewed subscription will cover the period January

practice kindly submit your counselling supervision and personal devel-

pervision and Personal development form”. Those of attended courses/

NEW MEMBERS

workshops conducted by the following organisations can use the period

1. Revolu Tetseo (L4-OS)

spend and relate to the CEU points accordingly i.e. full day workshop –

2. Shereen Banu Bower (Ord)

CEU 4 points and half day workshop – 2 CEU points.

3.Annie

In addition, please update Eugene of your specialised skills and focus

Wong

Pek

Geok

(Ord) 4.Mohammad

group via email, [email protected]. This will be updatTariq

S/O

ed on the website.

Samsudeen (L1)

Those who hold accreditation certification is reminded that they shall to

5. Ali Bin Daud (Ord)

clock in 10 hours of clinical supervision and 25 hours of personal devel-

6. Saadia Albrecht (Ord)

opment.

7. Anna-Rose Taylor (Ord)

For clinical personal counselling supervision, members are to engage those approved by APACS as clinical supervisors or other accredited professional supervisors:

8. Kenneth Sim P. Y. (L4) 9. Lea Rose (L4-OS) 10. Anne Lastman (Ord-OS)

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MEMBERSHIP

They are: 1. Dr. Jeffrey Po 2. Mr. Prem Kumar 3. Ms. Karen Sng 4. Dr. Indumati 5. Ms. Ellis Lee 6. Mr. David Kan

7. Mr. Robert Tai 8. Ms. Emilia Yee 9. Ms. Nadia Rahimtoola 10. Mr. Eugene Chong 11. Ms. Lee Ching Hoon 12. Mr. Peter Gan

CEU POINTS / SUPERVISION All practitioner members are to note that CEU points to be clocked in annually before renewal of your registration. Thus, you need to accumulate 25 points annually. Besides that, professional supervision of 10 hours annually are required for practitioners. Please approach the approved supervisiors under APACS for professional supervision. Please bring along your blue card each time to attend the Association's organised workshop or other approved workshop to record the points.

"Learning is finding out what you already know, Doing is demonstrating that you know it, Teaching is reminding others that they know it as well as you do. We are all learners, doers, and teachers." Richard David Bach Members can accumulate CEU points in the following manners: 1. Read a book, watch video/movie related to counseling, etc 2 points (Max 4 points) 2. Read a journal/magazine related to counselling etc 1 point (Max 2 points) 3. Attend APACS or affiliated organisations workshops/courses, i.e. full day workshop – CEU 4 points and half day workshop – 2 CEU points. 4. Attend courses/workshops organized by  Asia Pacific Certification Board

Regional Human Skills  We-Care Association Pte Ltd  Singapore Assn for Mental Health  Whole Person Center 5. Participate & Presenting papers in International/Domestic Conferences, 4-6 points (Max 8-12 points) 

6.Conducting/Organising points (Max 4 points)

workshops

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Announcement Members who are eligible for upgrading to level “4S” - Master Practitioner Supervisor are requested to contact the Hon Secretary to collect their new certificates upon appropriate payment of the upgrading fees.

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Bedok Vision Screening for Elderly APACS together with partners from Bedok Radiance Senior Activity Centre and the Singapore Polytechnic held a public mass vision screening for the elderly on the 10 Oct 2013. More than 100 elderly were screened for cataract, glaucoma & AMD. About 30 of them needed more diagnostic evaluation that will be done sometime in November. Thanks to APACS members who participated and for taking time off during their precious Saturday to perform this meaningful community work. They are Ellis, Yeh Wee Cher, Tham Siak Oon, Evelyn Lee, and Harold Tan and his “best friend”.

Members of APACS with the centre programme officer Ms Loong Lee Lee (seated 4th from left) APACS Ellis Lee (Standing next to an elderly man) doing crowd control

APACS Wee Cher assisting a senior APACS Member Ellis assisting a senior

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MEMBERSHIP GATHERING & DEVELOPMENT The Association held its 3rd membership gathering and development for 2013 on the 16th Sept in SMU. Around 25 people members and friends were present at the gathering and the following speakers presented their insights. Below are the features of the speakers.

