ACC News and Events

For ACC EVENTS around the UK and events organised by OTHER AGENCIES see the links on the right.

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DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS & DEVELOPMENT

We have an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about continuing the development of Christian counselling across the UK. We are looking for someone who is an experienced and qualified counsellor, who can advise and direct us in our training, policy making and accreditation. The postholder will help advise us on national policies and developments at national government, training and counselling organisation, and church denomination level as well. The post holder will work closely with the Director of Operations and be part of our Executive Committee, and advise the ACC Board. Click here for a Job Description and Application Form. For further information please call Ruth Nelson on 0845 124 9569.

ACC on TWITTER

If you are on Twitter you should be able to find us if you look for ACClatest - or do pass that on to anybody you know who is a bit of a
Twitter fan.

ACCORD PRICE REDUCTION

Late last year the price of ACC's accord quarterly magazine was reduced by nearly half. Even better value for money than before, a gift subscription would make an ideal gift. Click here to purchase.

ACC Summer School information

COMING IN 2012 - A FIRST - THE ACC SUMMER SCHOOL

ACC's first ever Summer School will take place in 2012, 18-22 June. An exciting programme has been arranged, including training from Dr David Hall, Teresa Onions, Tony Horsfall, John Threadgold and Helena Wilkinson. It won't be all hard work, with entertainment from Adrian Plass and music from The Apostolic Choir, Leicester. Last chance to book at reduced prices is 29th February.

For further Information click here.

VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION NOT REGULATION

The Regulation of Counsellors is now obsolete language. However there is now a scheme of Voluntary Registration being developed. ACC have held a Voluntary Register of Christian Counsellors for many years, and the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) are working on a system that will accredit voluntary registers and thereby give credence to all registrants. The Government document from February 2011 explained that regulation was far too bureaucratic and costly and so Voluntary Registration will be the way forward. This is still in the very early stages but CHRE will be making the scheme known far and wide so that Voluntary Registration, it is purported, will be necessary for all practitioners especially those who work within or for the statutory agencies. In the preparation work, ACC will be identifying what may be the outcome for people who do not register voluntarily. At this stage all of the detail is far from ready to be put into place.


Meetings are taking place and ACC continues to promote the good work of our members and affiliated organisations.

ACCREDITATION ANNOUNCEMENT

After careful consideration and much work a decision was taken by the Board of ACC to give credit for certain elements of work submitted by people who have gained BACP or COSCA accreditation. This is to save needless repetition of work that has already been produced, scrutinised and approved. Therefore a person can now become accredited with ACC by presenting their relevant accreditation certificate and by meeting two extra but very important criteria which we believe will help maintain the distinctive of being part of ACC. Such applicants will be required to :-


At present this arrangement only covers those accredited with BACP and COSCA because their accreditation systems are very similar to that of ACC. If you, or people you know, would be interested in exploring this possibility then please contact the Accreditation Office on 0845 1249572. The Board are offering this facility at a reduced cost of only £40 until Easter 2012 and then after that date at £45. There may be people you know who are not yet members of ACC, are accredited with either BACP or COSCA, and may wish to gain accreditation with ACC using the above process, if so we would appreciate your passing on the news of this decision to them. We trust that this decision will enable more people to join ACC and therefore enjoy the benefits of belonging to ACC, including the Christian support, fellowship and networking, the accord magazine, access to CPD, and much more.

John Nightingale – Director of Professional Standards.

RECOGNITION BY BACP

In June 2010 it was brought to the attention of ACC that some members who are tutors of counselling students had been prohibited from sponsoring their students to become members of BACP. ACC immediately began contact with senior personnel in BACP which initially received little response. Later in the year, another member raised the same issue as he too had been unable to sponsor a supervisee. ACC took the matter further and have eventually received notification from the CEO of BACP that ACC would be listed on their documentation as a cognate organisation. This means that our members will be able to sponsor people wishing to join BACP.

RESULTS OF MEMBERS' QUESTIONNAIRE

Thank you to our members for your responses to the Questionnaire last year. The information we gleaned will help us further the work of ACC and care for our members. See the link "Members' Questionnaire responses" on the main page of the Members Area of the web site.

SUPERVISION GUIDELINES

Supervision guidelines are now available to download from the Members' area.

BIENNIAL ACC CONFERENCE 2013

January 24 - 27, 2013. The theme of the next biennial ACC conference is "Breathing Room for my Soul". More details later.

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

Contact Head Office on 0845 124 9569 or office@acc-uk.org.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For more media information please contact Head Office.

Fees that are fair: last year ACC did not increase fees in response to the economic difficulties. This year we have had to increase some of our fees by about 2% - 3% so that to some extent inflation increases on costs can be covered.
ACC greatly appreciates the loyalty of its members and their long-term commitment. To reflect this all multiple year fees (i.e. membership for 3-5 years) have been reduced, some by as much as 10%. Savings over annual renewals are in some cases up to 15%.
Therefore, if you are renewing your membership this year, we hope that you will consider taking advantage of this and renew for 3 or 5 years, if you can afford to do so.
Please also make sure that if you are a UK Tax Payer you complete the necessary paperwork to allow us to claim Gift Aid on your subscription.
Thank you very much for your support and commitment to ACC.