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In this paper, we present our development of a previously articulated approach to counselling education of transformational learning through a relational dynamic approach (Macaskie et al., 2013). We replace the idea of integration with a values-based approach and supplement the notion of transformational relational learning with a not-knowing attitude. This perspective on education and learning in counselling parallels the attitude within psychotherapy that we teach our students. We argue that this unites relational approaches to learning and psychotherapy across modalities and offers a trans-theoretical approach that could explain the common factors research in psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to explore loss experiences within a counselling and psychotherapy training arena, an environment that effects individual change. We use an auto-ethnographic case study format and data in the form of photographs, hybridised client material, journal entries and commentaries in order to reflexively consider loss material. We do this with a view to creating a narrative that enables readers to consider their emotions, thoughts and reactions to the material presented. We conclude that loss and grief can be re-triggered. Loss is inevitable. However, hidden loss affects the ability to manage change and has the potential to create transgenerational patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the theory of predictive processing, understanding in the present involves non-consciously representing the immediate future, based on probabilistic inference shaped by learning from the past. This paper suggests links between this neuroscientific theory and the psychoanalytic concept of reverie – an empathic, containing attentional state – and considers implications for the ways therapists intuit implicit material in their clients. Using findings from a study about therapists' experiences of this state, we propose that reverie can offer practitioners from diverse theoretical backgrounds a means to enter the predictive moment deeply, making use of its subtle contents to connect with clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine autoethnographic data from three critical incidents as experienced by the first author demonstrating the importance of context in understanding medically unexplained symptoms, their incidence and underlying patterns. We make the case for ethnographies as a crucial research strand in discerning the finer aspects of the patient or client experience; aspects that might be missed where people are directed along protocolised pathways of care. The article describes care as fragmented and depersonalising, leading to disembodied exchanges, as reflected in other autoethnographic studies, particularly those that highlight the complex relationship and controversies surrounding diagnostic uncertainty. We observe that psychological therapists, given the quality of the therapeutic relationship and sustained attention to the person’s experience, are well placed to assist in the necessary processes of re-contextualisation and re-embodiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an approach to counselling and psychotherapy which complements dominant discourse approaches to clinical evaluation based on New Public Management systems which underpin the Improved Access to Psychological Therapies scheme within the field of therapy. It is based on an approach to research and practice development which I will call practitioner microphenomena research. In order to demonstrate the method, I will examine an extract from a single case study of a client with major depressive disorder from the point of view of intersubjective theory and a little-known approach to therapy called anthroposophic psychotherapy based on the work of Rudolf Steiner. I will show how the two clinical methods are well suited to examining the microphenomena of practice and can be integrated into a coherent whole. A central feature of the account will be the anthroposophical view about the central importance of our individuality or ‘I’ which has similarities with the Jungian self but is still distinct from it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research methods are often marked by inequalities between researcher and researched, maintained through dominant discourses that structure expectations of research. This study considers how therapeutic skills such as reflexivity can help to develop alternative discourses, raise awareness and challenge inequalities in research. An approach to the qualitative analysis of research interviews using interpersonal process recall (IPR) is outlined. By focusing attention on the dialogue and enabling researcher and research participant to review and explore their interaction reflexively, IPR offers an opportunity to understand interviews as intersubjective events. It thus facilitates the collaborative identification of processes and narratives as key moments for further analysis and increases awareness of the potential blurring of genres between therapeutic and research conversations. The contribution of IPR to an intersubjective lens and greater equality in research interviewing is discussed. Potential implications for both research and therapy practices are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The counselling and psychotherapy profession is changing. For the first time in its history, it has begun to receive substantial Government funding in the UK and it also has to contend with the principles of evidence-based practice and the policies of the New Public Management systems in many countries. This paper argues that such recent developments present challenges to the profession's historical apolitical