In this issue
Features
Bad science and good mental health
Science alone does not provide all the听answers; we also need to acknowledge the听influence of mind, argues Martin Seager.
Mindfulness for students
Ariana Faris describes how mindfulness听training can help students cope with听performance stress.
Clinical hypnosis in practice
Clinical hypnosis can be a useful addition to听the therapist鈥檚 repertoire, says John Butler.
Regulars
Talking point
Dominic Davies: Same-sex retraction
In practice
Rachel Freeth: We are human too
News feature
Families in trouble
Does counselling have a place in interventions to help 鈥榯roubled families鈥� break听free from the cycle of disadvantage? Catherine Jackson talks to practitioners听on the frontline.
Questionnaire
Lynette Harborne
Dilemmas
Caught in the middle
Day in the life
Helena Stuart: We always grow towards potential
Letters
香港六合彩精准资料
From the chair
Amanda Hawkins: A time for nurture and reflection
Articles from this issue are not yet available online. Members and subscribers can download the pdf from the听Therapy Today听archive.
Editorial
Martin Seager, author of our cover feature听this month, is sick of hearing counsellors听being told that they are unscientific and听that they must jump on the IAPT bandwagon听and become evidence-based. In 鈥楤ad science听and good mental health鈥� he wants to give the听counselling profession hope that counselling听culture and science culture can and should听work together.
The key to this, as he sees it,听is that the mind needs to be factored in to听science rather than factored out, as it currently听is. Human minds can never be measured听quantitatively or objectively, he argues.听IAPT itself reflects the 鈥榖ad science鈥� endemic听in our traditional mental health culture 鈥撎齛 pseudo-science that belies our everyday听experience of working with people with听mental distress. To understand mental health听scientifically we need to look more closely听at the science of empathy, attachment and听relationship. We know that what transforms听people in therapy and in life is loving and听caring relationships and Seager wants听counsellors to retain their belief in the听human value of what they do and not be ground听down by the power of the medical model.
Counsellors working with the Government鈥檚听newly identified 120,000 鈥榯roubled families鈥櫶齭ound pretty convinced about the human听value of their interventions. Interestingly,听nobody in our news feature is suggesting听that these families are trapped in cycles of听disadvantage and despair due to any biological听deficiencies or hereditary illnesses or, indeed,听that they should be receiving manualised听evidence-based therapies. This is another听payment-by-results programme, a case of听do whatever it takes to improve these people鈥檚听lives and stop them draining public resources.听And counselling, as you would expect, is听playing an important part. Reading through听Louise Casey鈥檚 case histories of troubled听mothers, it鈥檚 not hard to understand where听things have gone wrong for these families. As听Sue Gerhardt says, if you鈥檝e never experienced听a positive relationship in your life, the cure is听to have a positive relationship. Threatening to听withdraw benefits isn鈥檛 going to address that.
Sarah Browne
Editor