VP Prem Kumar presenting certificate of appreciation to Dr Ajeet Wagle of Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital

Hon Treasurer Robert Tai presenting certificate of appreciation to Mr James Chiang of Aeras Medical

Hon Secretary Emilia Yee presenting certificate of appreciation to Mr Leong Cheng Chit, an Origami artist

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CLINCAL SUPERVISION

Counselling Supervision Course The 3rd intake for the counseling supervision course will be held in Singapore from 11th to 14th February 2014. Registration is now open and those who wish to participate, please sign up early. For more details, please contact President Jeffrey @ 96188153 for seat reservation . For this round, all participants will be expected a precourse homework before they are permitted to attend the course.

4th Asia Pacific Rim Psychotherapy & Counselling Conference 2015 This conferene will be held in Perth 2015. No details have been given yet. However, those who wish to present papers/workshops are to prepare their abstract (Usually around 200 words)

VP Prem Kumar response to animal-assisted therapy (Straits Times B2 Home page, 9th Dec 2013)

Clinical supervision is emerging as the crucible in which counselors acquire knowledge and skills for the substance abuse treatment profession, providing a bridge between the classroom and the clinic. Supervision is necessary to improve client care, develop the professionalism of clinical personnel, and impart and maintain ethical standards in the field. In recent years, clinical supervision has become the cornerstone of quality improvement and assurance. Therefore with such emphasis, it is important for a practitioner to be supervised in order to maintain the level of service to the consumers. More importantly, clinical supervision offers counselors & psychotherapists the opportunities of “selfcare” for themselves when they can discuss their difficult cases with their supervisors.

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TRAINING

PREPARE/ENRICH CERTIFICATION TRAINING What is PREPARE-ENRICH? PREPARE/ENRICH is a customized couple assessment completed online that identifies a couple's strength and growth areas. It is one of the most widely used Programs for premarital counselling and premarital education. There are also customized versions of the inventory used for marriage counselling, marriage enrichment, and dating couples considering engagement. Based on a couple's assessment results, a trained facilitator provides feedback sessions in which the facilitator helps the couple discuss and understand their results as they are taught proven relationship skills. The PREPARE/ENRICH programme is developed by Dr David Olson, to help couples prepare for marriage (PREPARE Programme) and to enrich the marriage for those already married (ENRICH Programme).

Our association engages itself with continuous learning opportunities for the practitioner to improve and learn in a more holistic manner. Therefore, we have our monthly workshop that is happening on a monthly basis and if you are a practitioner, come and be refreshed by others who are also in this field of work. Such sessions is important for individual and group growth.

Programme Objectives This intensive one-day accreditation training workshop is developed for helping profession individuals to work more effectively with premarital and married couples. The workshop teaches and certifies participants to administer, interpret and counsel using PREPARE, PREPARE-MC and ENRICH. This workshop qualifies participants to start using all four Inventories with couples. They are designed to assist counsellors and couples in focusing objectively on critical relationship issues. Each inventory is intended to assess areas in which relationships need to grow and strengths that will enable them to progress in a positive direction. This is an effective instrument to help in enriching the marital lives of the couples. The PREPARE/ENRICH inventories are comprehensive, diagnostically valuable and designed to generate a meaningful dialogue between the counsellor and the couple. The inventories have been scientifically developed to have high levels of reliability, validity and clinical utility. Who should attend? Psychologists / Counsellors / Social Workers / Therapists / Religious Leaders & those who are involved in marital counseling & training. Admission Criteria Possess a relevant tertiary education in Psychology / Counselling or Social Work and subjected to admission interview . Seminar Director: Eugene Chong Date: 22 Feb 2014 Time: 9am to 4pm Venue: TBC For further information, please contact Eugene Chong at [email protected], or 94774227. You can visit the website for more information.

More information will be published in the next issues of EZINE and in our website.

