My name is Susie Itzstein. My home and practice are near Perth, Australia. My second home is in Seattle, Washington, where my partner, Imago therapist Shelton Huettig, lives. Shelton and I co-present the Imago Weekend Workshops in Perth and Melbourne, with plans to expand into other parts of Australia. Australia is divided into six states and two territories. Although Australia is best known for its rural areas, such as the Outback, the majority of its population is clustered in the cities. Australia has an ethnically diverse population.

My former partner and I discovered Imago Relationship Therapy in 1994 at a seminar on Imago with Dorsey Cartwright at the Voice Dialogue Summer Kamp in California. Dorsey came to and presented Getting The Love You Want to Australia to run Imago weekend workshops. Bruce Crapuchettes and Francine Beauvoir, who came to Perth, Australia to provide clinical training in 1996, followed Dorsey. From this small group of 5, Imago had been seeded.

Our membership is relatively low—about 20 Certified Therapists throughout the country. We are very loosely defined at this stage, with no official structure. In the state I live in, Western Australia, our major connection has been meeting monthly for two hours. At these meetings, we socialize and provide peer support, networking, and occasional educational presentations. Other parts of Australia have a similar set-up. Also, the weekly, time-friendly Australian Teleclasses, with Maya Kollman, are very helpful and have an 85% participation rate. Since January of 2003, Maya has been the single most galvanizing medium of connection for us.

Our regional Imago community faces the challenge of being a small, widely distributed group separated by long distances. Our goal is to create a strong Imago network in Australia, and we feel the need to have an appointed representative. We would like more marketing support, in order to increase publicity about Imago in Australia. Also, increased contact with trainers and the parent organization in general would be helpful. We suggest that membership fees and conference fees be charged according to the exchange rate of the member’s country of origin. Our hope is that Imago will think globally and act globally, being receptive of the positions and experience of international members. It has been exciting to connect with and learn from our huge Global Imago Family.

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NOTES FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF IMAGO THERAPISTS AUSTRALIA
AIRTA.

Hello my name is Lorraine Woods and I am the secretary of AIRTA.
The Inaugural meeting of this association was held in February 2005.and became incorporated later that year.
The formal structure of the Association includes a Committee of Management consisting of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and 4 general members.

CURRENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE
Ean James Chairperson, Cynthia Egerton-Warburton Vice-Chairperson, Lorraine Woods Secretary ,Joe Grogin Treasurer and Leah O’Brien, Francess Day, Susie Itzstein, Shelton Heuttig as general committee members.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION ARE:

As a professional body to:
1. Maintain the ethical standards and use of IRT in Australia
2. Support and nurture (AIRTA) members and their professional growth
3. Foster growth, safety and healing for all people of current and future generations through the application of the theory and processes of Imago Relationship Therapy
4. Keep abreast of the evolution of theory and practice of IRT
5. Advance the theory and practice of IRT
6. In order to implement( 4 ) & (5) above, to sponsor educators and clinical trainers in IRT to deliver training in Australia,
7. Develop an increased awareness of IRT in the community
8. Encourage active participation by all members throughout Australia in all decision-making and activities of AIRTA. To this end electronic media is utilized whenever possible.

We have bi-monthly meetings by Phone Bridge so that members from all regions are involved. Currently we have members from Far North and South East Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia and of course Western Australia.

The association is vibrant and active and this year a Professional Development sub-committee was formed and charged with the responsibility of developing a protocol to facilitate clinical training and professional development of therapists and educators in Australia.

LORRAINE WOODS
Secretary
www.imagoaustralia.org.au