In this issue
Features
Stress in the City
As the City of London confronts financial聽meltdown, Leslie Chapman explores why聽so many of its workers may be experiencing聽stress-related psychological meltdown.
Counselling for depression
Peter Pearce, Ros Sewell, Andy Hill and聽Helen Coles describe the development聽of an evidence-based framework of聽competences and a new training curriculum聽for counselling skills for depression.
Reconstructing masculinity
Men must be able to explore all their feelings,聽including those of aggression and violence,聽without being judged, argues Manu Bazzano.
Measuring outcomes
Routine collection of outcomes measures can聽be used positively in therapy as a learning tool聽for client and therapist alike. Nic Streatfield聽draws on his own experience to make his case.
Regulars
News feature
Counselling the jobless back to work
The Government鈥檚 Work Programme to get the jobless back into employment聽could provide huge opportunities for counsellors and psychotherapists to聽demonstrate their worth. Catherine Jackson reports.
Talking point
Andy Rogers: Back to the future
In the client's chair
Caitin Wishart: Burden of hope
In training
Marc Brammer: Out of the slump
In practice
Julia Bueno: What am I doing here
Dilemmas
Blurring the boundaries
From the chair
Amanda Hawkins: Things can only get tougher
Day in the life
Rameri Moukam: Out of Africa
Questionnaire
Nick Luxmoore
Letters
All articles from this issue are not yet available online. Members and subscribers can download the pdf from the Therapy Today archive.
Editorial
Whether they鈥檙e refusing 拢1 million bonuses聽or being stripped of knighthoods, bankers聽have barely been out of the news this past聽month. But one thing we鈥檙e not so likely to聽hear about is their mental health. To admit聽to being depressed, or even stressed, in this聽most competitive environment of traders,聽bankers and hedge fund managers is to kill聽off your career prospects in one fell swoop.聽In the words of Neil Brener, a psychiatrist聽employed by the bank Morgan Stanley:聽鈥榊ou can admit to paying yourself a salary聽equivalent to the GDP of a small African聽country even as the financial world crashes聽around you; you can admit to selling worthless聽sub-prime mortgages at the same time as聽betting against that market鈥� What the markets聽won鈥檛 forgive, and what you can therefore聽never admit to, is having a mental illness.鈥�
But stress in the City is, it seems, on the聽increase, with a mental health crisis mirroring聽the economic one. As psychotherapist and聽香港六合彩精准资料 member Leslie Chapman describes聽in his article, 19-hour working days are not聽uncommon, the environment is psychologically聽toxic, and bankers are currently suffering聽even more acute stress as potential cuts loom,聽threatening to end the lifestyle they crave.聽Working from 9am to 3am seven days a week,聽as one interviewee describes, would drive聽anyone round the bend, yet what many bankers聽seem to want in terms of psychological help聽is tools to help them adapt and function better聽at work and not feel so bad about themselves,聽rather than a way out to a saner life.
At the other end of the social heap are聽those at risk of depression because of lack聽of employment. The Government鈥檚 new聽Work Programme aims to get the jobless聽back to work and will pay for any interventions聽that get people into a job 鈥� should they be聽lucky enough to find one 鈥� and keep them聽there. Therapy Today鈥檚 new Deputy Editor,聽Catherine Jackson, reports on the opportunities聽for counsellors and psychotherapists in this聽new payment-by-results scheme, which aims聽to transform the mindsets and behaviour聽of people on long-term sickness benefits.
Sarah Browne
Editor