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Welcome from the editor

It’s really important we have a raison d’être – lack ofÌýone leads to all sorts of mental health problems, asÌýshown in our work arena by the number of teenageÌýsuicides. For me, sometimes it feels as if the wholeÌýworld is moving on with their agenda and I’m leftÌýclinging at the margins.

It must be a little like this, ofÌýcourse, to be a homeless young person (see SurabhiÌýChaturvedi’s article in this issue), but why does it feelÌýlike that to me too, up here in my cottage? The thingÌýis, a physical home is only one place you can feelÌýdislodged from. I have a counselling home too. SoÌýthat’s where I expect to feel comfortable, conduct myÌýlife and try to improve my practice. Yet every so oftenÌýI find myself ejected. I then become aware of, andÌýhave to manage, incipient anger – awareness is alwaysÌýa good move (see Ged King’s piece) – but an awkwardÌýfeeling of rejection persists. In times past, it has beenÌýabout the price of counselling books, or the price ofÌýtraining or CPD courses if you add in hotels andÌý travel.ÌýToday, it is once more about access. I want to read anÌýarticle about aggression in 10-year-old boys both inÌýand outside the counselling room, published in aÌýprofessional journal. I can buy the whole issue at £113Ìýor the article alone at £24. Or not.

Despite exhortations to use and contribute toÌýresearch, the truth is that access to all kinds ofÌýwrite-ups about studies and trials is still elusive forÌýmany counsellors. We have a great resource in Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¾«×¼×ÊÁÏ’sÌýown research journal – Counselling andÌýPsychotherapy Research – but, for therapists workingÌýwith children and young people, there is a wholeÌýworld of useful evidence out there that we can’tÌýget near. How are we to keep up or feel part of it?Ìý

I guess it’s good, then, to be able to read theÌývariety of articles we have here – for instance, aboutÌýcounselling in a different part of the world (see TurkiÌýAlotaibi on Saudi Arabia) or a counselling model thatÌýworks in Northern Ireland’s primary schools (DaveÌýStewart), or Graham Music’s illustration of levels in bothÌýexecutive function and counselling intervention. TheÌýtruth is, I’m really grateful to the writers I commissionÌýfor letting us share their world by agreeing to write forÌýus (and I know from feedback to me personally howÌýmany of you, too, value their input). Whether it’s aboutÌýonline work (Emma Yates) or managing parentalÌýexpectations (Rebecca Kirkbride), writers like these,Ìýissue after issue, let us feel as if we belong in theirÌýsphere – they’ve afforded us a place to hook ourÌýfingers into the wider counselling world.

But ultimately, it’s the children and young peopleÌýwho keep me in practice. While even one of themÌýneeds the help I can offer, I will pay the £24 andÌýaccept my cardboard box at the margins. If you’reÌýclinging desperately amid loss of your job, shrinkingÌýbudgets, mountains of paper work or changing workÌýrequirements, or even lack of access to research,Ìýhopefully you too will remember and be inspired toÌýcontinue helping the children represented in theÌýfollowing pages. They’re our raison d’être.

Eleanor Patrick
Editor

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