[Commpsych] FW: Community Psychology given endorsement under NRAS!

[Heather Gridley]

Dear Friends of Community Psychology,


It is with great pleasure that we inform you that the Australian Health Ministerial Council approved the inclusion of Community and Health Psychology as Endorsed Areas of Practice for the Psychology Profession at their meeting on Friday. The decision was made on advice from the Australian Psychological Society, the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) and other key stakeholders so that the public will be able to identify and take advantage of those psychologists specially trained in the areas of Community and Health Psychology.



This has been a very difficult few months as we have campaigned for the inclusion of Community and Health Psychology as endorsed areas of practice. We have achieved this wonderful result due to a fantastic team effort.



We would like to publically thank all those members of both the Community and Health Colleges who have worked tirelessly to achieve this positive outcome as well as all the students, special friends and supporters of Community Psychology in Australia and overseas - we received wonderful support from our SCRA collagues in the US, from our UK and European colleagues, and from our New Zealand friends. This positive result would not have been achieved without everyone working together in such a collaborative way.



We understand that the PBA will consider the transition issues around the new Endorsed Areas of Practice (Community and Health) at their next meeting on Friday 26 November, 2010 (whhc also happens to be the date of our National AGM in Melbourne). There will then be a formal announcement on Monday 29 November. Further information about transition provisions will be posted on the website in early December (<https://webmail.vu.edu.au/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>www.psychologyboard.gov.au<http://www.psychologyboard.gov.auhttp://www.psychologyboard.gov.au>http://www.psychologyboard.<http://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/>gov.au).



We know that you will all be pleased that Community and Health Psychology have now received official Endorsement and our work has been recognised as just as valuable as the other areas of psychology. However, the task ahead of us is just beginning and we need to increase the membership of the College and strengthen the Community Psychology postgraduate programmes. We are also aware that once again we have gathered under an umbrella that we didn't design so we could still get very wet. But we won't drown or be washed away, not this time anyway.



If you have require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact one of us. We will keep you up to date as we become aware of any new information. May this be the beginning of a new era for Community Psychology and may we go from strength to strength - and be able to look outwards one again, rather than worrying about our securing our own future.



With best wishes

Lynne


Associate Professor Lynne Cohen

Chair

APS College of Community Psychologists

l.cohen at ecu.edu.au<mailto:l.cohen at ecu.edu.au>



and



Heather Gridley



Heather Gridley
Honorary Fellow
School of Social Sciences and Psychology
Victoria University
PO Box 14428
Melbourne VIC 8001
Australia

MOBILE: 0419 113 731
Email: heather.gridley at vu.edu.au




This email, including any attachment, is intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. It is confidential and may contain personal information or be subject to legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use, disclosure, reproduction or storage of it is unauthorised. If you have received this email in error, please advise the sender via return email and delete it from your system immediately. Victoria University does not warrant that this email is free from viruses or defects and accepts no liability for any damage caused by such viruses or defects.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.curtin.edu.au/pipermail/commpsych/attachments/20101115/f9a706d2/attachment.htm