Seamus Deane to speak to our Association

February 14, 2012

Seamus Deane

We are honoured and delighted to have the eminent academic and Booker prize nominee Seamus Deane with us on Friday 2nd March in Newry. An inspiring speaker, it is rare to have the opportunity to hear him publicly these days.

Seamus is currently Keough Professor of Irish Studies at the Keough Institute, Notre Dame. He has taught at Berkeley, Oregon, Indiana University UCD and Queens University, Belfast. He is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy and was a founding director of the Derry-based Field Day Theatre Company (1980 -1992). His several books include the novel Reading in Dark, A Short History of Irish Literature, Celtic Revivals: Essays in Modern Irish Literature, The French Revolution and Enlightenment in England and Strange Country: Modernity and Nationhood in Irish Writing since 1790. He also edited the monumental Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing in three volumes.

Finger food & refreshments will be available.

There is no admission charge. IAHIP members, pre-accredited associates and student associates are welcome to attend and bring a guest along with them to this evening.

IAHIP AGM 2012

January 31, 2012

The IAHIP 2012 AGM will be held on Saturday 3rd March 2012 at the Canal Court Hotel, Newry, Co Down between 11.00am and 5.00pm.

A full AGM legal notice and brochure will be received by members, ahead of the AGM, by post.

President Higgins’ endorsement of psychotherapy

January 27, 2012

President Michael D. Higgins’ opened the ICP Conference in Dublin Castle yesterday and his supportive, inspiring and challenging speech can be found here. It received good coverage in the press, in the Irish Times and on RTÉ.

ICP Conference 2012

January 16, 2012

If you have not already done so, may I please encourage you to make time to attend some or all of the 2nd National Conference of ICP, taking place at Dublin Castle on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th January. You can get full information about the programme and the booking arrangements by visiting ICP’s website www.psychotherapy-ireland.com or by phoning 01 9023819.

The Conference is being opened by the President of Ireland, Mr Michael D Higgins, which is a signal honour to our profession, and it promises to be an exciting conference with interesting speakers from Ireland (some IAHIP members among them) and abroad covering a wide range of topics of significance and importance to psychotherapy practitioners.

Attendance at this Conference – apart from its value in CPD terms (!) – provides us with a really valuable occasion to meet and mingle with practitioners from other modalities and to demonstrate our commitment to the unity and development of our profession in Ireland.

While it is advisable to book in to the Conference in advance, bookings will be accepted on the day at the registration desk and can be for either the full two days or for one or other of them. Also, psychotherapy students who would be willing to help out at the Conference will be given attendance rights without charge. Anyone in a position to offer that service should let Jane or Penny know at the IAHIP office.

I do hope that, commensurate with our importance and influence in the psychotherapy profession, there will be a strong presence of IAHIP members, as there was at the excellent 1st National Conference in 2007, at the Conference next week.

A Happy New Year to you all,

Brían Howlett
Chair

Regional Development

June 27, 2011

The recent emergence of regional gatherings, the online IAHIP Members’ Network via LinkedIn, Reading Groups etc. within our organisation is an exciting aspect of our evolving organisational life, which the present Governing Body wishes to support and build on.

We see these attempts to mobilise interest as a statement of yearning for greater connection and participation; and believe that effective regional development will contribute significantly to the sense of IAHIP membership for all of our 750 + members.

Our work can be characteristically quite isolating in terms of contact with other colleagues, and our membership of IAHIP can feel somewhat remote at times. With the exception of AGMs, we are not often provided with opportunities for coming together as members of our organisation, in which real discussion of topics relevant to our profession as a whole, and IAHIP in particular, takes place.

As a commitment to a more collaborative, inclusive way forward for members, the Governing Body has recently appointed a Regional Officer with the focus of supporting regional development within IAHIP. Regional meetings are seen as an important avenue of communication between IAHIP Members and the Governing Body. It is hoped that the creation of a regional structure will provide a more comprehensive picture of the organisation; will make it easier for the GB to consult with members and vice versa; and will thus enhance and support the effective functioning of the Governing Body which is charged with managing IAHIP’s administrative and strategic processes. After all, the ultimate authority within our organisation is the general membership!

Creating A Regional Structure

I have taken on this role of supporting regional development and I see that defining the regions is the most obvious beginning point. I am wondering if members are interested in gathering in the four provincial regions or as clusters of several counties? With so many members in the Dublin area, is there need for one separate or perhaps several Dublin regions? Once the regions have been established, it is my intention to engage in a process of consultation with members in order to develop a deeper awareness of members’ needs and concerns, find out what is happening throughout Ireland, and support the move towards whole-organisation dialogue and participation. I am interested in hearing from you. You can email me directly at regionalofficer@iahip.org

Bronagh Starrs

Date for your diary

June 7, 2011

Saturday 15th October, 2011 is the date of our reconvened AGM. Further information is in our newsletter, which members should have received by Friday, 10th June.

The Internet Sub-Committee

April 16, 2011

Recently the Governing Body appointed a new Internet Sub-Committee to explore how IAHIP can use the Internet more to improve communication, internally in the committees, between members, and externally to potential clients.

Its members are Pauline Dolan, Bronagh Starrs, and Dermod Moore. Please contact them at iahipinternet@iahip.org if you are a member and have some interest in the Internet – we’d love to talk to you!