Statute of the Polish Association of Gestalt Psychotherapy

Preamble

Polish Association of Gestalt Psychotherapy is being created, further referred to as the Association

Article 1

Name and logo

§1

The Association is called the Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy

§2

The Association’s logo and name are protected by law.

Article 2

The territory of activity

The territory of the activity of the Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy is the Republic of Poland and the authorities’ seat is Krakow.

Article 3

Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy can be a member of national and international associations with a similar character, and in particular of the European Association for Gestalt Therapy.

Article 4

§ 1

Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy bases its activity on the voluntary work of its members and it can employ workers to conduct its work.

§ 2

The Association may conduct economic activity.

Article 5

Objectives of Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy

The objectives of the Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy are the following:

1. Promotion of humanistic and social ideology of Gestalt therapy.

2. Promotion of Gestalt therapy for public good.

3. Care to maintain contents and tradition of Gestalt therapy.

4. Care to develop practice and theory of Gestalt therapy.

5. Supporting exchange and common activities concerning professional issues of Gestalt therapists in Poland and abroad.

6. Supporting various trends in Gestalt therapy and professional contacts among their representatives.

7. Supporting scientific research concerning the theory and practice development in Gestalt therapy.

8. Supporting scientific exchange with representatives of other modalities in Poland and abroad.

9. Promotion of training standards and further training of Gestalt therapists in Poland according to EAGT standards.

10. Taking action aimed at guarantying high quality of Gestalt therapy in Poland.

11. Supporting individual styles of institutes training Gestalt therapists in Poland.

12. Promotion of high standards of practicing psychotherapy, professional ethics and Gestalt therapy trainings.

13. Promotion of EAGT certificates in Poland and supporting Polish psychotherapists in obtaining this certificate.

14. Supporting high quality of services in psychotherapy, prevention, education, counseling, coaching and supervision based on the principles of Gestalt therapy.

15. Supporting contacts with similar association and professional groups.

16. Creation of forum for experience exchange, common activities and scientific research for psychotherapists working in Gestalt, psychotherapists training in this modality, centers conducting psychotherapy and institutions training in Gestalt.

17. Care for professional ethics, providing and respecting training and program standards of Gestalt therapy and compliance of those standards with the EU requirements and in particular of those of the European Association for Gestalt Therapy.

18. Care for maintaining and broadening of philosophical, social, ethical and subject bases for Gestalt therapy.

Article 6

Means and ways of realizing statutory objectives

Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy realizes its objectives through:

1. creation and promotion of standards for psychotherapeutic training in compliance with the EAGT standards;

2. supporting professional development and integration of Gestalt psychotherapists;

3. care for high standards of training for Gestalt therapists in Poland.

4. cooperation with associations, scientific, education and healthcare institutions in the area of Gestalt therapy.

5. organizing scientific sessions, conferences and lectures.

6. editorial and popularizing activity;

7. inspiring and promoting research in the area of psychotherapy

8. care for high standards of professional practice and ethics in Gestalt therapy in Poland.

Article 7

Membership

§ 1

The Association members can have the status of:

1. ordinary member

2. extraordinary member

3. supporting member

4. honorary member.

§ 2

An ordinary member can be a person with a MA diploma, trained in the Gestalt therapy with a certificate or another form certifying her/his professional skills, recommended by two ordinary members.

§ 3

An extraordinary member can be a person who is interested in the Association’s objectives, who is during training or who is trained in Gestalt therapy and students who want to train in psychotherapy.. He has all the rights apart from the passive election rights.

§ 4

1. Supporting member can be a natural person or an organization declaring financial and other support for the Association’s objectives. This title is granted by the Board to individuals and legal persons who through their actions or financially support the Association’s objectives

2. Supporting members have no voting and electoral rights.

§ 5

1. A honorary member can be a person with particular contribution for the Gestalt psychotherapy in Poland.

2. Honorary membership is granted by the Board through the resolution.

3. A honorary member has no active and passive election rights and has no obligation to pay membership fees.

4. Honorary membership may be granted to the people from abroad in the recognition of their achievements in psychotherapy or contribution for Polish Gestalt psychotherapy.

§ 6

Members of the Association are accepted by the Board on the basis of a written declaration and written recommendation of two ordinary members.

§ 7

1. Members of the Association are obliged to:

1. participate in the realization of the Association objectives

2. comply with the Statutory decisions and the authorities’ resolutions

3. respect the rules of the Ethical Code of the Polish Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy.

4. pay systematically membership fees.

2. Association members have a right to:

1. participate in the statutory activity of the Association

2. present their postulates during the General Meeting

3. vote during the General Meeting

4. elect and be elected to the Association authorities

5. participate in the Commissions created by the Board

6. be informed about the Association activity

7. priority to participate in the events organized by the Association

8. discounts in the fees for the participation of the conferences organized by the Association

§ 10

Loss of membership

The loss of membership can happen due to:

1. member’s declaration about retirement from the Association addressed in writing to the Board.

2. the Board’s resolution:

• on striking off due to neglecting the membership duties

• that the information about the qualifications given in the membership declaration was false and the true information would make the membership impossible

• made at the motion of the Deontological Commission in case when the Commission finds out the breach of the Ethical Code of the Association or the activity harmful to the Association.

3. In the case of Representatives, when the Board makes the resolution, that the delegating organization acted inconsistently with the Association’s objectives.

4. Member’ death

5. Loss of supporting membership takes place pursuant to the resolution of the Board when a supporting member stopped supporting the Association’s objectives .

Article 8

Association authorities and permanent bodies.

§ 1

The Association authorities are:

1. the General Meeting

2. the Board

3. the Audit Board

4. the Deontological Commission

5. Training Commission

6. Accreditation and Certification Commission

§ 2

1.The General Meeting of the members is the highest authority in the Association.

