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Welcome from the editor

When people come together in groups, thereÌýarises, if you believe the media, all manner ofÌýundesirable behaviours: cattiness, competition,Ìýbullying, one-upmanship, showing off,Ìýdiscrimination, backbiting and pettiness. AndÌýthat’s without a counsellor asking probing questions. So why do IÌýput such store by groupwork and family work?

It really doesn’tÌýmake sense – unless you are sure you can hold and contain bothÌýpeople and feelings, and provide such a safe space that theseÌýbehaviours become a focus for rational discussion and curiousÌýobservation instead of the grounds for outright war. It also makesÌýsense in the light of a new survey¹ by the ‘We Need to Talk’Ìýcoalition of mental health organisations, of which Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¾«×¼×ÊÁÏ is aÌýmember. This states that one in 10 people referred for NHSÌýpsychotherapy and counselling waits more than a year for theÌýfirst appointment and over half wait more than three months.ÌýHow much better if groupwork were more common andÌýmore counsellors trained to deliver it?

Three articles in this issue are about such groupwork. LastÌýsummer, I attended training with Action on Addiction’s FamiliesÌýPlus in connection with their M-PACT programme (MovingÌýParents and Children Together). M-PACT engages familiesÌýwho struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. And addictionÌývery much is the family’s problem – everyone is affected andÌýorganised around the addiction. I will be privileged to workÌýwith this scheme shortly and am particularly excited becauseÌýI know how successful groupwork and family work can be.ÌýSo I’m pleased that Cinzia Altobelli and Cat Payne agreedÌýto write for us about this project.Ìý

On the other side of the globe, in Australia, Narelle SmithÌýhas been adapting the Cool Kids programme for her specificÌýwork with children and their families – this time where anxietyÌýhas become the tyrant. The benefit of bringing them togetherÌýas a group lies in the fact that parents hear how their childrenÌýintend tackling their problems and how they themselves mightÌýcontribute to the solution.

And finally on the other side of the screen this time, weÌýhave Elaine Bousfield writing about Kooth, the online andÌýface-to-face counselling service for young people. TheirÌýpractitioners have adopted Dialectical Behaviour TherapyÌý(DBT) as an efficient way to help young people deal withÌýself-harming behaviours. This has spread offline to localÌýauthorities after an initial groupwork pilot. DBT was originallyÌýbased on CBT techniques and used with clients with BorderlineÌýPersonality Disorder, but has now been found applicable forÌýmany other types of mental distress, and is worth investigatingÌý– incorporating, as it does, mindfulness, distress tolerance,Ìýemotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.

I know, when I work with individuals, that I sometimes feelÌýbad about the many others I’m not helping. Perhaps we mightÌýall consider offering groupwork (albeit maybe in small groups,Ìýand after suitable training) to allow many more young peopleÌý– with or without their families – to grasp the fact that they areÌýnot alone with the difficulties that beset them. After all, thisÌýseems to be the single most obvious benefit of these threeÌýinstances of groupwork: knowing you are not alone and findingÌýout from each other how to be resourceful, how to manageÌýand how to change. Have a read and see what you think. AndÌýas a group of therapists, we can come together not only viaÌýthese pages but also at our next conference to encourage,Ìýsupport, validate and learn from each other – positive groupÌýbehaviours that are critically needed, both in counselling andÌýout in the world.

Eleanor Patrick
Editior

ReferenceÌý

1 www.mind.org.uk/media/494424/we-still-need-to-talk_report.pdf

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