Rebirthing Psychotherapy Newsletter
February 2008

More Developments in Education

FICTA, the Federation of Irish Complementary Therapy Associations, of which RPA is a member, is in negotiations with a third level college in Dublin with a view to developing courses in complementary therapies.  The college has asked not to be named for the moment but they are meeting regularly with FICTA reps.  Discussions centre around developing courses at degree level on core competencies for therapists, but this is just the start. 

Ireland is still well behind the UK and other countries in incorporating complementary therapies into mainstream health and education but things are moving.  The college in question is committed to developing such courses only with the involvement of the regulatory bodies in the CAM sector so courses will turn out competent therapists and meet the registration requirements for the various regulatory associations.   This is yet another potential opportunity for rebirthers to offer accredited, recognised training in breathwork.

RPA Support Meeting

Five people, members and some non-members, met in Ballina on February 1st, St. Bridget’s Day for fun, breathwork, sharing and support.  After a tasty dinner prepared by Teasha, Kapil from Belfast led us in sharing the benefits of rebirthing in our own lives, a short breathing session and then some laughter yoga.  The next day, four of us enjoyed the seaweed baths near Ballina followed by a massage from Kapil for some, more breathing for others.

These support sessions are very free flowing.  We have agreed to facilitate parts of them ourselves.  The facilitator is chosen by drawing names and the one drawn gets to facilitate part of the next session in any way they feel is appropriate.  The next support group meeting in on April 4 at 7.30 pm and will be facilitated by Teasha. 

Global Inspiration Conference – Change of Venue

The annual Global Inspiration Conference is a week-long celebration of Conscious Breathwork*. It is held in a different country each year in a venue with picturesque natural surroundings. This year it is set in the beautiful countryside of the United Kingdom, in Baskerville Hall (of Sherlock Holms fame).  Baskerville Hall is on the border between England and Wales near the town of Hay-on Wye. The GIC features a wide range of the best breathwork professionals from around the World – as well as a hot tub for breathwork sessions; sweatlodge; swimming pool – and traditional live music and theatre from the British Isles.

At the GIC you will find workshops, lectures, social events, sharing of best practice, dancing, good food, good company and lots of fun. It’s a wonderful opportunity for personal and professional growth, as well as making friends and valuable connections. The Global Inspiration Conference is a truly inspirational event. To reflect this, part of the daily programme is fixed in advance while the rest is left open and is scheduled on a daily basis during the week. The open programme includes all proposals put forward by participants at the conference for presentations, workshops, discussion topics and other activities related to the conference theme. All of these activities are offered in a spirit of peer-group exchange and inspiration.
The GIC offers the possibility to all people devoted to Breathwork to creatively participate in a global activity which promotes and honours the breath as a transformational tool. It is a wonderful opportunity to exchange views, teach, learn and receive inspiration from like-minded friends and colleagues. This year celebrates the 15th GIC conference –and the first time in the U.K. If you are interested in joining us at GIC for some inspiration, fun, learning and personal growth, then read on! There will be regular updates to the website in the run up to the GIC in July, including information on remaining accommodation availability.

Euro prices are shown for information only, GIC fees are payable in UK pounds
Euro to UK Pound exchange rate used is £1 = €1.36 (per xe.com, 29th Dec 07)
Where else would you get seven days full board and lodgings as well as a full range of workshops for approximately €700?  Your only problem will be choosing which workshops to attend because there are so many nobody can attend them all. 

Get more information.  Book your place.  Go to
www.globalinspiration.org

Regulation Issues

You may not be hearing much about regulation at the moment but is happening.  The process is moving on a steady pace.  The Dept. of Health has already held facilitation days for therapies in Category 1 as defined in the National Working Group Report.  They have not yet completed with this category.  FICTA is in ongoing negotiations with the Dept. on facilitation days for Category 2.  That category includes the Rebirthing Psychotherapy Association.  Membership of a professional body is an essential part of regulation.

Website

The RPA website has been completed for some months now and feedback indicates that several of the full members listed there are already getting clients from it.  So if you’re interested in increasing your client base, get registered with RPA.

Membership Renewal

Yes it’s that time again.  Your renewal forms are in the post.  The closing date is the next RPA support meeting on April 4.  So keep your name on the website, renew your membership.  Get your name out there on the website, join RPA.

Employment of Complementary Therapists in Community Settings

Catherine has been developing a document on the employment of complementary therapies in community groups.  This work has been funded by the Health Services Executive and took place in the Rialto/Inchicore/Bluebell area of Dublin earlier this year.  The guidelines are essentially the wisdom of both employers and therapists working in the area for many years.  The document is now with the HSE and FICTA for further feedback and endorsement.  It looks set to become the guideline standard for the employment of all forms of complementary therapists by community based groups and services.  That includes rebirthers and breathworkers. 

