PHANA Launch Overview

1. Overview

The launch of the Pathwork^® Helpers Association of North America (PHANA) follows wide consultation^[1] around the December 11/01 PHANA Launch Proposal and incorporates comments made during that consultation.

Section 2 outlines the Pathwork Foundation’s principal reasons for launching PHANA: (a) To respond to the strong support indicated by responses to two surveys^[2],[3] and also confirmed by both the December 2000 consultation^[4] and the above-mentioned December 2001 consultation; (b) To obtain the benefits of professional association enjoyed in a very wide range of professional fields which have their own professional associations, e.g. the fields of psychology, medicine, law; and (c) To take a step towards the wider, more integrated, and more significant realization of the Pathwork in the world. In connection with the last point, it is envisaged that the creation of PHANA will be followed in due course by the creation of other members of a family of Helpers Associations, each covering a significant area of the world, e.g. South America, Europe.

Sections 3.1 and 3.2 outline PHANA Council’s approach to launching PHANA, including launch preparations already completed. For practical reasons, the initial version of PHANA is very simple and low-cost. The initial version will be developed further later, in response to the needs and wishes of the membership and of the wider Pathwork community. Following this approach, the membership of the initial version of PHANA is limited to US/Canadian Pathwork Helpers and Apprentice Helpers.

We are launching PHANA as an entirely voluntary association. Members join because they see benefit in doing so, not because they are required to do so. The principal initial benefit is the increased visibility and recognition for accredited Helpers and Apprentice Helpers provided using an Internet-accessible Register of Pathwork Helpers. The Register will be mounted on PHANA’s web site, with links from the Pathwork Foundation web site. 91% of the respondents to the 1999-2000 US/Canadian Pathwork Helper/Counselor survey identified a professional register as what they most wanted PHANA to provide. In addition to the visibility and publicity provided by the Register, a PHANA Members Directory promotes communication and cooperation among PHANA members.

Sections 3.3 and 3.4 detail the launch procedure. The launch procedure involves the mailing of an invitation package that includes a Letter of Invitation (Appendix 1.1), an information sheet entitled “PHANA Launch – In Brief" (Appendix 1.2); and an Application Form (Appendix 1.3). The Application Form contains membership criteria based on responses to the 1999-2000 survey of US/Canadian Pathwork Helpers and confirmed by subsequent consultation. Pathwork Helpers and Apprentices who do not meet one or more of the criteria can still apply to join PHANA, and can be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Following acceptance into PHANA, members will be asked via email (Appendix 2) for additional information to enable them to be correctly entered into the Register of Pathwork Helpers. A regular mail letter will be used to collect this information from members who are not on email.

Section 3.5 notes potential post-launch steps, starting with a review of the position after the launch and deciding on next steps. An attractive next step would be to build on PHANA Council’s previous work directed towards promoting dialog and cross-fertilization between Pathwork Helper Training Programs and between Pathwork Transformation Programs. This work could include the creation of a US/Canadian Register of Pathwork Training Programs. Other attractive steps include the expansion of PHANA membership categories (for example for Pathwork Counselors, Trainees, and overseas helpers), the provision of member services (e.g. web and email services), and the creation of a PHANA Helpers Council.

Section 4 provides membership and financial estimates. Annual membership fees for Helpers are $100, a figure supported by survey responses. The annual membership fee for Apprentice Helpers is $75. These membership fees are estimated to generate revenues of $6525 in the first 12 months of PHANA’s life.

Section 5 describes the Register of Pathwork Helpers. The Register has two parts. Part 1 lists Helpers and Apprentices who wish to receive inquiries from potential workers. Part 2 lists all other Helpers and Apprentices. This division facilitates Register searching by potential workers. It also shields Helpers who do not wish to receive inquiries from potential workers. Individual Helpers and Apprentice Helpers can choose within quite wide limits how much or how little information is displayed in their entry in the Register. Each member’s Register entry can include a short text written by the member. Members can use this text to provide information on, for example, their approaches and practices.

Section 6 describes the Members Directory. The purpose of this Directory is to promote communication and cooperation among PHANA members. To this end the Directory contains full contact information for members. For privacy reasons – and unlike the public Register – the Directory will not be posted openly on the Internet and will not be made available to non-members.

[1] December 2001 consultation of 126 Helpers, Apprentices, Counselors, and Board Members. The number of US/Canadian Helpers and Apprentices included in the consultation was 115, 83% of the 138 currently known potential initial launch PHANA members, i.e. US/Canadian Helpers and Apprentices potentially interested in joining PHANA.

[2] Early 1999 survey of US, Canadian and some overseas Helpers, Apprentices, Counselors, Teachers, and Trainees. 104 US and Canadian respondents.

[3] 1999-2000 survey of 85 US and Canadian Helpers and Counselors. 47 respondents.

[4] December 2000 Leadership Circle consultation, using email with a web document that focused on key PHANA aspects. It involved 126 Helpers, Apprentices, Counselors, with some Trainees, and established Pathworkers.

• Home Page

PHANA Launch Document Links:

• Detailed Contents Page

• 1. Overview

• 2. Why Set Up PHANA?

• 3. The Initial Launch

• 4. Financial Estimates

• 5. Register of Pathwork Helpers

• 6. Members Directory

Appendix 1 - Draft Invitation Package:

• 1.1: Letter of Invitation

• 1.2: PHANA Launch - In Brief

• 1.3: Application Form

Appendix 2 - Register Information Request

Latest Revision: March 20/02

[1]	December 2001 consultation of 126 Helpers, Apprentices, Counselors, and Board Members. The number of US/Canadian Helpers and Apprentices included in the consultation was 115, 83% of the 138 currently known potential initial launch PHANA members, i.e. US/Canadian Helpers and Apprentices potentially interested in joining PHANA.
[2]	Early 1999 survey of US, Canadian and some overseas Helpers, Apprentices, Counselors, Teachers, and Trainees. 104 US and Canadian respondents.
[3]	1999-2000 survey of 85 US and Canadian Helpers and Counselors. 47 respondents.
[4]	December 2000 Leadership Circle consultation, using email with a web document that focused on key PHANA aspects. It involved 126 Helpers, Apprentices, Counselors, with some Trainees, and established Pathworkers.