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Australia Counselling Association 2013 National Convention President Dr Jeffrey Po and APACS member Wendy Shiao repsented APACS in the national convention that was held in Gold Coast Australia from the 26th to 29th September.

APACS member Wendy (On the left) with new found Australian friends

President Dr Jeffrey Po conducted a post conference workshop on Meditative Psychotherapy

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Reasons for settling up the Indonesia Counselling Association

Supported in the setup of Indonesia Counselling Association (ICA)

Non existence counseling association in Indonesia Need a representation for the professional working in Indonesia A supporting network of professionals for peer consultation and clinical supervision Good platform for exchange of ideas in forum.

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ARTICLES TION

CONTRIBU-

You are welcome to contribute articles to the EZINE. Do take note of some of the basic criteria when submitting your article. 1. Max 500 words 2. Professionally Written (Formal) 3. Engagement of thoughts/reflections 4. Citation and Referencing required 5. Plagiarism will not be tolerated 6. APA format

"The Editor reserves the right to reject, amend and edit submitted articles without prior consultation with contributors" "Articles published offers the views of the writer only and does not infer and/or carry the official endorsement, support or expressed opinion of the Association"

Talking Therapies in Singapore

(Contributed by Dr Jeffrey Po, published in Sept 2013 issue of “Therapy Today”. Reprinted with the kind permission of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy)

Singapore, my home, is a vibrant, multicultural, multiracial city, and I consider it to be a wonderful place to live and work. But working life in Singapore is highly competitive. The urge to excel seems inbuilt within the Singaporean psyche, with the pursuit of money pervasive in most strata of society. Many would consider Singapore’s pace of life demanding and stressful. As a result, there has been an undesirable emergence of emotional, mental and psychological issues and a growing recognition of the need for greater counselling, psychotherapy, psychological and social work services. With the exception of social workers, however, these professions are still unregulated by the Government in Singapore. In Singapore counseling and psychotherapy are regarded as two separate professions. There are several separate professional associations for counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists, but no one single organisation bringing them together. Over many informal meetings in coffee shops at the end of 2011, I and some like-minded friends and colleagues discussed the possibility of having just such a single organisation. We decided that, rather than set up yet another exclusive professional body, we would create a more inclusive organisation. Our dream was to create an organization for professionals and semiprofessionals, with varying skill sets and from diverse related backgrounds and trainings, who could provide holistic services to those in emotional, mental and spiritual distress. They would include counselors and psychotherapists, and also hypnotherapists, early childhood therapists, play therapists, sand-play therapists, art therapists, and dance therapists, who might lack the traditionally accepted academic qualifications and clinical practice needed to join existing professional bodies. We hoped such an organisation could help them enhance their therapy skills and acquire further qualifications, as well as provide meaningful networking opportunities. A pro-tem committee of 14 people was formed, the constitution

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drawn up, and in February 2012 the Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (Singapore) (APACS) was registered, with 14 chartered members. The journey was not without mishaps and frustrations. Support and encouragement was in short supply, and there were those who jumped ship or for whom the original vision melted away. Many organisations and individuals expressed scepticism about the viability of such an organisation and stood on the sidelines, waiting to see how long we could last. Nevertheless, the remaining members weathered the stormy waters. Today, membership stands at 88. APACS now has a Manual of Procedures and Code of Behavioural Conduct; it conducts counseling supervision courses accredited by ACA, the Malaysian Psychotherapy Association, the Asian Professional Counselling Association (Hong Kong) and the American Board of Medical Psychotherapists and Psychodiagnosticians; it publishes a quarterly in-house e-zine; it arranges monthly skills enhancement workshops; it runs bridging courses for members who lack the necessary academic qualifications to regi ter as practitioners in counseling and/or psychotherapy. It also organises a quarterly membership networking event. In August we sent a delegation to the Third Asia Pacific Rim International Psychotherapy and Counselling Conference. And we are currently helping to start up a counselling and psychotherapy association in Indonesia, where none presently exists. In February 2014 Prem Kumar, the current Vice- President, will succeed me. A visionary man, he hopes to take APACS to another level by connecting it with various institutions of higher learning. He also aspires to offer greater learning and career opportunities to members. APACS’s long term vision remains the representation of counselors and psychotherapists nationally in Singapore. It is my firm personal belief that, in the end, organisations survive and prosper through their own internal dynamics and resources – in other words, their dedicated and committed members.

