In this issue
Features
Counselling clients bereaved by homicide听(free article)
Counsellors can be a vital support for people going through the horrors of bereavement by homicide, writes Janet Nicholls.
Why do women get postnatal depression?
Anna Kinnaird Folkman asks why postnatally听depressed women鈥檚 life experiences before听motherhood are so often ignored.
Therapists are human too
Marie Adams questions a reluctance among听therapists to acknowledge their own needs.
Crossing continents
Sue Pattison describes her international听career in counselling education across four听continents and many cultures.
How are you managing?
Alison Brown argues that good management听is vital to the delivery of high quality clinical听services 鈥� yet its role is barely acknowledged.
Regulars
News focus:听Call for more perinatal counselling
A new report reveals the high economic and personal costs of poor perinatal mental health care.
In practice
Jeanine Connor: Personal disclosures
In the client's chair
Anna: I'm still learning
The researcher
Barry McInnes: Is therapy a worthwhile investment?
Talking point
Steve Powell: A sign of the times
Dilemmas
Can we ask clients for testimonials?
The interview
Nick Totton
How I became a therapist
Satinder Panesar
Members and subscribers can download the pdf of this issue from the Therapy Today archive.
Editorial
Our lead article this month gives advice听to counsellors about working with clients听who have been bereaved by homicide.听Janet Nicholls, whose sister was robbed and听murdered on the street in 2001, describes听the experiences such a client may have to go听through and some of the common patterns听that emerge.
For example, the bereaved person may have听been traumatised by hearing very distressing听forensic details reported in court; they may听have experienced intrusive media attention;听they may no longer be able to hold onto their听previous values and beliefs or see the world听as a safe place. The client may have known or听be related to both the victim and the accused,听or even be a suspect themselves, in which听case the term 鈥榗omplicated grief鈥� doesn鈥檛听begin to cover what they will go through.
One thing that struck me when reading听Janet鈥檚 article is that there is no publicly-funded听counselling available for people听bereaved by homicide and those who seek听counselling may not be able to afford the听help or may even resent having to pay for听it themselves. She praises the police family听liaison officers who provide support for听close family until the investigations and听trial are over but this is in no way the same听as counselling. As in so many situations in听our society, people turn to counsellors for听support when there is nowhere else to go, as听they might have turned to priests in the past.
We continue to receive your letters about听the lack of paid work available for counsellors听and the difficulties making a viable living听from counselling alone. In his research听column this month Barry McInnes applauds听the Government鈥檚 commitment to achieving听parity of esteem between mental and physical听health and 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚 lead in addressing this听inequality as it relates to psychological听therapies. In time, he suggests, this may听help create a better employment landscape听for counsellors and psychotherapists but in听the meantime much more needs to be done.
Sarah Browne
Editor