MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

As we approach another holiday season, the ACCT board is very aware that we are a cooperative of many faiths; we hope you are looking forward to the joy, excitement and merriment that are part of the traditions of many faiths. The Board of ACCT is delighted to extend greetings to all of ACCT’s members. We hope you take time during the rush of the holidays to enjoy the things in life that really matter. Relish the quiet moments spent with family, friends and loved ones. May 2016 bring you lots of fun, happiness, thriving business, rewarding work opportunities and lots of the new clients!!

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HOLIDAY AND NEW YEAR GIFT TO MEMBERS

Would you like to host an ACCT Holiday Gathering, either in your home or at a selected venue?  If so, we would like to help with the costs.  From now until January 31, 2016, ACCT will reimburse your food and drink costs up to $15 per person on any gathering that has at least five ACCT members in attendance.

Send us photos from your gatherings and be featured in a future newsletter.

At ACCT, we are building communities one counsellor at a time. This holiday season let us help you build yours.

Please remember to always Drink Responsibly and plan a safe ride home.

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2020 - 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES

A new board was formed at the AGM when members Darrin Taylor and Rob Brooks joined Susan Derry, Karleen Nevery, Sonya Randle, Mike Stephan and myself (Joanie Tara) to make up the 2015-2016 Board of Directors. We are delighted that Mary McClelland will continue as our secretary. 

Darrin Taylor brings a wealth of experience to the board, on the business side as the successful CEO of Axis Intervention, with offices in Kelowna and Vernon and on the professional side as a Board Registered Interventionist, a Certified Intervention Professional, and a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor.  For more information check out Darrin's board profile here.

Rob Brooks will be a great addition to the board bringing over twenty-five years of business experience to the counselling field.  As part of his board duties Rob will oversee the newly created Mentoring committeeFor further information on Rob, check out his board profile.

Please join us in welcoming Darrin and Rob to the board.

From left to right: Joanie, Susan, Karleen, Sonya, Rob (missing Darrin & Mike)

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MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

It's like an early Christmas present all wrapped up in one package!!

The Board of ACCT is pleased to announce some exciting new additions to our Member Benefits!

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IMPORTANT REMINDER

As we count down to the New Year, we have two important reminders!

To ensure that your membership with ACCT is in good standing, all Professional Development Reports and Yearly Supervision Reports for the current year need to be submitted by December 31, 2015.

"ACCT counsellors are required to earn a minimum of 15 professional development (PD) hours specifically related to counselling and/or psychotherapy each year and to provide a report on professional development activities to the Membership Committee". To upload your report please go to Professional Development Form.

RTCs are required to receive a minimum of 10 hours of supervision each year and MTCs and RCSs are encouraged to receive 10 hours of supervision per year throughout their professional career". To upload your report, please go to Yearly Report for Supervision.

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SURVEY RESULTS

Registered Counselling Supervisors Survey

The survey question: “I support the ACCT Board in requiring all RCS members meet the new supervision requirements".

The survey was sent to all RCS members of ACCT. Of the 28 surveys that were sent out, we had 12 responses with 91% of those completing the survey supporting the policy change. We invite those of you who did not have the opportunity to respond to give us some feedback. We are a board that is here to serve our members and want to understand your perspective on supervision.

The policy change the board agreed to is:

• RCS members are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of supervision per year.

As a self-regulating professional counselling association, one of the current focuses of ACCT is to help our members prepare for regulation. We want to stand shoulder to shoulder with counsellors affiliated with other professional associations in following government regulations and the industry trends across Canada. 

ACCT led the way in Canada by providing the first supervisor designation of Registered Counselling Supervisor. There is currently one other association in Canada offering a supervisor designation. That particular association has already introduced the standard of mandatory supervision as a requirement to maintain their standing. International standards have for years required ongoing supervision. ACCT wishes to be proactive and we made the recommendation that our RCS members be required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of supervision per year. We believe that once the new College is in place ongoing supervision will be part of the College requirements and we want to make this seamless for our members. Additionally, setting this standard will give added credibility to the RCS designation and ensure that we remain the association that really is dedicated to COMPETENCY.

