At last we have the Regional Networks of the Year for 2023! We hope to have a more efficient and timely process next time. We welcome feedback on this process, and on how to have a quicker annual report process.
We have reviewed the annual reports of all the RNs, and we felt that this year there are two highly qualified networks, deserving of the 2023 annual award. Therefore, we believe that the financial award should be split between the Hellenic RN and the India RN, and that both receive the customary plaques. Attached to this email are files showing Macarena’s usual excellent summaries of the data for all RNs that submitted annual reports.
RNs of the year are:
India: We have followed this RN since its beginning, and have seen how dedicated Anisha Shah and Veena Satyanarayana are to promoting psychotherapy integration. Each year they seem to get better. They have been exemplary in using the resources they have to put on a variety of events. They use their affiliation with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences to bring in prominent speakers from several regions of India. They also use online training resources. Their report gave us much detail about the events. They are addressing a highly multicultural country, region, and city. As a group they have presented numerous papers and posters, on a variety of topics, and won the best paper award at the 1st Clinical Psychology Society India Conference. They have recruited 15 new members in 2023. They do not charge admission for their events. They do have a requirement that RN members attend at least one event to remain members, and this could be a good model for other RNs. The coordinators note that more of their members would join SEPI but are hampered by the fee, which is currently more than 4,900 rupees. In their report they made constructive suggestions for encouraging more participation, and are sensitive to the need to attract younger therapists.
Hellenic: The Hellenic RN (formerly the Greek Cypriot RN) has grown to encompass Greece as well as Cyprus. This RN also seems to get better each year. They maintain an excellent web site, with some English translation (they would like SEPI’s help to translate the site fully). This web site contains much content, and promotes SEPI as well as their RN. The web site could be a model for SEPI RNs. They have institutional affiliations with the Cyprus Institute of Psychotherapy, Cyprus Mental Health Services, Philips University and University of Thesally, a number of public hospitals in Greece, Cyprus Department of Social Wellfare and other local centers. They plan to begin charging a membership fee for the RN, to offset some of the costs of their events and web site; this arrangement may also be something that other RN could consider, where possible. They teach integrative psychotherapy in several courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. They also do integrative clinical supervision in several locations in Cyprus. In 2023 they recruited 9 new members. In all 10 members of the RN are also SEPI members.