Dear Delegate

It is hard to believe that it is now 17 years since The Bouverie Centre heard about the idea of inviting clients for a planned single session, with the option of either a further single session or ongoing work, decided between therapist and clients together at a follow-up phone call. At that time our service was struggling with long waiting times and inequities for families, where some managed to receive urgent allocation while others languished on the waiting list without complaining. Because of this, a lot of staff time was spent ‘gate-keeping’ in an attempt to rationalise the often scarce clinical resource. The idea that, about half the time, families could do well with a single clinical contact and follow-up surprised and even shocked some of us, and it was only with time and learning from our clients that we came to trust that this was not only a valid service delivery option, but a client-centred, efficient and effective way to manage a clinical service, especially given that it also allowed for useful longer-term work with those families who needed and did well with more.

Since then, Bouverie’s Single Session Therapy training has become one of the most enduring and popular on our calendar. We believe that this is not just about the appeal to efficiency and the possibility of cutting down waiting lists, but also that it embodies a philosophy which leads to truly collaborative, client-centred good practice.

We are delighted to be able to organise this first international gathering of professionals who have also been working within this philosophy and practice in different service settings across the world. We are very lucky to have such special guests, leaders in this approach, all in one place at the one time.

The symposium is a rare opportunity to hear about the beginnings of Single Session Therapy ideas and Walk-In Services, to discuss the latest developments and practice dilemmas and to share experiences of using these approaches within different service settings over time. However, it is our hope that this symposium is much more than a single session event.  There is a unique opportunity inherent  in this event to connect with colleagues from very different parts of Australia and of the globe, and not only to share research and practice ideas, but to consider future collaborations. We would love this to form the beginning of an international network of Single Session and Walk-In Therapy practitioners.

We welcome you warmly to what promises to be an exciting and stimulating event. And fun too!.

Look forward to seeing you there

With Regards
Mr Jeff Young , Director,The Bouverie Centre
Ms Pam Rycroft  and Mr  Moshe Talmon, Conference Convenors  
bouverie.sst@latrobe.edu.au