Bach Foundation International Register
The Bach Centre
Mount Vernon
Bakers Lane
Sotwell
Oxon OX10 0PZ
England
www.bachcentre.com
Telephone +44 (0)1491 834678
Fax +44 (0)1491 825022
German Circle
Patricia Reeve-De Becker, BFRP, Germany
Most of my Summer holidays in 2001 were spent reaching out to the German Practitioners and Practitioners in German speaking countries. The idea was to form a German Circle, enabling more transparency and communication in our work. Nearly everyone I contacted was very enthusiastic as the majority felt somewhat isolated, and welcomed the initiative.
In Germany we have some legal difficulties concerning foreign medications, about which we hope to become better informed. ( There have already been helpful tips from within the group).
It took quite some time to organise the Circle as one or two only have postal addresses or were otherwise on the move and some rarely use their emails. The Register’s international list and the telephone came in handy and it was quite an adventure and an experience contacting practitioners and explaining my intentions. One practitioner mistakenly thought we wanted to form an alternative or rival group to the Bach Foundation International Register – quite the contrary – there are enough of those already! In fact, it would be our vision eventually to form a subset of the register for German speakers.
Except for one practitioner in Germany who is not sure whether she will be remaining in the country, and one in Switzerland who wishes to take a break and enjoy her new role of motherhood, everyone decided to join.
It takes a lot of time and organisation. I began in August, when, unfortunately, a lot of people were away on holiday. At the time of writing (the end of October 2001) communication is becoming easier. I have set up two Yahoo groups. One is a private platform for the German Circle to communicate with each other. The other is an open forum for the German public. Some practitioners are still learning how to cope with this method of communication and the open forum has not yet been advertised – so the latter is rather quiet to date. Of course, the Talkbach service is international and some members do dare write in their mother tongue or broken English, but I believe there might be some call for a German forum once we start spreading the ideas in Germany of the original Bach system that Dr. Bach intended. I have made a list of the German practitioners in the Circle which will appear on my web site, which will also give us all a little advertising.
A lot of the communication still goes via my private mails and I’m gathering and organising this for our private forum home-page, where practitioners should later be able to pick up all information from the databank and files. We hope to be able to exchange information, knowledge and experience, work on articles or even small publications, have supervision-chats and eventually, possibly rotating, annual meetings. – So here’s cheers with Clematis, Impatiens and a dash of Larch!
Thanks Patricia – such energy! This is a great idea, and an extension on a bigger scale of the UK-based local support groups that we have always encouraged practitioners to set up. We wish it well.
Your letters
We want you to use this Bulletin to keep in touch with each other. If anything wonderful, funny, interesting or just plain typical has happened to you in your work with the remedies, or if there are any questions that have been nagging away at you, or if you simply want to say hello, please write to us at the Bach Centre, marking your letter clearly as being ‘FOR PUBLICATION’.
We can’t promise to print every letter in the Bulletin, but even if we don’t use your contribution we always love to hear from you.
Re. CPD – Your ideas about keeping it simple were reassuring indeed. That fits perfectly with Dr Bach’s philosophy about the simplicity of his remedies.
As a practising counsellor as well as Bach Flower Registered Practitioner I am involved in ongoing CPD for my counselling. As I use counselling in my Bach flower practice and occasionally the remedies in my counselling work I am wondering what your views are on combining the two areas of CPD? Much of the CPD I am currently following I feel would apply to both my counselling and Bach work. It would simply be a case of working more specifically with the remedies than I do with counselling because all my work involves self awareness, development and reflective practice.
Jackie Lowy BFRP, UK
We would have no objection to your combining the two types of CPD. After all, if you use the two disciplines together it makes sense to log learning experiences that could apply to both. – Ed.
Just a quick hello with feedback saying that I find the concept of CPD as received in the last Newsletter most inspiring and that I have already started reflecting…
Perhaps one could document/publish the best insights – I assume that very interesting material could manifest itself here.
Nicola Hanefeld BFRP, Germany
Re. your second point, no plans to do this, but we might consider it in the future – given permission of course!
There are periods in our life during which we have the chance to take stock of where we are. It is during such periods of reflection that Bach remedies can form an integral part of moving forward.
They pick you up when you are down, help you to cope with illness, bereavement and the stresses and strains of everyday life. They can give comfort through many of life’s changes and the loss of identity sometimes felt in the initial stages of retirement. Most of all it is the uncanny way these remedies seem to call out when needed, always spot on for that particular feeling or change taking place which can create negative thoughts and imbalance.