standpoint. More importantly, it argues that the present social and political climate offers many opportunities such as the possibility of learning from psychosocial practices in other countries. The paper will look, in particular, at what can be learned from Latin America and India where mental health care and psychological therapy have adopted grassroots involvement, health-focused approaches and innovatory therapeutic methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates a bio-psycho-social approach to psychotherapy which works, where possible, with interdisciplinary complementary and alternative medicine teams. The model, called anthroposophic psychotherapy, sees body, soul and spirit as interconnected and the study discusses the bio-psycho-social aspects of the model by linking cardiovascular disease, psychological stress, asocial behaviour and social dysfunction utilizing single case study methodology. The limitations of this method are acknowledged and discussed, but it is also argued that the study has a valuable part to play in a research programme which may also later include efficacy and effectiveness research. The methodology incorporates the principle of data synthesis, as well as data analysis, in accordance with the holistic nature of the clinical model, since it takes the view that all of the elements in the research field are connected. The anxieties presented by the client were linked to arteriosclerotic symptoms and social problems. All of these elements had their roots in childhood and needed to be treated with a number of interventions, including anthroposophic psychotherapy and medicine, which incorporates the homeopathic principle of 'like cures like'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The counselling and psychotherapy profession is undergoing considerable change as a result of government intervention in the form of regulation, funding and efficacy research. In this paper we argue that these changes, even though they challenge some of the basic ways of thinking which have come to underpin the profession since its inception, also offer an opportunity to stimulate debate and thought in regard to how the profession might contribute to the development of healthcare systems in the future. We argue that this could be enhanced if therapists can learn from the experience of practitioners in the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which has been experiencing similar changes in recent years. Indeed, both fields of clinical activity adopt many similar underlying clinical principles and, according to Samuels (2001), have similar political outlooks. With reference to anthroposophic psychotherapy which, as well as being a form of psychotherapy, is also part of a ‘whole systems’ approach to CAM, we will examine those characteristics of psychotherapy and CAM that can inform the thinking of healthcare systems as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper challenges the neglect of psychotherapeutic methods in therapy research and discusses the use of methods arising directly from therapy practice to generate research data. Recent developments in therapy research culture are critiqued in order to contextualise the present contribution. The research design and methodology evolve from the scrutiny of a dream sequence, using Jungian analytic techniques as a means of data analysis. Methods familiar in psychotherapy practice are found to generate data and offer a meta-commentary on the research process, also enabling the researcher to continue a journey of individuation through healing splits between binary opposites of internal and external, psychological and spiritual, research and practice. Stories emerging from one individual's experience may resonate with others and suggest different ways of engaging in reflexive research practices, which can contribute to healing a perceived split between therapy research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselling and psychotherapy is attracting government interest and intervention, for instance the proposal to regulate the profession by the Health Professions Council. Many therapists see this as a threat to its fundamental principles due to the fact that government policy is influenced by the medical model and managerialism. This article looks, in particular, at the relationship between the therapy profession and the medical model. It concludes that the concerns about the current plans for regulation make some important points but that the proposed changes have created possibilities for developing a vision for the future of the profession. This article will enter this debate and will argue, in particular, for the cross-fertilisation of ideas between therapists and such humanistically orientated approaches to medicine as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The argument will be developed with reference to one form of CAM, known as anthroposophic medicine and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I look at the fact that cognitive-behavioural therapy and evidence-based practice are currently favoured by the Government and healthcare authorities and that this is a cause for anxiety and concern amongst some therapists. I argue for developing an approach to current debates about these approaches to clinical practice in the counselling and psychotherapy profession based on the principles of the evolution of consciousness. In particular I take the view that our understanding of such developments can be transformed if we adopt a broader evolutionary perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research supervision in the field of counselling and psychotherapy is a fruitful area for investigation in view of the fact that the research supervisory relationship is powerful and