Call for Expressions of Interest: Alcohol and Other Drugs Special Interest Group 

PACFA is exploring interest in forming a member-led Alcohol and Other Drugs Special Interest Group (SIG).

Currently, Expressions of Interest are open for the following

  • Leadership group members: those interested in contributing to the SIG’s development and being part of the leadership group.
  • Interest group members: those with a professional interest or experience in AOD counselling to join as a general member and attend meetings

The AOD SIG will offer a collegial forum for counsellors and counselling-informed professionals working across the full range of AOD practice contexts. The SIG is intended to support shared inquiry; professional development; and ethical, evidence-based reflection. The group will focus on:  

  • Building and consolidating the evidence base relevant to counselling practice in AOD contexts, including peer-reviewed literature and practice-based evidence.
  • Exploring how counselling theory, ethics, and relational practice apply across diverse AOD frameworks and settings.
  • Examining what it means to meet clients with dignity, wherever they are in their relationship with substances, and to hold a genuinely client-centred stance within systems that are not always designed with that in mind.

A Developmental, Non-Prescriptive Space

The SIG is not intended to advocate for a single clinical model or impose a unified framework. It is a space for practitioners across orientations to think carefully together about what good counselling practice looks like in AOD contexts. It aims to examine the counselling processes that are used in AOD settings, and ensure they are grounded in ethical standards, quality supervision, and evidence-informed practice. 

Get Involved 

If you would be interested in being part of the formation of an Alcohol and Other Drugs Special Interest Group, please contact Amber Rules on [email protected] 

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