AICTP - The Association for Integrative Coach-Therapist Professionals.

I am delighted to have been invited to, and accepted, the role of Honorary President of AICTP - The newly launched Association for Integrative Coach-Therapist Professionals. AICTP has been formed to embrace the concept and practice of integrating coaching with therapy.

Debra Jinks, the founding Chair says, “AICTP aims to offer support and guidance to practitioners who combine the theory and practice of therapy and coaching. We want to offer coach-therapists a grass-roots environment where they can share ways to improve their practice, gain increased security, safety and support in the way they choose to work, and a sense of community – we already have 200 members of our Linked In group which shows even at this early stage that there is interest out there. Right now we’re not intending to be a standard-setting body – we just want to get people talking about what they’re doing and what it means for clients”.

With Keren Smedley as Deputy Chair and Jayne Hildreth as a fellow founding director, plus Gordon Jinks and Nash Popovic taking on key roles and projects, AICTP will be holding its first open forum - world café style - on October 3^rd at the University of East London (Stratford Campus) from 4-7pm, in which anyone working as a coach-therapist is welcome to participate.

As former inaugural Chair of BACP Coaching (the coaching division of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)  it's a subject close to my heart and I'm pleased to support them in any way I can.

Integrative practice has been going on for some time in the UK and Europe (as far as we know, not in the US because of licencing laws). This is borne out by research and anecdotal evidence from coaches, counsellors and therapists alike - yet because there has been so much debate about “the differences” it’s masked the reality out there. Many just see their clients’ needs as being on a continuum, and so that’s how they work. There is much to explore around the ethics and the practice from many angles, and with integration at its core, AICTP aims to lead the way in this important arena. It's a very exciting development.

For more details about AICTP contact Debra Jinks or Keren Smedley at support@aictp.org.uk