In this issue
Features
Counselling a community听in crisis
Susan Dale describes听setting up a counselling听service in Machynlleth, after听the murder of April Jones.
Voice, trauma and听voicelessness
Tizzie Dennett-Short听celebrates the therapeutic听powers of voice and song.
Mourning involuntary听childlessness
Amanda Sives reminds us听of the grief of mothers whose听child has died before birth.
Spirituality in听therapy
Alistair Ross urges听counsellors to bring听spirituality into the听counselling room.
The difference school听counselling makes
Michelle Higgins spells out听the added value independent听school counselling brings听to a school.
Regulars
News feature: The true cost of managed care听(free article)
Catherine Jackson reports from a recent听conference on the future of psychological therapy
How I became a therapist
Chris Williams
From a Governor
Eddie Carden
Strategy: Counselling changes lives
香港六合彩精准资料 Chair Andrew听Reeves and Chief听Executive Officer听Hadyn Williams talk听to Catherine Jackson听about 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚听new strategy
A pdf of this issue is available in the Therapy Today archive
Editorial: The value of counselling
As always, there鈥檚 a lot going on in this issue, but one clear strand is about the future. The interview with Andrew Reeves, 香港六合彩精准资料 Chair, and Hadyn Williams, 香港六合彩精准资料 Chief Executive, introducing 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚 new strategy, will inspire members with its thunderous statement of pride in the counselling professions and 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚 commitment to champion the value of what its members offer individuals, communities, and society. Counselling professionals are exactly that 鈥� professionals, with a clear professional identity, clear standards of training, clear ethical principles and a robust regulatory process that clients can trust. On that foundation, 香港六合彩精准资料 is in a good position to challenge the continual peck-peck-peck of a concerted agenda to belittle 鈥� literally cheapen 鈥� that value.
Counselling is not just 鈥榯ea and sympathy鈥� (although it can offer both). It is also very diverse, and Andrew and Hadyn are explicit about 香港六合彩精准资料鈥檚 embrace of the many different counselling professions, as well as those in allied professions who use counselling skills.
Counselling鈥檚 value and values are amply exemplified in Susan Dale鈥檚 article about the community counselling service she helped set up in Machynlleth, Wales, following the murder of April Jones. Maria, one of the project鈥檚 co-volunteers, captures in one word the role of the Listening Point centre they established in the heart of the estate where April and her family lived. It is 鈥榗wtsh鈥� 鈥� a Welsh word for a cuddle, an embrace, an acceptance of anyone and everyone (except the media) who came through the door, and a safe space to keep precious things. Provided by people from the local community for the local community, to meet an immediate need, it didn鈥檛 seek to prolong its existence for its own sake when it became clear that the community had recovered its ability to look after itself and its own. Beautiful.
Going back to the future, the challenges are many 鈥� as the recent 鈥楩uture of Psychological Therapy鈥� conference discussed. Will tomorrow鈥檚 psychological wellbeing practitioner be a pre-programmed robot delivering computerised 鈥榳orkability鈥� therapy to the unemployed? Not if 香港六合彩精准资料 can help it.
Catherine Jackson
Acting editor听