highly charged, whether consciously acknowledged or not. Researchers trained as counsellors and psychotherapists possess the skills to facilitate the emergence of, and work creatively with, impasses and crises, both in the research itself and the supervisory relationship, as a result of their training and experience in dealing with crisis and catharsis in clinical work. This paper will demonstrate these points using a case vignette from my work as a supervisor of research dissertations undertaken by students on a Masters in Therapeutic Counselling course. Drawing on narrative analysis, clinical supervision theory and discursive analysis it will look at the strengths and weaknesses of a 'psychotherapeutic' approach to research supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper surveys the history of psychoanalytic research from Freud until the present day and identifies a dominant research stream which has existed since Freud's day. It then identifies two further stands of research and concludes by elaborating briefly on an approach to research which I have referred to as psychotherapeutic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins by critically exploring Freudian and post-Freudian understandings of suicide, although due to limitations of space it is not comprehensive. Several examples drawn from clinical practice are then considered in relation to the theoretical ideas previously discussed. The paper then moves on to reconsider psychodynamic approaches to suicidal clients from a Levinasian ethical position. The possibility that suicide may be a logical part of what it is to be human, rather than an indication of mental illness, is advanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a refined view of download time impacts on electronic consumer attitudes and patronage intentions towards electronic retailers (E-retailers). Impact of the download delay on the success or failure of e-retailer Web operations; Clarification of the theoretical importance of download time and its relationship to e-retailer success variables; Factors that lead to a load decision.

Focuses on the approach to supervision in health care settings. Dynamics of the supervisor and supervisee relationship; Improvement of professional competence; Use of communicative therapy ideas.

An examination of the links between clinical work and the context in which it takes place. The article will explore how the dynamics of the staff group can spill over into the consulting room and how unresolved issues in the consulting room can spill over into the staff group. It will also explore how the dynamics of both can be affected by broader social and political attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A discussion of the various elements which influence counselling in GP surgeries - clients, organizational culture, and the counsellor's professional development. The article will examine these elements in the light of some basic psychodynamic theory. It will argue that there are aspects of working in this setting that are common to all situations, and that there are also aspects which are unique to each setting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article I will adopt the viewpoint that current social issues, concerns and preoccupations are mirrored to some extent in films, and indeed culture in general - a view which has been expressed by many people in one form or another (see, for example, Caldwell [1996] or Sekoff [1989: 148] who says that ‘film must be understood as potentially embodying, disguising, challenging, containing, exploring, producing and so on the conditions of our cultural and personal lives, as well as the meanings we weave around them’). For example, the depression, unemployment and political polarization of the 1920s and 1930s produced two types of film. There were those which directly mirrored the political developments and social hardship of the times - such as the Charlie Chaplin films - and those which created a fantasy world of make-believe in order to escape the harsh realities of the day - for instance, the Hollywood Busby Berkeley musicals. So what are films telling us about society today? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This short paper describes a recent visit to an exhibition of modern art. It examines my impressions in the light of contemporary psychodynamic theory. The exhibition was called ‘Some Went Mad, Some Ran Away…’ It included the work of fifteen modern artists, mainly created between 1992 and 1994, and selected by the British artist Damien Hirst. The exhibition leaflet said that the artists had used ‘real objects, body-casts, natural and man-made forms, sculpture, painting and photography, to set up a number of provocative juxtapositions’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduces series of articles published in the journal "Psychodynamic Practice."Description of the process of self-development and in view of the fact that the personal therapy requirement for counseling training is less than for psychotherapy or psychoanalysis training; Adoption of a standardized approach to qualitative research; Definition of the field of psychodynamic research.

Editorial. Focuses on the nature of self and identity in establishing self-awareness in adult life. Overview of the articles in discussed in the journal; Aim of the authors in publishing the journal; Recognition of the winner of the Student Essay for 2000.

Introduces the articles contained in the February 1998 issue of the journal 'Psychodynamic Counselling.' 'In sickness and in health? Psychoanalysis and psychosomatics,' by Maggie Turp; 'People and Pets,' by Ellen Noonan; 'Unlimited power: Encountering narcissism in career development counselling,' by Judy Tame Wall and Dale Loewenthal.