What’s New
The mission of the Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (CCAA) is to promote the responsible integration of faith and practice and to encourage and promote excellence in counselling and psychotherapy.
CCAA is pleased to announce two awards for excellence in student research that each carry a cash prize of $250 and publication of the winning paper/s in Counselling Connections Across Australia.
The awards are for ‘Excellence in Research’ and ‘For Outstanding Contribution to Christian Counselling Excellence’.
Counselling Connections Across Australia is the national journal of CCAA and is published annually. The purposes of the journal are
- To publicise and promote Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (CCAA) to the professional counselling community
- To develop the practice and understanding of Counselling and Psychotherapy through research and reflection on theory and clinical experience.
- To provide an avenue for appropriate written expression to the Christian counselling fraternity.
- To express the values, vision and mission of CCAA.
INFORMATION & GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PAPERS
This national competition is open to students at an Australian Christian college that teaches counselling. It may be possible for one research paper to meet the criteria for both awards.
The original research paper must have been prepared in 2021 (or before if worthy of consideration).
The theme for the 2022 journal is “Faith versus Futility”. It is not necessary for student research papers to fit this theme but the paper must have a biblical or
counselling perspective
Standards of publication
The submission must be 5,000-10,000 words maximum and reflect a scholarly approach to the subject matter. It may be written in an academic manner, as well as narratives describing personal clinical experience, that captures the essence of counselling.
A good paper will contain
- Research results and appropriate literature
- Substantiation of key points in a logical presentation
- Inclusion of interesting and relevant case studies (wherever possible) making sure that appropriate privacy and ethics approval are observed
- Properly referenced with a bibliography using APA style
If required, a recent edition of the journal can be requested as a guide for submissions. Contact journal@ccaa.net.au
Submitting your paper
Submissions should be sent to the Journal Editorial Committee via email journal@ccaa.net.au
Please include your name/s, postal and email address and a short paragraph on your professional interests, qualifications, professional memberships and counselling experience and a passport-sized digital coloured photo of high resolution with the submission.
The Deadline for submission is 7th August 2022
A team of academics will review the entries and determine the winner/s.
The winner/s will be announced prior to publication. Please note that the winning papers are subject to editing processes and the author’s approval before printing.
For further information
Please contact Ian Parkin, CCAA Journal Convenor at journal@ccaa.net.au
Articles
Welcome to CCAA’s news and blog pages. Here you can find blog articles, policy updates, media releases and news relevant to all interested counsellors and those interested in the profession nationally as well as by state organisation.
Welcome to our Counsellor’s Toolbox. It contains quick tips and handy hints for dealing with common problems such as client cancelled appointments and how to manage client resistance. Consider contributing your ideas to this pool of collective wisdom by emailing the Toolbox Editor here.
Cancelled Appointments
Consider adding the consequences of cancelled appointments to your intake form. For example, ‘under 24 hours’ notice – 50% of fee will be charged.’
Engaging a New Client
Begin to build rapport with a new client from the first contact. If the approach is made by phone, warm and friendly vocal tones and a relaxed pace of delivery will signal confidence and safety to the potential client. Vocal hesitations or a clipped or businesslike tone may be off-putting.
Quick Note Taking Methods
Whiteboard each session’s goal/s, key questions or learnings, client agendas and working diagrams. When the session ends, the whiteboard captures the essence of what has been communicated or worked on. Remember to take more detailed notes in early sessions and periodically as a summary of progress. Placing a thought-provoking question on the whiteboard can promote client thinking and discussion at the start of the session. You may even choose to capture the image on a tablet.
Resistance
When you encounter resistance in a client, get curious, ask questions. A gentle and respectful inquiry helps your client build understanding and move past their resistance.