I have used Bach for many years for family and personal use and later as a practitioner. During all this time I am still full of wonderment how unique they are.
Heather Owen BFRP, UK
Although I have filled in the CPD form I have a deep disquiet at the institutionalisation of self-justification that you have introduced.
Trust and a sense of belief in the integrity of fellow practitioners has already been destroyed by the teaching profession and it seems to me that this is also being carried out in your organisation, which ought to know better.
I understand that you feel it is important to keep tabs on people you are referring clients to, but this is only the stance of people who do not trust. It is a position taken by an administration that is run by the head, not the heart.
Dr Bach himself trusted the universe to provide what he needed, when he needed it, and is an example to us all, that we should also trust our needs and our clients’ needs will be met. Surely the practitioner and the client will know on an intuitive level whether or not they can work together towards healing, which no amount of paperwork will ever come close to evaluating.
I hope you will publish this letter and that an open debate on this new departure can be held.
Christine Meredith BFRP, UK
We would welcome the debate, and are happy to publish the letter. What we would say, though, is that CPD as we have outlined it should not be about ‘self-justification’ or about ‘keeping tabs on’ practitioners. It’s simply a way to encourage practitioners to consider their own development as well as that of their clients. – But please, those for and against CPD, tell us your views.
Having received my latest practitioner bulletin (Issue 42) and read the article on CPD, I took a few moments to ponder the remedies and the part they have played in my life both personally and professionally since I qualified as a Bach practitioner.
It was then I saw the value of doing this and appreciated the importance of looking back, both for me as an individual and for the credibility of the Register as well. I feel CPD offers a positive opportunity.
Julie Lloyd-Jenkins BFRP, UK
I read with mounting sadness and regret the Bulletin (Issue 42) and the information on the introduction of CPD. I was put in mind of the communist self-development programmes, in which workers in the communes during the reign of Stalin were forced to do very much the same as we are suggesting we practitioners should do. It was viewed with horror then – how fortunate we felt that we were living in a democracy.
I consider CPD will stifle spontaneity, put increasing pressure on practitioners, increase competitiveness and inculcate fears of under-performing. One does not fill in forms to evaluate personal growth and spiritual evolution, rather one becomes more humble and aware of the need for kindness and generosity to all our fellow beings on the planet.
I feel that such evaluation will be yet another stress for those who are doing their best, but just a quick ‘get it over fast’ for the few who see being a practitioner as a job, rather than a way of life.
June Allen, BFRP, UK
One of the aims of CPD is in fact to get the ‘just a job’ people to think more about their own use of the remedies and their own personal growth. Certainly we are not aiming to spy on people or act like Big Brother – and we promise there will be no show trials, staged confessions or other Stalinist practices!
IF YOU HAVE ANY VIEWS ON CPD OR ANYTHING ELSE, PLEASE WRITE TO US!!!
Welcome to…
Since the last (March 2002) issue was prepared, 41 new practitioners have joined the register:
- in Argentina, Graciela Cohen;
- in Belgium, Mayke Pothof and Werner Verbruggen;
- in Brazil, Douglas Mac Need Mann Sucupira;
- in Canada, Deborah Wilson, Sally Maguet and Brigitte Graf;
- in Denmark, Marianne Schultz and Hanne Falslev Olsen;
- in England, Mary Hutchison, Viki Hess, Deborah Nash, Stella Snow, Sandra Charles-Holmes, Susan Day, Viva Kidron-Gough, Valerie Reed, Hazel Cook, Lynn Grounds, Rebecca Shipton-Ashwell, Patricia Barringer, Jackie Hamilton, Meridee Pierson, Amita Sehgal and Aimee Goldsmith;
- in France, Marie-Claude Simonin, Sonia Chirol, Rose Marie Bray, Marie-Noëlle Marmet and Sylvie Chipaux;
- in Ireland, Carmel O’Callaghan and Wendy Franklin;
- in Japan, Katsuko Yamashita, Hiroko Kojima, Midori Kumagai and Tenko Ishizaki;
- in New Zealand, Rose Johnson;
- in Northern Ireland, Rosemary Downey;
- in Scotland, Ali Birrell;
- and in Spain, Alicia Lopez Bermejo and Ana Isabel Fraga Sanchez.
There are now 1,097 practitioners on the register.
This archive material has been edited to remove some out-of-date advice and information.