Pauline Willis

Since the last edition of The Coaching Psychologist our progress has been substantial. We have launched the first edition of the International Coaching Psychology Review, been working on the subject benchmarks and supervision discussion papers as well as continuing to represent the British Psychological Society within the Employment National Training Organisations consultation process to finalise the National Occupational Standards NOS for coaching and mentoring.

The continuing success of the SGCP has been due to the dedication and hard work of many people some of whom join our committees but also many others who perform the important and often strategic roles in support of coaching psychology in the UK. From the early beginnings of what is being called the ‘coaching psychology movement’ the professional contributions of many SGCP members have been substantial. SGCP committee members are mindful of the need to ensure that everyone who has performed a key role in the development of coaching psychology within the UK is appropriately acknowledged. And to this end we are currently exploring ways that we can build a shared and ‘living’ history that can be placed on the website. Our current discussions suggest that a popular option is to provide people with a format within which they can add their own ideas and perspectives on both the historical and future development of the coaching psychology movement.

If you feel passionate about the future development of this important area of psychological work then you may wish to consider joining us and taking a more active and strategic role by working within one of our sub-committees.

It is now September and nomination forms for committee roles will be sent out within the next couple of months. I would particularly like to encourage anyone who is thinking about nomination for a committee role to come forward and discuss what roles will become available for 2007. Helen Barnett, from the Society’s subsystems office, is the best first point of contact and she will be happy to either answer your enquiry or direct you to the most appropriate subcommittee chair/member. It is also possible to volunteer for a shorter term, less demanding roles on ‘working parties’ that look into areas of special interest.

In addition to the internal development within the SGCP that has been keeping us all busy in 2006 there are some broader initiatives within the Society that are likely to impact on what type of membership services we offer to members in the future. Since early 2006 the Society’s Board of Trustees has been looking at what strategic changes will be needed to ensure that the internal structure of the Society is ‘fit for the future’ to support the broader needs of the profession moving forwards.

To explore the current operational practices of Society membership subsystems a working party commissioned by the Board of Trustees has been examining issues around how subsystems work and how the structure and function of all membership services can be improved. From what I have gleaned significant organisational change within the Society is possible and this could have a wide ranging impact on the way members services are structured.

Changes within the arena of health services provision as well as marketplace developments in business and the community are driving the need for the profession of psychology to accommodate and support the increasing demand for psychological services. It would seem that broad ranging developments in the Society are ‘on the table’ to ensure that psychological practitioners have access to appropriate training, development and professional support.

An initial report will be tabled by the Society’s subsystem autonomy working party for discussion at the meeting of the representative council on 27 October. This should provide an overview of what has been found so far and we should then find out more about how the broader membership of the Society will be engaged in the discussion and consultation that will be taking place over the next 12 months.

This means that even as a very new subsystem in the Society the SGCP committee needs to start thinking about the role that we play as a Special Group in providing services for Society members who are interested in the area of Coaching Psychology. We are also keen to take advantage of the opportunity this affords us to be creative and innovative in thinking about what services all of our members from affiliates through to graduate members could have through a members network such as the SGCP.

To support us in this thinking process the SGCP will be running a more ‘in-depth’ members survey in November. Feedback from this survey will be used to support further discussion and exploration at our AGM. In the meantime and to support the SGCP in developing the final set of questions for the survey I would like to invite as many of you as possible to share your thoughts and ideas about the future of development of the SGCP. You may have more questions than answers and if this is case, please do share these as well, your questions may be helpful in informing us about what broader issues we should be raising within the membership. So please do share your thoughts either through our members e-mail discussion list or by e-mailing me personally.

Please do be aware that in the interests of improving resources management and reducing the costs associated with postage and handling, communication by e-mail is the preferred method for Society committees to communicate with members. For this reason our members survey will also be ‘online’ rather than paper-based. I appreciate that this is frustrating for those of you who prefer paper to electronic formats. So for anyone who does not have access to e-mail or is a serious ‘conscientious objector’ to the electronic age, Helen Barnett, from the Society’s subsystems office, will pass on any letters that you send to me in the ‘snail mail’.

I will look forward to hearing all of your views on the future potential for the SGCP in supporting the UK’s contribution to the ‘coaching psychology movement’.

Pauline Willis

Contact details
SGCP Members Discussion Forum
E-mail: sgcp-discuss@lists.bps
Pauline Willis
E-mail: pauline.willis@lauriate.com
Helen Barnett
E-mail: Helen.Barnett@bps.org.uk