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Welcome from the editor

Dealing with our bodies… assessing… not knowing…Ìýit’s all in the day’s work for counsellors of young people

Here we are, as promised, in our new finery. I hopeÌýyou find the journal approachable and relevant andÌýenjoy reading it over the summer. Please feed backÌýyour comments to me when you have a moment.

You will notice that our division is now namedÌýÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¾«×¼×ÊÁÏ Children & Young People, and the journal hasÌýthe same title. I would love to mark this change in theÌýjournal’s life by having a really dazzling letters pageÌýabout matters that are relevant to us in our work withÌýyoung people, including responses to the articles weÌýpublish. In a quarterly journal, read at intervals, it’sÌýeasy to think ‘it’s too late now to bother’, but youngÌýpeople’s counsellors are a resourceful and flexible lotÌý(aren’t we?), so how about an Olympian effort toÌýmark the season? No comment is too short. NoÌýopinion off limits. Discussion is important. In case itÌýhelps, deadline dates for contributions now appear.ÌýMany of you also now approach me withÌýideas for articles, and I extend that invitation to youÌýall. We are a large community of over 4,000Ìýmembers, and I want the journal to reflect that factÌýin all its facets.

And now I’m going to ask you a personal question!ÌýHow many of you have ever hated your bodies? Yes,Ìýyou heard right! That’s how Lucy-Jean Lloyd startedÌýher workshop at a school counsellors’ conference lastÌýyear. Few were immediately willing to own up. WeÌýdon’t talk about our bodies in public – and it seemsÌýwe hesitate to bring up the topic in our sessions. YetÌýour young people need to have that opportunityÌýbefore their understandable adolescentÌýpreoccupations become the breeding ground forÌýmental ill health. So I commend this article to you,Ìýeven if the image of a ‘vile body’ feels a littleÌýuncomfortable.

Images of any kind bypass cognitive barriers andÌýlead to emotional awareness – as Mary K GreerÌýdemonstrates in her article on working with images.ÌýIf we question wisely, this process of talking about aÌýpicture (from any source) allows the young person toÌýsee reflected in the image something of theirÌýtorment, their concerns, their situation in life. I askedÌýMary to write for us because she is expert at usingÌýpictures in this way to empower young people’sÌýself-development. Here, she uses a tarot cardÌý(Judgement) to demonstrate some work. It couldÌýhave been a postcard. The theory is the same – butÌýin recent decades, tarot cards have been widelyÌýused for self-awareness and growth. In other words,Ìýpsychological development, not divination (ArtÌýRosengarten’s book¹ makes for an interesting read,Ìýif you wish to pursue this connection). So if you’veÌýever wondered what and how to ask about an image,ÌýMary’s article is where to head.

However, not knowing everything about life is fine.ÌýIt’s the counsellor’s stock in trade. If we knew, weÌýwould make either risky assumptions or omnipotentÌýclaims. Neither is helpful to the client. NickÌýLuxmoore describes with his usual frank andÌýhumorous style how he manages the scary situationÌýof not having answers for his client – and how theÌýclient comes to find release in the sort of ‘notÌýknowing’ that is OK. It’s good enough.

In the same way, I cannot know if I have the mixÌýof content right for the journal, although I know it’sÌý‘good enough’. So I hope we can reach for ourÌýkeyboards to offer feedback on vile bodies, pictureÌýcards, ‘not knowing’ about life, your use (or not) ofÌýassessment scales, and any other article here thatÌýcaptures your attention in its new finery. That way,Ìýwe will learn together.

Eleanor Patrick
Editor

Reference

1 Rosengarten A. Tarot and psychology: spectrums ofÌýpossibility. St Paul, MN: Paragon House; 2000.

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