CONSTITUTION (November 2005)
1.
NAME
The name
of the group shall be 'The Association for Person Centred Therapy (
2.
PURPOSE
(i) To maintain and raise standards for Person
Centred therapy and to explore ways of developing the Approach.
(ii) To
provide support for Person Centred therapists in
(iii) To make Person Centred therapy available
throughout
(iv) To extend the understanding of the Person Centred approach and
to promote public awareness of the existence and scope of Person Centred
therapy.
3.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership
is open to all therapists who:
(i) Meet the criteria of the Association
membership document.
(ii) Are
an individual member of a recognised professional body which has an official
complaints procedure. These include BACP, COSCA, BPS,
UKCP, AHPP. Other organisations will be considered on
provision of evidence of an appropriate code of ethics and official complaints
procedure.
4.
TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
(i) A Special General Meeting of the Association
shall have the right to terminate, for good and sufficient reason, the
membership of any person, provided that that person shall have the right to
attend and be heard by the Special General Meeting before the decision is
finally made
(ii) Any
member who has not paid their membership in full within 2 months of the
subscription renewal date (1st June) or who has not come to some arrangement
with the Treasurer / Secretary prior to 1st August of the year in question will
be deemed to have terminated their membership of the Association.
5.
CODE OF ETHICS AND PRACTICE
As an
Organisational Member of BACP, the Association has adopted the BACP Ethical
Framework. All members are expected to be familiar with and to abide by this
Ethical Framework, a copy of which is available from the Secretary on request.
6.
COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE PRACTICE OF MEMBERS
(i) All members must abide by the BACP Ethical
Framework as well as the Code of Ethics of the professional body of which they are
a member.
(ii) Any
complaint made concerning the practice of a member will be redirected to the
member’s professional body and the counsellor involved will be advised that
this has happened.
(iii) The counsellor has the responsibility to inform his or her client of
his or her professional body’s complaints procedure.
(iv) The Association will hold up to date copies of the complaints
procedures of the relevant professional bodies.
(v) The
Association will inform the complainant of the member’s professional body.
(vi) If the complaint is upheld by the counsellor’s professional
body and his or her membership is terminated, his or her membership of the
Association will be terminated.
7.
COORDINATING GROUP
(i) The coordinating group will meet on a regular basis for the day to
day running of the Association. It is
empowered to work within the constitution.
(ii) The
coordinating group will consist of the elected Office Bearers, representatives
of the interest groups within the Association and co-opted members.
(iii) Appointment of Office Bearers.
Election will normally be for 1 year.
Office Bearers can be re-elected to a maximum of 3 consecutive years. A
Treasurer and Secretary will be elected at an Annual General Meeting.
(iv) Retirement of Office Bearers.
Elected Office Bearers will give notice of their retirement at any
Association meeting and this will be recorded in the minutes. Members will elect a replacement at the next
Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.
8.
MEETINGS
(i) Meetings. Meetings will be held no less than a
minimum of 2 times a year, 1 of which will be the Annual General Meeting. Dates
will be set at each meeting for the next meeting. Members wishing to raise
items for the Agenda at the next meeting should, if possible, notify the
Secretary at least 28 days in advance.
(ii) Notice
of Meetings. Notice of meetings shall be sent out 21 days in advance by the
Secretary. The exception to this is a Special General Meeting (para 10 (ii)).
(iii) Minutes. Minutes will be taken at all meetings. Members will be
circulated with the minutes of each meeting held, and on which will be written
the date of the next meeting.
(iv) Decisions/Adoptions/Ratifications.
Items requiring decision/adoption/ratification will be announced
to all members:
(a) In the agenda of the Annual General Meeting before such
decision is to be adopted.
OR
(b) By notice of a Special General Meeting (para 10 (ii)).
(v) Every
member shall have an equal vote.
(vi) In the event of an absence of consensus decisions
shall be taken by a majority.
(vii) A quorum shall consist of 10%
of the number of members. A quorum can make decisions on all issues that have
been marked for decision or ratification in the circulated Minutes of a
previous meeting.
(viii) Postal votes are acceptable
under signature.
9.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
(i) The Annual General Meeting will be held in, or
soon after, May each year.
(ii) Notice.
Notice of the Annual General Meeting will be given in the Minutes of the AGM preceding,
OR 21 days in advance, whichever is longer.
(iii) A Quorum. A quorum shall consist of 10% of the number of members.
10.
SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
(i) Special General Meetings can be called by any
2 members for purposes of discussing business that is considered to be too
urgent to await the next scheduled Annual General Meeting.
(ii) Notice.
All members shall receive 10 days notice of such Special General Meetings.
(iii) A Quorum. A quorum shall consist of 10% of the number of members.
11.
ACCOUNTS
(i) Books shall be kept and income and expenditure
correctly entered.
(ii) A
bank account shall be held in the name of the Association.
(iii) The two elected Office bearers will be authorised signatories on the
Association account. The Co-ordinating Group will
nominate two further Signatories. Any
two of the four signatories can draw upon the account and also borrow on the
account up to a limit of £1000, as approved by the Co-ordinating Group.
(iv) The books and accounts will be presented to the Association
each year by the appointed signatories and audited by an external auditor.
(v) Monies
collected in subscriptions will be used to further the purposes of the
Association.
12.
DISSOLUTION
(i) The Association may be dissolved at any time
by the resolution of a meeting of Members at a Special General Meeting whose
date and purpose shall have been notified to all Members with not less than 21
days notice.
(ii) After
satisfaction of all debts and liabilities, any property remaining shall be
given or transferred to another Person Centred group or organisation or to BACP
as shall be determined by the Special General Meeting passing the resolution of
dissolution.
CONSTITUTION AMENDED AT NOVEMBER 2005
TO INCLUDE CHANGE MADE AT NOVEMBER 2005 SGM