It’s an indication that there is a growing recognition of the use of CAM therapies indirectly and directly by the health services.  It is also an indication that experience has taught employers that they need to tighten up on their employment practices.  The guidelines are recommending a wide range of practices including supports for the therapists, contracts that ensure clarity around payment, etc., and that the therapists have to be members of professional bodies with professional insurance.

Rebirthing Psychotherapy Newsletter
July 2007

New Action Plan for RPA

After a sometimes difficult meeting in March we pared down the objectives of RPA to realistic proportions and developed actions that would ensure that the objectives would be achieved.  The minutes went out to all members but here is a reminder of our new, more streamlined objectives as well as our action plan.

Objectives of RPA

Accreditation – the Big News

Big News for everyone who practises  a complementary therapy – and that includes Rebirthing.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council have developed standards for the delivery of training courses from Post-Leaving Certificate Level right up to Masters Degree.  You can find a copy of these standards in draft form at http://www.hetac.ie/docs/Standards  It’s a PDF document so you need Acrobat Reader to open it. 

So what does this mean for RPA and Rebirthers?  Well it means that the groundwork has been done by the relevant government agency to give us recognised qualifications in Rebirthing, should some bright spark among us take it upon themselves to run an accredited rebirther training course.

If you want to run an accredited course and are willing to work through the quality assurance and course development processes with HETAC, then you can provide rebirther training that you develop yourself up to Master’s degree level.  This process would take time but having done it on a much smaller scale with the Open College Network in pre-FICTA times, I can attest that it is well worth the work involved.  It clarifies everything and makes course providers ask the questions they need to ask of themselves.  Now that it can attract a recognised qualification that fits into the education system here in Ireland, it is likely to bring in more students also.

This would not have happened without the strategic and relentless lobbying of FICTA.  Networking works!!

Global Inspiration Conference 2007 – Turkey

The annual Global Inspiration Conference took place just outside Istanbul in Turkey this year.

The venue was a beautiful hotel with its own lake and swimming pool just a short drive from the Black Sea.  The food was spectacular and the weather even more so.  Workshops were plentiful on everything form constellation breathwork to tantra and one of the lectures by Wilfried Ehrmann was particularly good.  He explained the effectiveness of breathwork through examining its effect in  the structure and functioning of the brain.  This is new, ground breaking work.

The opening ceremony included some Whirling Dervishes from the Sufi heartland of Turkey, the city of Konya.  That was such a good experience that many of us decided to spend the best part of a week living in the dervish centre in Konya after the conference.  We learned a lot about Islam and the warmth and welcome generated in people living close to the spirit of their religious beliefs.

Two major quite thorny issues came into focus throughout the week – sex and money. 

Money First:  The IBF got to grips with the issue of money, facilitated by Olivia Carr.  And what a getting to grips that was.  It would appear to be a very difficult issue for breathworkers to get practical about – preferring to organise sacred rituals to remove the blocks to abundance instead of getting down to the practical task of actually generating money.    However, the IBF now has a financial action plan which may compensate for the fact that the GIC is no longer making a  profit.

Now for the Sex:  The issue of therapists having sexual relationships with clients and trainees arose just before the conference with a complaint made to the IBF about one of the keynote speakers.  The complaint really came in too close to the conference and without adequate documentation to allow the IBF to take action prior to GIC.  In the end we hosted a  forum on “Sexual Relationships within Professional Breathwork Settings” chaired by Catherine Dowling and Steve Moe from the USA.  Two people spoke giving very different views.  Then it was opened to the floor and the ensuing discussion was moving, impressive and inspiring.  People shared their very painful experiences of abuse in a very respectful and honest way.  And the general consensus was that sexual relationships do not have a place within the therapeutic relationship.  A small working group was formed to develop guidelines for the IBF and these guidelines are available on the IBF website.

The visit to Konya after the conference was exceptional.  Every day we had excursions to sacred places such as Rumi’s tomb mixed in with Dervish ceremonies, swimming in rivers and lakes, dancing, great food and music every evening in the Turkish garden of the centre. 
If you want to join the IBF to share in the fun, friendship and breathwork, surf to www.ibfnetwork.com or contact our new National Co-Ordinator, Patricia O’Driscoll.  Many thanks to Noor who served as NC for the past few years. 

Crashing Out in a Turkish Garden	Whirling Dervish Opening Cermony	Michael Blake Ensemble on Variety Night
	Pictures From the Global Inspiration Conference 2007
Hand Fishing for our Dinner		Party Time Back in Istanbul

GIC 2008, the UK

The Global Inspiration Conference will take place in Gaunt House, Dorset next year starting around about July 8 which is a little bit later than normal
 
The focus and feel f the conference is different every year and next year it will have a more Glastonbury feel to it –  outdoorsy and laid back

The website should be up and running in the next few weeks so you can surf to it, www.gic08.com for the latest news.  They promise Dorset has good weather.