In this issue
Features
Anger and forgiveness
The Hoffman Process is an extraordinary听eight-day personal development听course which has been described as听being the equivalent to a year鈥檚 worth听of psychotherapy
BPD: mental illness or misogyny?
Is borderline personality disorder听just a diagnosis to label women whose听feelings and behaviours do not meet听the 鈥榥orm鈥�?
Working with brain damaged clients
What are the difficulties and dilemmas听of working with clients whose听brains have been damaged by illness听or physical trauma?
Under the iceberg
A white female supervisor risks talking听about difference with her white female听supervisees
Regulars
In practice
Kevin Chandler: The limits of care
In the client's chair
Emma Munro: Getting on with the job
In training
Martin Halifax: More cakes and ale
The art of coaching
Linda Aspey
Day in the life
Maggie Morrow
Questionnaire
David Pink
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Editorial
I have always been curious about the Hoffman听Process and, having learnt more about it,听I think it鈥檚 an interesting subject for therapists:听an intensive eight-day residential course听where you are cut off from the outside world,听and together with a group of 23 others are lead听through 100 hours of personal exploration听using techniques drawn from all the major听therapeutic approaches. Hoffman candidates听go through a process of awareness, expression,听forgiveness and new behaviour.
One of the听approaches, which is associated with听expression and which inspired our illustrator听for the front cover, is bioenergetics, whereby听people are encouraged to take out their听suppressed anger using a wiffle bat and听cushion. On the Hoffman Process the anger听is directed towards the negative traits of听one鈥檚 parents that get passed on from one听generation to the next. It differs from a lot听of psychotherapy in that it deliberately听encourages people, once they have raged听at the negative parents of their childhood,听to bury the hatchet and move to forgiveness.听It is apparently not uncommon for people听who have completed the Hoffman Process听to make amends with parents they have not听spoken to for 20 years.
In the light of news that the next edition听of the ever-expanding Diagnostic and Statistical听Manual of Mental Disorders will include new听diagnoses for children who are often grumpy听and throw fits 鈥� TDD or temper dysregulation听disorder with dysphoria 鈥� and those who find听maths hard 鈥� 鈥榙yscalculia鈥� 鈥� Gillian Proctor鈥檚听deconstruction of borderline personality听disorder (BPD) is timely. BPD was first听introduced as a diagnosable personality听disorder in 1980 and is now by far the most听common of the personality disorders. As there听is no physical test to establish the presence of听BPD, all that professionals have to go on is听behaviour and the opinions the patient听expresses. Given that 75 per cent of those听diagnosed with BPD are women, Proctor looks听more closely at what are considered to be听鈥榠nappropriate鈥� emotions and behaviours and听asks whether BPD is in fact another example听of a tendency to label as madness the听strategies some women use to survive.
Sarah Browne
Editor