‘Our dream was to create an organisation for professionals and semi-professionals, with varying skill sets and from diverse related backgrounds’

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MINDFULNESS & Its Teaching to Young Children (Part 2) (Contributed by Ms Lee Ching Hoon)

Teaching Mindfulness to Children. When teaching mindfulness to children, it is important that the teacher or parent should be comfortable with the exercises prior to the teaching and have been practicing mindfulness for a while. Below are seven attitudinal factors from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book (1990) that will help the teacher or parent with their mindfulness practice with the child. Non judgmental This is assuming an impartial witness to your own experience and the child’s experience. Patience Patience when used here, it is a form of wisdom. The wisdom to understand and accept the fact that sometimes, things must unfold in their own time. Beginner’s Mind Openness to the richness of the present-moment experience during this practice is the richness of life itself. Trust as self-reliance Develop trust in yourself and the child. Your feelings and the child’s feeling are an integral part of the mindfulness training. It is far better to trust in yours and the child’s intuition even if “mistakes” are made along the way, than always finding a need to look externally for guidance. Non-striving Almost everything we do, we do for a purpose, for example to get something or somewhere. But in this practice, this attitude can be a real obstacle. It has no goal other than for you to be yourself and for the child to be himself or herself. Acceptance Acceptance means seeing things as they actually are in the present moment. One cultivates acceptance by taking each moment as it comes and being with it fully as it is. Teachers or parents try not to impose ideas about what one should be feeling or thinking but just remind ourselves to be receptive and open to whatever one is feeling, thinking and to accept it because it is here right now.

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Letting Be In the mindfulness practice, we just let our experience be what it is and practice observing it from moment to moment. Letting go is a way of letting things be, of accepting things as they are. When we observe our own mind grasping and pushing away, we remind ourselves to let go of those impulses on purpose, just to see what will happen if we do. When we find ourselves judging our experience, we let go of those judging thoughts. Similarly when thoughts of the past or of the future come up, we let of them. We just watch. Conclusion Mindfulness is an innate ability we all have. This deep internal resource helps us to see clearly and relate wisely to whatever is happening in our life and to take care of ourselves, cultivating inner peace and meeting the challenge of daily life with wisdom and compassion. Both children and parents can benefit much from this practice and the cultivation of the seven attitudinal foundations will allow yours and the child’s mindfulness practice to flourish.

References Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 10(2): 125-143. Fontana, D. & Slack, I. (1997). Teaching Meditation to Children: A practical Guide to the Use and Benefits of Meditation Techniques. Boston: Element. Hooker, K. E. & Fodor, I.E. (2008). Teaching Mindfulness to Children. Gestalt Review, 12 (1): 75-91. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness. New York: Delacorte. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10 (2): 144-156.

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Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (Singapore) Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors Singapore (APACS) is an association for all practitioners in the healthcare sector who are keen to be part of this big family of helping professionals. Although most of us in the association are psychotherapist, psychologist, counsellor, or social worker, we welcome other healthcare professional to join us. Thus, the approach to meet the individual or family in a holistic manner.

Association of Psychotherapists & Counsellors (Singapore) Primary Business Address Blk 124, Hougang Ave 1, #01-1450, Singapore 5301244 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.apacs.org.sg

Merry Christmas to ALL Feliz Navidad Feliz Navidad Feliz Navidad Prospero Ano y Felicidad Feliz Navidad Feliz Navidad Feliz Navidad Prospero Ano y Felicidad I wanna to wish you a merry Christmas I wanna to wish you a merry Christmas I wanna to wish you a merry Christmas From the bottom of my heart