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Original Mission  Statement

 

PHANA was launched on March 20, 2002, with the mission statement below.

 

INTRODUCTION

The Pathwork Helpers Association of North America (PHANA) was created by the Pathwork Foundation in 1999.  In 2000, the Foundation approved a version of the mission statement below.  It was understood from the outset that the statement below can be revised to take into account changes in circumstances and the views of PHANA's membership.  PHANA's mission relates to all Pathwork Regions (affiliate organizations having non-profit incorporated status), Chapters, and Informal Groups in the United States and Canada. 

For brevity, the text below uses the abbreviation “Helpers, etc.” in place of “Pathwork Helpers, Apprentice Helpers, Counselors, and Trainees.”  In the same way, “Regions, etc.” denotes “Regions, Chapters, and Groups.” 

PHANA’s overall mission is to foster communication, cooperation and mutual understanding between and within all Pathwork Regions, Chapters and Groups.  The general focus of PHANA’s work is to help Pathwork Helpers, Apprentices, and Trainees to obtain the benefits of association sought by professional associations in a very wide range of fields (e.g. psychology, medicine, law).  Examples of these benefits include increased public recognition and trust, a greater sense of community, increased cooperation and communication among practitioners, greater consistency in standards of training and practice, and improved transferability between regions for recognized practitioners, trainees, and students.

The Pathwork Foundation envisages that PHANA will become a self-governing entity under the overall supervision of the Foundation.  The Foundation expects PHANA to become financially self-supporting, starting in the fiscal year commencing September 1, 2001. 

The Foundation has assigned PHANA specific tasks listed below.  The Foundation calls on PHANA to undertake these tasks in a spirit of mutuality and brotherhood, and (as far as humanly possible!) without any “forcing current.”  Where conflicts and differences of view exist, PHANA is charged with trying to find creative solutions that build bridges between the various sides.  The Foundation views PHANA as an entirely voluntary association.  While Pathwork Helpers, etc. are encouraged to join PHANA, there is no requirement that they do so.  Those who join will do so of their own free choice because they see benefit in doing so.  Similarly, Pathwork Regions, etc. who cooperate in PHANA’s work will do so because they see benefit in doing so.

Specific Tasks

1.      Create and maintain PHANA as a voluntary and financially self-supporting professional association of Pathwork Helpers, with additional membership categories that include Apprentice Pathwork Helpers, and Trainee Pathwork Helpers.  Fulfillment of these tasks includes:

  1. Establishment and maintenance of a PHANA Council to define, direct and implement PHANA’s program of activities under the supervision of the Foundation.
  2. Definition, for PHANA purposes, of “Pathwork Helper” and associated terms, including: “Apprentice Pathwork Helper,” and "Trainee Pathwork Helper.” 
  3. Creation and maintenance of a Register of Pathwork Helpers that also includes Apprentice Helpers.
  4. Creation and offering of other services of value to PHANA members.
  5. Assistance in the resolution of issues affecting Helpers outside established regions.
  6. Assistance in the resolution of issues affecting Helpers within established regions, where these Helpers have first sought and failed to find resolution within their respective regions.  In such cases PHANA will attempt to assist in the mediation of solutions agreeable to both sides.
  7. Assistance in the resolution of issues and queries brought to PHANA by Helpers who wish to work independently of the Region within which they are located.

2.      Assist the maintenance of quality in Pathwork training programs in the US and Canada.  This includes:

  1. Creation and maintenance of a Register of recognized Pathwork training programs in the US and Canada.  These programs include those for training Pathwork Helpers.  Also included are programs (such as Pathwork Transformation Programs/Pathwork Studies Programs) that qualify would-be Helpers to enter Helper training.  Important functions of this register include helping those contemplating entering training to (i) have an easy way of identifying all recognized training programs in the US and Canada, (ii) start the process of deciding which training they will seek, (iii) easily identify how to obtain further information.
  2. An initial step towards the above is to identify existing formal training programs and basic facts ("comparables") relating to each program.  The comparables assist dialog between programs.  A later step will be to try to establish equivalencies between programs.  One of the main purposes of equivalency work is to assist the transferability of Helpers, etc. between regions.  This equivalency work includes not only the formal training program itself, but also entry requirements and post-training requirements (e.g. apprenticeship requirements).  Subsequent equivalency work is likely to be needed to consider to what extent informal work (such as individual sessions, lecture study, group work, more specialized program work) might count as credits that contribute towards meeting some of the requirements of formal training programs.
  3. Assistance in the development process for new training programs developed outside established Regions.
  4. Assistance in the handling of inter-regional and extra-regional queries about Pathwork training programs.

 3.      Collaborate in the development of international association arrangements for Pathwork Helpers.

 

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Latest Revision: March 5/03