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Looking for an exciting new opportunity?

Looking for an exciting new opportunity?

The world of online counselling and psychotherapy is changing – and you can help to shape it by joining our team of directors on the ACTO Board

ACTO is always on the look-out for talent and energy to join the Board of Directors. In recent months, our profession has seen significant changes with the huge growth in the practice of online psychotherapy and counselling. We are keen to support that development by broadening our team with new directors.

There are opportunities for members to join our Board as ‘Directors without portfolio’; however we are particularly in need of expertise in the following areas:-

A Director of Training – to help us:

  • improve our training standards;
  • support our Training Organisations;
  • encourage other online training organisations to join the ACTO family.

A Director for Inclusivity/Diversity, to:

  • help us decide what this director should be called!
  • champion issues of inclusion and diversity within ACTO;
  • disseminate awareness and understanding of inclusion and diversity in online work.

An International Director (or deputy)

  • this is a passion of our Chair – but he hasn’t sufficient time to manage it fully:
  • to bring the long-awaited International Directory to fruition, to develop and manage it;
  • to link in with the international organisations devoted to online work;
  • to develop a network of ACTO ‘chapters’ around the world.

If you are interested, please contact the Chair of ACTO at:  chair@ACTO-org.uk for an informal chat.

Adrian M Rhodes

Chair, ACTO

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Blog

New ACTO Chair aims to raise the standards of online therapy

June 2020 blog Raising Standards
It is easy to do therapy online; but it is difficult to do therapy online well,

Raising standards and making ACTO the go-to place for online counselling and psychotherapy. Those are the two principal goals of ACTO’s new Chair, Adrian Rhodes, who leads the volunteer Board of Directors with representatives from across the profession. And for Adrian, the new role comes at a time of fundamental change as the world adjusts to life during the Covid-19 pandemic, necessitating innovative ways of working for counsellors and psychotherapists.

The lockdown and the introduction of social distancing measures have resulted in a massive increase in the numbers of psychotherapists and counsellors seeking to work online. Earlier this year, ACTO responded by publishing security and privacy guidance for practitioners providing online therapy. However, further work is needed as practitioners and services adapt to the technology and ways of engaging with their clients.

Adrian, who qualified as a psychotherapist in the 1980s, worked as a psychotherapist in the NHS and is also an Honorary Canon in the Church of England, believes that the growth in practitioners and services working online is a positive response to the crisis; however, it offers fresh challenges too, to ensure that a high standard of quality is provided. As Chair, Adrian is committed to leading the organisation in this exciting, albeit challenging, new phase of its history.

ACTO is a body with a clear objective: to support counsellors and psychotherapists who work online. With 15 years’ experience, we believe that this knowledge and expertise is invaluable at the current time.

Clearly, the landscape that practitioners and training providers operate in has been transformed since the start of the pandemic. Since March, many psychotherapists and counsellors have started to work online, some with limited experience and training.  The need to equip our colleagues with the right skills and expertise is therefore urgent. It is easy to do therapy online; but it is difficult to do therapy online well.

ACTO priorities

To make these transformative changes, ACTO will build up its repository of resources and knowledge around online therapy. Furthermore, as an organisation we will drive up standards of practice and training, provide information about working internationally and improve access to key research.

The goal: for ACTO to be the ‘go-to’ place for discussion and debate for psychotherapists and counsellors.

ACTO provides a range of services to its members, including a directory for therapists and supervisors, forums for practitioners to discuss relevant issues and access to digital tools.

If you would like to enquire about joining ACTO or find out more regarding our work, please go to the ACTO website or get in touch.

Adrian M. Rhodes

Chair, ACTO

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