Professional association

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A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the public interest. In the United States, such an association is typically a nonprofit business league for tax purposes. [1] In the UK, they may take a variety of legal forms. [2]

Contents

Roles

The roles of professional associations have been variously defined: "A group of people in a learned occupation who are entrusted with maintaining control or oversight of the legitimate practice of the occupation;" [3] also a body acting "to safeguard the public interest;" [4] organizations which "represent the interest of the professional practitioners," and so "act to maintain their own privileged and powerful position as a controlling body." [4] Professional associations are ill defined although often have commonality in purpose and activities. [5] In the UK, the Science Council defines a professional body as "an organisation with individual members practicing a profession or occupation in which the organisation maintains an oversight of the knowledge, skills, conduct and practice of that profession or occupation". [6] The Quality Assurance Agency distinguishes between statutory bodies and regulators that "have powers mandated by Parliament to regulate a profession or group of professions and protect the use of professional titles" and professional bodies that "are independent membership organisations that oversee the activities of a particular profession and represent the interests of [their] members" and which "may offer registration or certification of unregulated occupations on a voluntary basis." [7]

Many professional bodies are involved in accrediting degrees, defining and examining the skills and competencies necessary to practice, and granting professional certifications to indicate that a person is qualified in the subject area. [8]

Many professional bodies also act as learned societies for the academic disciplines underlying their professions, [1] [9] such as the American Statistical Association.

See also

Related Research Articles

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A profession is a field of work that has been successfully professionalized. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, professionals, who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to apply this knowledge and exercise these skills in the interest of others.

Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome problems. Psychotherapy aims to improve an individual's well-being and mental health, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions, and to improve relationships and social skills. Numerous types of psychotherapy have been designed either for individual adults, families, or children and adolescents. Certain types of psychotherapy are considered evidence-based for treating some diagnosed mental disorders; other types have been criticized as pseudoscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychologist</span> Professional who evaluates, diagnoses, treats and studies behavior and mental processes

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Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that began with a focus on vocational counseling, but later moved its emphasis to adjustment counseling, and then expanded to cover all normal psychology psychotherapy. There are many subcategories for counseling psychology, such as marriage and family counseling, rehabilitation counseling, clinical mental health counseling, educational counseling, etc. In each setting, they are all required to follow the same guidelines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education</span> British non-profit organization

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, usually referred to simply as the Quality Assurance Agency or QAA, is the UK higher education sector's independent expert quality body, with a remit to maintain and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in tertiary education in the UK and beyond. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and conducts or commissions research on relevant issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Certification</span> Formal confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person or organization

Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit. Accreditation is a specific organization's process of certification. According to the U.S. National Council on Measurement in Education, a certification test is a credentialing test used to determine whether individuals are knowledgeable enough in a given occupational area to be labeled "competent to practice" in that area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council for Higher Education Accreditation</span> University accreditation organization in the U.S.A.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education accrediting organizations, including regional, faith-based, private, career, and programmatic accrediting organizations.

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The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is a professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists practising in the United Kingdom.

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A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditation. Professional degrees may be either graduate or undergraduate entry, depending on the profession concerned and the country, and may be classified as bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees. For a variety of reasons, professional degrees may bear the name of a different level of qualification from their classification in qualifications, e.g., some UK professional degrees are named bachelor's but are at master's level, while some Australian and Canadian professional degrees have the name "doctor" but are classified as master's or bachelor's degrees.

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The Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) is a leading national peak body for the counselling and psychotherapy profession in Australia. As a not-for-profit charity organisation registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), it represents and advocates for more than 8,000 members of various modalities of counselling, psychotherapy and Indigenous healing practices in Australia. PACFA's mission is to represent the counselling and psychotherapy profession to communities and government, and to develop the evidence base for counselling, psychotherapy and Indigenous healing practices for the benefit of Australians’ mental health. The organisation provides a united forum for practitioners, fosters professional identities, supports training and research, and ensures public accountability, and supports its members through regional branches, specialist colleges, and interest groups. 

The Australian Counselling Association (ACA) is a non-profit, professional organisation that is dedicated to the counselling profession. ACA represents over 13,500+ Registered Counsellors and Psychotherapists in Australia. ACA is the largest peak body for counselling and psychotherapy in Australia.

In the United Kingdom, counselling is not under statutory regulation, and is overseen and supported by several organisations, none of which are officially recognised by the government.

Higher education accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of post-secondary educational institutions or programs are evaluated to determine if applicable standards are met. If standards are met, accredited status is granted by the agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research</span>

Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research (CFAR) is a psychoanalysis research, training and low-cost treatment centre located in London, United Kingdom. CFAR is a member organisation of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. CFAR operates within the psychoanalytic tradition of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan.

References

  1. 1 2 Speight, James (2014-12-10). Educating Scientists and Engineers for Academic and Non-Academic Career Success. CRC Press. p. 59. ISBN   9781466553576. Archived from the original on 2020-01-26. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Holmes, CS. "The Nature, Form And Purpose Of Contemporary Professional Associations: An Extended Case Study Of The British Association For Counselling And Psychotherapy". Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Harvey, L. (2004). "Professional body". Quality Research International. Analytic Quality Glossary. Archived from the original on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  4. 1 2 Harvey, L.; Mason, S.; Ward, R. (1995). Role of Professional Bodies in Higher Education Quality Monitoring. Birmingham: Quality in Higher Education Project. ISBN   1-85920-108-3.
  5. ↑ Holmes, CS. "The Nature, Form And Purpose Of Contemporary Professional Associations: An Extended Case Study Of The British Association For Counselling And Psychotherapy" . Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "Our definition of a Professional Body". Science Council. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  7. ↑ "UK Quality Code for Higher Education: Part A: Seeing and Maintaining Academic Standards" (PDF). Quality Assurance Agency. 2018. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  8. ↑ "Professional bodies and professional qualification". Target Jobs. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  9. ↑ Sha, Mandy (2019-05-14). "Professional Association and Pathways to Leadership in Our Profession". Survey Practice. 12 (1). doi: 10.29115/SP-2018-0039 . Archived from the original on Nov 24, 2023.
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