APS Member Groups

Welcome to the Interest Group in Rehabilitation Psychology

Happy first birthday to the RPIG!

Yes, we've reached a milestone in holding our first AGM during the Society's recent conference in Hobart, Tasmania.

I would like to thank all those members of the National Committee who have contributed to getting the group established, and to growing our membership over the year so that we are currently the ninth largest interest group within the Society. I would also like to thank Iain Montgomery, who was our contact among the Directors, for his help and support as well as the staff at the APS offices, in particular Anna Terrington who has been unfailingly helpful throughout this busy time.

At the AGM we formed the National Committee for the 2008 - 2010 period, and details are available on the Office Bearer page. Many thanks to Hamish Millard, who is retiring after serving as our Treasurer for the past year. Thanks and welcome to Anna Britton who has joined the committee to act in the role of Treasurer.

There are lots of activities that we hope to pursue over the coming year:

• Mentoring scheme: We launched the mentoring scheme at the Hobart conference, and look forward to running the pilot programme early in 2009. If you are interested in participating please download a copy of the information  and the application form . The co-ordinator of this scheme is Katrina Malin.
• Joint pre-conference workshops with the Australian Pain Society: We will be offering two workshops in collaboration with the Australian Pain Society before the Australian Pain Society's 2009 conference in Sydney next April. Watch this space for further information.
• Rehabilitation Psychology Position Paper:  We plan to start work on a position paper looking at the future of psychology in rehabilitation in Australian and would welcome any thoughts that you may have about the opportunities and challenges that you are aware of, or any comments about the future development of this area of practice. We hope that this document will be of use in advocating for provision of psychological services and research in this area. Please send any submissions to me at nicholsonperry@bigpond.com
• Innovative approaches to professional development and networking: We are eagerly awaiting some of the newer online services that the APS is working on so that we can start a listserve (where members can subscribe to an e-mail newsgroup and so contact others directly with queries and information) and a 'chat with an expert' online forum that will allow us to offer the opportunity to discuss issues with national or international experts. Watch this space!

If you are new to RPIG, or just visiting to find out about us, please have a look at  the Terms of Reference  for the group that give further details of our purpose and aims. Don't forget that you don't have to be a member of the Soceity, or even a psychologist, to join - just have an interest in the area of rehabilitation. Information about joining the group is available here. I am always happy to hear from members and prospective members so please get in touch.

With best wishes

Kathryn Nicholson Perry, National Convenor

nicholsonperry@bigpond.com