2. Competence of the GM include:

   • election of the Board, Audit Board and Deontological Commission.

   • accepting the Board reports

   • establishing the direction of the Association policy.

   • Making decisions in the issues determined by the Statue.

3. Voting in personal matters is always secret.

4. All ordinary and extraordinary members participate in the General Meeting.

5. The General Meeting is convened by the Board. The information about the date and place of the Meeting must be sent out to the members within 3 weeks before its date.

6. The General Meeting makes decisions by ordinary majority of votes in the presence of at least half of the people authorized to participate in it unless the Statue provides otherwise. If there is no quorum the General Meeting takes place on a different date regardless of the number of the present members.

§ 3

1. The Board of the Association is elected by the General Meeting in a secret voting.

2. The Board constitutes of the President, two Vice – presidents, Secretary General and the Treasurer.

3. The Board’s term of office is three years.

4. The Board represents the Association externally and in the relations between the Association and its members. The Board is authorized to make declarations of will on behalf of the Association.

5. If during term of office membership of the President ends, his obligations are taken over by one of Deputies pursuant to the Board’s resolution.

6. If during term of office the membership of one of the Board’s members ends, the Board nominates his deputy who fulfils this function to the General Meeting.

7. The Boards makes decisions by the ordinary majority of votes, in the presence of quorum of half plus one.

8. The Board nominates Commissions, task groups and other teams according to the Association’s needs. The Board’s members can participate in all meetings of the Commissions.

9. All the Commissions receive their tasks in writing from the Board and they report to the Board.

§ 4

The Presidents directs the activities of the Association.

§ 5

The President together with another Member of the Board, or the Deputy with another member of the Board are obliged to represent the Association and to contract obligations

§ 6

The Board presents to the General Meeting a financial report signed by the Treasurer.

§ 7

The Board can create the office managed by the Secretary General according to the Board’s guidelines.

§ 8

1. The Audit Board is elected by the General Meeting in a secret voting.

2. The Audit Board consists of 3- 5 people who from among themselves elect their President.

3. The task of the Audit Board is to control the Association’s activity.

4. The Audit Board makes resolutions by the ordinary majority of votes in the presence of at least three members

5. The Audit Board’s term of office is three years.

6. Completion of the Audit Board is executed by the resolution of the General Meeting.

§ 9

1. The Deontological Commission consists of three ordinary members elected by the General Meeting in a secret voting, who from among themselves elect the president..

2. The Deontological Commission decides about the compliance of the members’ actions with the rules of the Ethical Code and the Association’s objectives.

3. The Deontological Commission settles conflicts between the members.

4. The Deontological Commission can apply to the Board to exclude a member from the Association.

5. The Regulation of the Deontological Commission is determined by the Board.

6. The Deontological Commission settles patients’ complaints.

7. The Deontological Commission makes decisions by ordinary majority of votes in the presence of three members.

8. Completion of the Deontological Commission takes place pursuant to the resolution of the General Meting.

§ 10

1. Training Commission is a permanent body of the Association.

2. The Commission includes one member representative from each institution conducting training and education of Gestalt psychotherapists and of three ordinary members appointed by the Board.

3. Term of office of the Commission lasts three years.

4. The Regulation of the Commission is determined by the Board.

5. The Training Commission realizes statutory objectives of the Association related to standards of Gestalt therapists training and other objectives determined in the Regulation and cares for the compliance of those standards with the EAGT standards.

6. The Training Commission makes resolutions by ordinary majority of votes in the presence of at least three members.

7. The completion of the Training Commission takes place in the following way:

– delegation of a representative by this institution whose representative has lost his membership in the Training Commission; or

- by appointment by the Board of those members who are appointed by the Board.

§ 11

1. The Accreditation and Certification Commission consists of 3-5 members and is a permanent body of the Association appointed by the General Meeting.

2. The Accreditation and Certification Commission consists only of ordinary members with supervisor certificates.

3. Term of office of the Commission is three years.

4. Regulation of the Commission is determined by the Board.

5. The Accreditation and Certification Commission makes resolutions by ordinary majority of votes in the presence of at least three members.

6. Completion of the Accreditation and Certification Commission is executed by the resolution of the General Meeting.

7. Competence of the Accreditation and Certification Commission include:

   • conducting accreditation procedure and making motions to the Board for granting accreditation or prolonging accreditation to the centers training Gestalt therapists.

   • conducting certification procedure.

   • Granting and prolonging the validity of certificates to Gestalt therapists.

   • Granting and prolonging the validity of certificates to Gestalt supervisors

Article 9

Property of the Association

§1

The property of the Association is created from membership fees, donations, inheritance, legacies, incomes from economic activity, income from the Association’s property and from public donations.

§2

The Association, providing for binding regulations, can accept donations, inheritances, legacies and use public donations.

§3

The Association can conduct economic activity according to general rules determined in separate regulations. Income from economic activity of the Association serves the realization of statutory objectives and cannot be divided among its members.

Article 10

Changes in the Statute of the Association

Amendments in the Statute of the Association can be motioned by the Board or pursuant to the written motion of 15 members, based on the work of the Commission competent to consider amendments in the Statute, and then they are voted by the General Meeting by absolute majority in the presence of 2/3 of the people authorized to participate in the General Meeting

Article 11

Dissolution of the Association

§1

The decision to dissolve the Association is made by the General Meeting with the majority of 2/3 votes, appointing 1-3 liquidators in the presence of at least half of the people authorized to participate in the General Meeting

§2

The property of the liquidated Association is transferred to the objectives compliant with the statutory objectives, determined in the Resolution about Dissolution.

Article 16

Provisional Regulations

The first General Meeting must take place not later than within three months from the date of the registration of the Association in court.