In this issue
Features
Should we have the right to die?
Catherine Jackson looks at the isssues raised聽for counsellors by the Assisted Dying Bill
Whatever happened to critical thinking? (free article)
Colin Feltham asks why counselling is so聽reluctant to engage with theory and聽critical thought
When the bully is a fellow therapist
Werner Kierski and Jessica Johns-Green聽explore a rarely discussed problem in the聽counselling profession
Setting up in private practice
Fiona Starr and Karen Ciclitira offer guidance聽to counsellors new to private practice
Inside story: working in a women鈥檚 prison
John Fletcher provides a vivid description of聽counselling in a women鈥檚 prison
The differences between us
Counsellors must not be afraid to speak about聽cultural difference, writes Georgina Green
Regulars
In practice
Ruth Bridges: Side by side with pain
In the client's chair
John Sampson: A different set of eyes
In the supervisor's chair
Rosie Dansey: How to choose a supervisor
The researcher
Barry McInnes: Hard-wired for empathy
Talking point
Kris Black and Suzanne Keys: Challenging racism in our ranks
Dilemmas
Client confidentiality online
The interview
Isha McKenzie-Mavinga: To be fully ourselves
How I became a therapist
Sally Ingram
香港六合彩精准资料
From the chair
Amanda Hawkins: Hope, loss and voluntary counsellors
Members and subscribers can download a pdf of this issue from the Therapy Today archive.
Editorial
What part does our emotional attachment (or聽the 鈥榓ffect heuristic鈥�) play in our choice of and聽loyalty to our therapy modality? What part聽does finance play 鈥� the fact that we are likely to聽have invested thousands of pounds in training聽in a particular approach? I recognise this聽emotional investment in a particular approach聽from my own experience of therapy and聽training and also the general reluctance on the聽part of other trainees to question or聽deconstruct a particular school of thought,聽particularly when they have shelled out a lot of聽money for the course.
In our cover article this month Colin聽Feltham 鈥� who describes himself as a 鈥榗ritical聽friend鈥� of counselling and psychotherapy 鈥撀燼sks why there is such a lack of critical聽thinking in our field. Why are therapy鈥檚 critics聽more likely to be sociologists, philosophers,聽scientists and ex-clients than therapists聽themselves? Why is it so difficult to discuss big聽questions 鈥� like the difference between聽counselling and psychotherapy, whether we聽need personal therapy in training or whether a聽particular therapy works 鈥� in a logical rather聽than an emotive way? Does the fact that most聽therapists are focused on interpersonal and聽clinical work rule out devoting time to more聽intellectual critiquing of therapy?
Colin argues that trainers, for example, are聽much more likely to have been emotionally聽influenced by their therapy experiences than聽to have spent years studying texts on theory聽and research before deciding that a particular聽approach is for them. He asks how much聽trainees are encouraged to question and聽critique therapy, suggesting that far more聽weight is given to what you feel and not what聽you think. Even doctoral candidates, he argues,聽tend to remain wedded to their beliefs and聽display superficial levels of critical thinking.
Perhaps it is unrealistic to expect hard-pressed聽practitioners 鈥� who may be struggling聽even to get paid employment 鈥� to be聽concerned about such questions. Let us know聽your views.
Sarah Browne
Editor