SIOPSA IGCCP (South Africa) – International Congress of Coaching Psychology

SIOPSA’s Interest Group in Coaching & Consulting Psychology, South Africa (IGCCP SA)

The importance of authentic leadership in the workplace continues to accelerate globally, and Coaching and Consulting Psychology, in particular, have received much attention.

The IGCCP Story

The Society for Industrial & Organisational Psychology of South Africa (SIOPSA) is a professional society comprising members who are, for the most part, Industrial-Organisational Psychologists (IOPs) registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

SIOPSA established the Consulting in Psychology Interest Group during their annual conference in June 2006. Our interest group has, since its inception, focused primarily on establishing and growing a sustainable framework for Consulting – and now both Coaching and Consulting Psychology – in South Africa.

Coaching has, since 2007, steadily gained traction within the South African organisational context. Professor Aletta Odendaal was invited in 2008 to participate in a global dialogue to facilitate the development of coaching. This culminated in SIOPSA signing the Global Coaching Community (GCC) Dublin Declaration on Coaching.

SIOPSA was then invited to be part of a global network to facilitate the theoretical, applied, and professional global development of Coaching Psychology. In 2009, Coaching Psychology was incorporated into our Vision, and has become a major driving factor for us. We henceforth became known as the Interest Group in Coaching and Consulting Psychology (IGCCP).

From 2010 to 2012, Prof. Odendaal and Dr. Anna-Rosa le Roux (the first IGCCP Chairperson) established an important and solid foundation by liaising and developing key relationships with the international Coaching Psychology academic fraternity. During this period, the IGCCP was proud to organise and host the 1st Southern Hemisphere Congress of Coaching Psychology in Pretoria (May 2011).

The IGCCP comprises an active and dynamic team that has taken our Interest Group forward, on various levels.

Our Aims

Professionalise the domains of Coaching and Consulting Psychology in South Africa.
Engage all professionals interested in coaching and consulting psychology in South Africa, and to share the theory, research and practice of our domain.
Encourage high standards of coaching and consulting grounded in sound research and evidence-based scientist-practitioner application, driven by the specific client’s context.
Develop and expand our knowledge and skills-base by establishing appropriate criteria, standards, and CPD activities.
Foster cooperative relations with key stakeholders: organisations, government, regulating bodies, interest groups, psychologists, professional bodies and academic/educational institutions.
Continually influence the science and practice, and stimulate the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experience amongst international and local psychologists and other interested parties.
Promote the development of coaching and consulting psychology as an emerging theoretical and applied sub-discipline of psychology.
Monitor and hold ourselves accountable for achieving our IGCCP SA Vision, on behalf of SIOPSA.
Build the brand and professional credibility of psychologists who are in coaching and consulting.
Help develop special interest areas in coaching and consulting – such as health and wellness coaching, transformational change, inclusive leadership, diversity, etc.

We are globally connected

The IGCCP Executive sits on the International Society of Coaching Psychology’s (ISCP) International Steering Committee.
We have attended/participated at various international coaching and consulting psychology congresses – in Dublin, Spain, Rome, Paris, Sydney, and Mozambique; at the 30th International Congress of Psychology (Cape Town, July 2012); the British Psychological Society (BPS) SGCP 4th International Congress of Coaching Psychology (Edinburgh, December 2013);
the 5th International Congress of Coaching Psychology and the Society of Consulting Psychology Mid-Winter Conference (San Diego, February 2015);
the BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology Digital Conference 2020 (virtual, May 2020, and May 2021); and
the International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) 10th International Congress of Coaching Psychology 2020 (virtual, October 2020).
We have provided updates on the developments in South Africa for Coaching Psychology International, the International Society for Coaching Psychology’s (ISCP) newsletter. Our interest group has also participated in publishing relevant Coaching Psychology updates [CPI, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2012].
We were invited as guest speakers to the 1st International Congress of Coaching Psychology (London, Dec. 2010).
The IGCCP was a proud organiser and host of the 1st Southern Hemisphere Congress of Coaching Psychology (Pretoria, May 2011).

