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Welcome from the editor

Either/or? Or both/and? The invitation to us and to our young clientsÌýis to move from polarised thinking to a creative continuum

I was cogitating on the art of making daisy chains.ÌýIs it destruction of the environment or creatingÌýbeauty? Is observing the moon merely wasting time?ÌýOr imbibing our oneness with the natural world?ÌýFilling in assessment sheets – a tiresome restrictiveÌýchore? Or proof of concept?

We have a tendency to jump to one answer orÌýthe other because humans are wired for opposites –Ìýnaming something as ‘good’ immediately impliesÌýthat ‘bad’ exists – which can lead to an unhealthyÌýpotential for polarising.

But what’s good about having opinions (apartÌýfrom the resulting emergence of a letters page – forÌýwhich, thank you) is that they offer us the chance toÌýreject the immediate either/or stance and find aÌýboth/and position from which to move forward andÌýwelcome a wider choice of in-between reactions.ÌýThus, making a daisy chain can be construed asÌýcreative, and taking time to pause and de-stress,Ìýand enjoying a fresh air activity, and finding theÌýmetaphor in it – as well as, yes, destroying a beautifulÌýflower. I feel self-improved just acknowledging theÌýpossibilities!

So how does that relate to our articles here? Well,Ìýall of them offer us the space and potential to rethink,Ìýreassess and maybe reconstrue on a different part ofÌýthe continuum. Dave Stewart, for example, writesÌýabout using a system of sessional assessment. It canÌýbe construed in a range of ways: a straitjacket aroundÌýthe session, a magic tool for emulating his success, aÌýway of getting commissioners off our backs, tangibleÌýproof we did the work, or even a way of putting eachÌýclient in charge of their therapy, which, of course, isÌýDave’s focus here. But it is, possibly, all those otherÌýthings as well. And changing from an either/orÌýposition to the wider both/and means we don’t haveÌýto immediately wing our way to a polar opposite.

Simone Silver Path conducts sessions in theÌýwilderness with vulnerable, damaged adolescents.ÌýOut in the natural world, the thinking space is widerÌýand more basic, and somehow more liberating andÌýspiritually empowering than the mundane contextsÌýwe often find ourselves in. Yet how to construe it?ÌýWay out? Not really practicable? An opportunity toÌýfoster one’s destiny and identity? Something youÌýcan’t monitor with a tick-box? Accepting theÌýexistence of a continuum of responses is where theÌýpotential power lies as we read and absorb herÌýaccount. It’s called ‘loosening our constructs’.

And in this context, it was so good to interviewÌýSara Barnes about her work on the ground as IAPTÌýfor young people moves forward. Did I expect it toÌýbe lauded as all positive – IAPT is just perfect? Did IÌýbelieve that, without all our favourite models ofÌýcounselling represented, IAPT should be written off,Ìýdismissed as a bureaucratic farce? I admit I’ve beenÌýtempted into the either/or with this topic. But SaraÌýopened up a situation that is both/and – and this hasÌýfilled me with hope and a new way of construing CYPÌýIAPT. She’s seen the impetus and progressÌýengendered by the funding to transform CAMHS, andÌýis firmly grasping – indeed, insisting on – the potentialÌýimprovement and widening that will come in herÌýcollaborative, and, hopefully, in others where, up tillÌýnow, CAMHS has already been healthily inclusive.ÌýWhat better could we wish for in dealing with thisÌýlatest development in the CYP counselling world? AsÌýthe months pass and the transformation grows moreÌýconnected and organised, it seems to me that it willÌýbe rather like putting together a daisy chain of hopeÌýfor young people with mental health problems.

Eleanor Patrick
Editor

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