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First words

Well that wasÌýquite an election,Ìýwasn’t it? PrettyÌýexciting, really. The live TVÌýdebates provided a bit ofÌýgloss and glamour as eachÌýleader sought to win overÌýa head-scratching publicÌýwith typical British politicalÌýmudslinging. More thanÌýever before, there was interest in manifestoÌýdocuments, with record downloads from theÌývarious party websites.

And the debates and discussions on the streetsÌýseemed more open and intense. The normallyÌýsceptical young also joined in more enthusiastically.ÌýMany of us seemed to become seasoned experts onÌýhow to manage the country’s debt. A pal of mineÌýcame up with a blindingly brilliant strategy – that ofÌýbanning Mondays. Or at least Monday as a workÌýday. Essentially back to the four-day working weekÌýbut his emphasis was on the creation of a three-dayÌýweekend.

Where it was possible to get a clear differentiationÌýbetween the political parties, the election forced usÌýto consider what was important to us… and theÌýcountry; to reflect on our own values, beliefs andÌýopinions. I had several enjoyable scraps with friendsÌýas we teased out our own arguments for andÌýagainst different views. Debate is positively healthy.

And we have a positively healthy debateÌýemerging in this journal. This was triggered by theÌýrecent Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¾«×¼×ÊÁÏ Workplace ‘Fit for business’ conferenceÌýin March this year. The topic was the replacementÌýof the ‘sick note’ with the ‘fit note’ and how thisÌýmight impact on workplace counsellors. WhatÌýemerged from this during the conference plenaryÌýdiscussion, and beyond, was an issue about theÌýsanctity of counselling in the workplace. It broughtÌýup points that I remember were being discussed 15Ìýyears ago when I first started work as a workplaceÌýcounsellor.Ìý

Thanks to Emma Cruse who has writtenÌýa thought-provoking article where she seeks toÌýdifferentiate between workplace counselling andÌýcounselling in the workplace. You might agree orÌýdisagree – either way, please do feel free to addÌýto the debate and send me your views so we canÌýpublish them in future issues. This could be in theÌýform of an article, like Emma’s, or a ‘letter to theÌýeditor’ which is what we have from Angie GasparÌýand colleagues. Thanks to Angie, too.

As you all clamour to email me your innermostÌýsecrets, you might be advised to read the excellentÌýPeter Jenkins article on data protection, whereÌýhe brings us a timely update regarding legislation.Ìý

I stumbled across Anita Silvester just before sheÌýpresented at this year’s Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¾«×¼×ÊÁÏ research conference.ÌýSome of you might also have met her there.ÌýAnita’s ongoing research focuses on the impactÌýof counselling practice for client, practitionerÌýand employer all under the same public sectorÌýorganisation. This is a really interesting articleÌýthat goes some way to reflect the potentially tailoredÌýprovision that can exist for workplace counsellingÌýprovision. Thanks to Anita and I know we all wishÌýher well as she concludes her research. If anyoneÌýelse is involved in research, please do get in touchÌýso we can help profile your work in the journal.

Tony Buckley from Transport for London givesÌýus a fascinating insight into what he refers to asÌýthe ‘sensational body’, where he presents a newÌýperspective on trauma and how this is oftenÌýinternalised. It’s an important developmentÌýto the trauma support debate and well worth aÌýread. Thanks, Tony.

Many thanks also to those budding bookÌýreviewers who responded to the call in a recentÌýÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¾«×¼×ÊÁÏ Workplace e-bulletin. Watch out for futureÌýe-bulletins for further book reviewer requests.

And finally, look out for the prospectiveÌýparliamentary candidate for the constituency ofÌýNorth Perth and Kinross in five years’ time, wavingÌýthe banner for the ‘Ban Mondays’ party.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

Rick Hughes
Editor

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