Our international MOUs

The IGCCP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) in 2011. All members in good standing within SIOPSA will be offered free Affiliate membership of the ISCP, access to their website and the Coaching Psychology International (CPI) publication.
The ISCP has recognised the global nature of the coaching psychology profession, and has formally appointed honorary vice presidents from the international coaching psychology societies. The IGGCP SA is proudly represented at the ISCP by two honorary vice presidents, Prof. Aletta Odendaal and Dr. Anna-Rosa le Roux, to continue our contribution to the global coaching psychology voice.
In October 2011, the IGCCP signed a MoU with the Section of the Psychology of Organisations and Work (SPOT) of the Col·legi Oficial de Psicòlegs de Catalunya (COPC) to communicate and work together, in support of the development of the Coaching Psychology profession in South Africa and Spain.
We are also proud to be affiliated with the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Consulting Psychology (SCP), Division 13 (‘The Catalyst Division’) – through our respective organisations’ MOUs with the ISCP.
We have a licence agreement in place with the British Psychological Society (BPS) that provides our SIOPSA members with access to the International Coaching Psychology Review journals.

Our achievement highlights

The IGCCP has won the SIOPSA Interest Group of the Year Award for 2019 and 2020.
As an outcome of the regional workshops on Myths in Coaching Psychology, the IGCCP research group created an article on the topics. Unpublished.
We are proud to have launched the Code of Practice for Registered Psychology Practitioners in Coaching, at the 16th Annual SIOPSA Conference in 2014.
We have also launched the List of Coaching Practitioners – this list aims to provide due recognition to registered psychology practitioners who are SIOPSA members and who practice within the field of coaching psychology.
We have created a Community of Practice (CoP) for Coaching Practitioners that was launched in March 2021, initially supported by the List of Coaching Practitioners. This Community of Practice contributes to a valuable social learning and knowledge hub, with additional forums and initiatives being created as the sharing, learning, and application evolves.
As one of the initiatives of the CoP, we have established Professional Peer Groups (PPG), which create opportunities for small discussion groups on various topics of interest, research, projects, or peer supervision – as it relates to the particular field of coaching or consulting psychology of each PPG.
The IGCCP is contributing to the IOP profession with the establishment of an online University Mentor-Coach initiative at multiple SA universities, which provides upcoming IOPs at various levels of study (undergraduate, Honours and Masters) with work- and industry-specific mentor-coaching from experienced professionals in the IOP field. Our aim is to expand this offering to further SA universities.
We conduct regular coaching and consulting psychology workshops at SIOPSA’s annual conferences and the regional branches. We are also providing an increasing number of popular online webinars.
We have revamped our online IGCCP Knowledge Hub for the SIOPSA website – curated and continually updated for our members, comprising open-access international journals, academic, research-, and evidence-based articles and content pertaining to the fields of coaching and consulting psychology.

Looking forward

As part of the IGCCP’s strategic objectives and inclusive stakeholder-engagement model, we will continue to liaise and build our Value Proposition and our relationships with the key Academic, Corporate, and Governmental stakeholders.
The IGCCP will continue to focus on our commitment to growing the profession and providing membership online forums and CPD-carrying webinar-workshops for ongoing connection and learning.
The IGCCP will continue to represent SIOPSA within the International Coaching and Consulting Psychology spheres. We will utilise this forum to reflect, to learn, and to build on our mandate of professionalising these domains in South Africa.
In support of SIOPSA’s goals of growing and developing young and upcoming IOPs, providing support through undergraduate studies, and building and growing relevance of IOP as a profession, the IGCCP has created mentor coach initiatives at various South African universities that continue to grow. We are offering online small group mentor coach sessions to undergraduate level, Honours and Masters. We aim to include the emerging psychologists as well.
We are in the process of liaising with the Educational Committee of the HPCSA’s Professional Board of Psychology, regarding the professional alignment of our Code of Practice for registered Psychology Practitioners in Coaching, and the List of Coaching Practitioners

Best wishes

The IGCCP SA Executive

Gail Wrogemann (Chairperson)

Dr. Anna-Rosa le Roux (Past Chairperson)

Steven Breger (Past Chairperson)

Prof. Aletta Odendaal (Founding Member)

www.siopsa.org.za

Email: igccpsa@siopsa.org.za