EFPA Newsletter
3rd report from Network of National News Correspondents
The third report from the NNC includes news from Spain, the UK, Switzerland and Slovenia.
All of the news reports on the national developments in psychology. In Spain it is the
collaboration with the APA and the collaboration agreement between the COP and the
Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (OPP). UK reports about the new president of the BPS.
Switzerland reports on a new law, which will ensure that the designation “Psychologist” is
protected and will create a framework for professional development training in
Psychotherapy and Slovenia reports on having their National Accreditation Committee for
EuroPsy approved. All of the news is important and keeps us up-to-date to what is
happening across Europe.
Spain
Spanish Psychological Association
psychological associations
(COP),
collaborating
internationally
with
other
On August 2nd, 2012, within the framework of the 120th Annual Convention of the APA, the
Spanish Psychological Association (Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Psicólogos –
COP-) and the American Psychological Association (APA) signed a collaboration agreement.
This agreement, which serves to formalize what have been excellent relations between the
two institutions, covers a wide range of areas, including joint participation in international
matters, the unification of criteria in relation to matters of debate related to controversial
aspects that may affect psychology, the exchange and dissemination of information on
activities organized by the respective institutions, or mutual support on issues as relevant as
the involvement of psychologists in primary care services. One of the first projects to be
addressed by the COP and APA will be the creation of a standing committee for the
management of the agreements set down.
Also, on July 21st, 2012, the official signing of a collaboration agreement between the COP
and the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (OPP) took place in Segovia (Spain). The
purpose of this agreement is for the two associations to join forces in promoting the
dissemination of the professional values of psychology, as well for them to work together on
European projects. Present at the event were Francisco Santolaya (President of the COP),
Manuel Berdullas (International Relations Coordinator of the COP and member of the
Governing Board) and other members of the COP Governing Board; and for the OPP, Telmo
Baptista (President of the OPP), Samuel Antunes (Vice-President of the OPP) and Francisco
Rodrigues (OPP Treasurer). Among other aspects discussed, special mention was made of
the cooperation between the two institutions in the organization of the IX Ibero-American
Congress of the Ibero-American Federation of Psychological Associations (FIAP), which will
take place in 2014 in Lisbon.
Finally, in the last few months, the COP, via all the information media at its disposal, has
been publicizing, promoting and coordinating arrangements for both the EFPA conference,
Psychology for Health: contributions to policy making, to be held in Brussels on September
20-21, 2012 and the activities organized in connection with the European Year for Active
Ageing.
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Silvia Berdullas Saunders
United Kingdom
The Society’s President for 2012-13 is Dr Peter Banister CPsychol CSci FBPsS. He took
office at our AGM in June. Dr Banister is an Open University Lecturer in social psychology.
He is a retired Head of the Department of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University
where he lectured in criminology, forensic psychology and qualitative methods.
Over the summer, members of our Society have been recognised for their international
contribution to psychology.


Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Professor Annette KarmiloffSmith, was awarded the Foundation Mattei Dogan Prize in Psychological Science in
July. Professor Karmiloff-Smith was presented with the prize at the 30th International
Congress of Psychology (ICP) held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Past- President of the Society, Professor Pam Maras, of the University of Greenwich,
has been re-elected to the International Union of Psychological Science Executive
Committee. This is her second term of office on this committee, which is central to the
work of this important international organisation.
The Society has called for parenting programmes to be socially inclusive. Our Social
Inclusion Group has published a framework document Technique is not Enough (TINE)
which sets out the evidence-based work to back-up this call which could help parenting
programmes both at home and abroad.
Over the last few months UK Members of Parliament have made ground-breaking strides to
try to change laws preventing people with mental health problems from serving as MPs,
school governors, jurors or company directors. Our Society welcomed the openness of the
debate in which some MPs talked about their own mental health issues. The Private
Members Bill received its second reading in the Commons in September and progressed
unopposed
to
the
next
stage.
Our flagship Annual Conference 2013 takes place in the spa town of Harrogate on 9-11
April. The programme timetable will be published by 1 November. Poster presentations can
still be submitted until 3 December. Full details of the conference can be found at
www.bps.org.uk/ac2013
For more information or news visit: www.bps.org.uk , follow us on Twitter @BPSOfficial or
like us on Facebook
Lucy Chaplin
Switzerland
New statutory principles
In March 2013, the new Psychological Professions Act (PsyG) will enter into force. This new
law will ensure that the designation “Psychologist” is protected and will create a framework
for professional development training in Psychotherapy.
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Under the new law, an extraparliamentary committee, known as the Committee for
Psychological Professions, will be created and will hold advisory and also decision-making
powers. The Committee will provide advice to political and administrative bodies on all issues
relating to the implementation and execution of the Psychological Professions Act. An
additional task of the Committee will be to reach a decision regarding applications for
recognition from holders of university-level and professional development qualifications
awarded in other countries. The Committee will also assess whether a degree awarded in
another country is equivalent to a Master’s degree in Psychology awarded in Switzerland.
The fact that on a practical level, there has been no common arrangement until now means
that the Committee will need to decide very quickly on how to interpret the statutory
requirements, how to impose standards and how to define criteria. In order to fulfil this
important task, the Committee will also set out to establish how this task is carried out on a
practical level in other countries.
Mental Health Network of Switzerland
Since 2011, the key players in the mental health arena in Switzerland have operated a
cooperation agreement known as the “Mental Health Network Switzerland”, which consists of
the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), the Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office
(FSIO), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Conference of Cantonal
Health Directors in Switzerland and the Health Promotion Switzerland foundation. The
purpose of the network is to bring people together and to achieve synergies. The Network
also holds an annual conference that provides an opportunity to exchange information and to
promote mental health, along with the prevention of mental health conditions.
Tiziana Frassineti
Slovenia
There have been several activities taking place during the last months in the Slovenian
Psychologists' Association (SPA).
EFPA approved National accreditation committee to start the EuroPsy for Slovene
psychologists. The first candidates have undergone the procedure and the first Slovene
psychologists are already registered and accredited as EuroPsy psychologists.
In May, we held a one day national psychologists' gathering (Psychologists' Day) on Ethics.
The speakers made a great overview of the current status of ethics and psychology. They
spoke about the topics that need special ethical attention, fileds where international standars
exists and where the proffession is stong in assertain the etics and about the (lack of)
Slovene ethical guidelines. Besides the ethics, also the topic of laws was addressed. The
outcome of the meeting was an initiative to provide a more systematic professional
suppervision on the ethics for psychologists. SPA has already begun the activities in that
direction.
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A new Section of psychotherapy and psychological counselling was established and started
their work in the spring 2012. Other sections were also very active – helding several
professional meetings, education programmes and joint actions.
Vita Poštuvan
We hope, that the current news reports were interesting to you. If interested in becoming the
National News Correspondent of your country please contact the EFPA Head Office headoffice@efpa.eu.
Veronika Polisenska
EC member
v.polisen@gmail.com
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