Janet Holyk (right) with her supervisor, Sonya Randle (left)

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VOLUNTEER UPDATE

ACCT's volunteer numbers have been consistently growing since its inception, and 2015 was no exception!  We saw more volunteers coming forward to contribute their time and talents in a multitude of areas.  Critical to the success of our association, volunteers work in all areas from board members to team leaders and committee members.

One of the things that makes our cooperative so dynamic is the premise that new teams are formed based on the needs and suggestions from the membership itself. In this process, we all have the opportunity to contribute to the success of ACCT.  How unique we are!!!

If you have some time, whether it's a couple of hours a week or a couple of hours a month, please go to the ACCT website and fill out an application. 

We have volunteer positions that range from one day events (like the AGM) to future leadership roles, such as being on the board.  We have a group of volunteers who introduce the ACCT to local counselling training schools and we are encouraging volunteers to come forward to act as links within their counselling community by forming occasional social events or gatherings.

For more information, please go to the Member Area of the website and choose Volunteer Opportunities.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, past, present and future!!

May 2016 be filled with peace and joy for us all!

Volunteers, Mike Nishi and Megan Gelmon, assist with registration at the AGM.

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INSURANCE AND THIRD PARTY BILLING UPDATE

ACCT continues to advocate on your behalf, securing recognition for ACCT members with third party benefit providers.

To date, we have the following Third Party providers on board:

• Pacific Blue Cross - RTC’s and MTC’s are reimbursable, depending on the plan held by the client as provided by their employer.

• Equitable Life of Canada - accepting all designations, member must be in good standing with ACCT

• Green Shield Canada - RTC’s and MTC’s are reimbursable, depending on the plan held by the client as provided by their employer.

• ClaimSecure - recently added ACCT to their approved associations list

• Manulife – claims are reviewed on a case by case basis;  they don’t do formal reviews of associations

We continue to connect with insurance providers and other third party payers, in order to increase the number of providers who recognize ACCT members’ services as reimbursable. We are in ongoing communications with the following providers and hope to have positive responses soon: Sun Life, Neurological Wellness Association, Coughlin & Associates (have recognised Plumbers Local 170 in BC but a request has been made to accept ACCT as a whole), Empire Life and Medavie Blue Cross.  

Those providers who do not accept ACCT counsellors are the Crime Victim Assistance Program, I Have a Plan, Great West Life and Vancouver Coastal Health.

Cooperatively, we are changing the way insurance providers evaluate counselling services, and our members have played a big role in facilitating this change within the industry - we thank you for your continued support!

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REGISTRAR POSITION UPDATE

We said goodbye to Julia Montague at the end of October as her contract came to an end. Following this the Board announced the promotion of Sarah Hughes to the newly created position of Operations Manager.

As ACCT has grown in membership, we are now in a financial position to fill the many voids our volunteer Board Directors covered in the formation of ACCT. When we created the position of Operations Manager, we were very fortunate Sarah Hughes was willing to step into the new shoes.  Since Sarah joined us, she has worked very hard and has benefited ACCT greatly, many times going far beyond her duties and responsibilities. We could not find a better person for the job.

Sarah's new responsibilities will include coordinating the operational management of ACCT, including providing coordination of all administrative, information technology, membership, social media, volunteer management and event coordination, along with providing organizational support to the Board, contracted staff, team leaders, volunteers, members and members of the public.

Sarah's first official duty was to hire a new administrative assistant to take over her old duties.  Fortunately for us our very own Shannon Watson had covered Sarah's vacation for 2 weeks in October and accepted the more permanent position as Part-time Administrative Assistant. Shannon will be your first point of phone and email contact and will be assisting with new member applications, renewals, document uploads, etc. Shannon can be reached by email at [email protected] or by calling 1.844.369.ACCT.

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