Review(s) of: On becoming a Jungian sandplay therapist: The healing spirit of sandplay in nature and in therapy, by Lenore Steinhardt, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2013. PB. RRP $42.95.
Refugee experiences are complex interactions of torture, trauma, exile, migration, settlement, and normal life cycle issues. These experiences are further complicated by the impact of national and international events. They can give rise to a deep sense of loss - loss of family, friends, status, dignity, culture, and one's homeland.
I n this column I want to tackle a particularly controversial topic, that of dual relationships within the context of training. I am not talking about sexual/romantic relationships between trainers and their students, which I, like most people, strongly condemn. But there are other practices within training environments often referred to as 'dual relationships' and some deserve more thoughtful consideration than they seem to have received to date. Here I suspect that political correctness can result in prescriptions that are destructive of optimal educational outcomes. In past columns, I have argued that, even though counselling trainees may derive therapeutic benefits from being in training, we cannot simply transfer the same principles and practices that govern the conduct of counselling relationships to the training environment. Specifically.
In 1963, the first issue of the journal Psychotherapy appeared. Responding to findings reported in a previous publication by Eysenck (1952), Strupp wrote of the "staggering research problems" (p. 2) confronting the field and the necessity of conducting "properly planned an executed experimental studies" to resolve questions about the process and outcome of psychotherapy. Today, both the efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy has been well established. Despite the consistent findings substantiating the field's worth, a significant question remains the subject of debate: how does psychotherapy work? On this subject, debate continues to divide the profession. In this paper, a "way out" is proposed informed by research on the therapist's contribution to treatment outcome and findings from studies on the acquisition of expertise.
Most clinicians today have a toolbox crammed with therapeutic theories and techniques, and can choose from more treatment options than ever before, all of which can sometimes lead to powerful moments of insight and healing. Why then do so many practitioners still find client 'resistance' a regular companion in their consulting rooms? Clients give weak excuses for missed appointments, stare blankly into space when offered suggestions, say 'yes, but ', and ask that the therapist 'fix' them without any effort on their part. Clifton Mitchell suggests that, despite all the advances made in so many areas of psychotherapy theory and practice, too little attention is still given to the idea that the 'resistant' behaviours of clients are just natural reactions to difficult situations, and should be seen as useful forms of communication. He argues that many current therapeutic methods still view resistance as residing within the client, and therapists need to be encouraged to look at their own contributions to the problem. Drawing on Social Interaction Theory and case illustrations, Mitchell suggests a core set of practical guidelines that can help us respond more effectively when the tell-tale signs of 'resistance' appear in our clinical work.
Review(s) of: Engaging with climate change: Psychoanalytic and interdisciplinary perspectives, by Sally Weintrobe, Routledge (published in association with the Institute of Psychoanalysis, London), 2013, PB. RRP $68.95.
Men can become crushed under the weight of the losses involved in committing to a loving relationship with a partner, combined with the losses associated with midlife and aging. These losses generate a narcissistic sting, which can trigger a mad rush to deny, minimise, withdraw, overcompensate, desperately seek reassurance and gratification, and blame others. David Wexler illustrates how the most powerful treatment path in clinical work with men can necessitate a journey toward personal authenticity and emotional intimacy. A primary pathway out of a man's dysfunctional system develops when he accepts responsibility for his emotional distress and takes steps to deal with it without projection of blame. Men often find that the genuine authenticity and intimacy that they develop in this process are incompatible with depression and relationship dysfunctions. Get real, get close, and a lot of the other issues fade into the background.
Despite its many strengths, the emphasis on cognitive and behavioural factors may have led researchers and clinicians to undervalue the role of emotion in clinical practice. Emotion regulation difficulties are central to a range of clinical problems, yet many therapies for children and adolescents lack a focus on emotion and related skills. In this extract from his recent book, Emotion Regulation in Children and Adolescents, Michael Southam-Gerow provides a primer on key ideas including: emotion, emotional competence, emotion awareness, emotion understanding, empathy, emotion regulation, and emotion socialisation. Here, the goal is to provide a broad overview as a way to get a foothold in the fast-growing area of emotion science.
The great pioneers of the psyche Freud and Jung both took the self-analysis of dreams very seriously in their efforts to provide a theoretical map to understand the unconscious realm. Recent research has shown that dreamwork in sessions improved patient evaluation of the usefulness of therapy. Bruce Stevens draws on his own dreams recorded over a period of twenty years to embark on an enthographic research project to compare five therapeutic approaches to the self-analysis of dreams. In this process he considers some primary therapeutic questions: Do different therapeutic approaches to understanding one's dreams differ when compared? Is there value in the self-analysis of dreams? Can any meaningful analysis of dreams be separated from the interpersonal milieu of the therapeutic relationship?
Review(s) of: The relationship paradigm: Human being beyond individualism, by Godfrey T. Barrett-Lennard, Palgrave McMillan, 2013. PB. RRP $52.95.
Research findings are used to market counselling and psychotherapy and assure the public, practitioners and funding agencies that the respective modalities are both effective and credible. However, significant doubts have been raised by a number of commentators who claim that the research produced by the psychology industry is poorly designed, biased, lacks credibility and, at times, is deliberately misleading. There is also debate amongst researchers within the industry over which therapeutic modality is best - these have been called the 'couch wars'. Debate about the efficacy of different treatments has been going on for years. The 'Dodo bird ' debate and the ensuing 'couch wars' has continued for over seventy years.
Algorithms are now acknowledged as having a serious edge over human expertise in forecasting the outcomes of a whole range of activities.
Review(s) of: Love sense: The revolutionary new science of romantic relationships, by Sue Johnson, Little, Brown and Company. 2013. HB. RRP $37.95.
We arrived in The Kingdom of Swaziland at eleven o'clock on a Friday morning in May. Cows wandered over the main highway running through the lovely Ezulwini valley.
To categorise male couple relationships as monogamous or non-monogamous may not reflect the full range of observed arrangements these couples must negotiate. Paul Andrews explores this often contradictory and confusing therapeutic domain, and reports on his research on the many ways agreements about extra-relational sex (ERS) are managed and expressed in committed relationships within a gay male population. He argues that a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding is needed in order to make sense of how dynamics such as understandings of love, commitment and power influenced the choices these men were making. Discussion of findings include how similar relational values, reactions to specific incidents, and the ability to accept influence from one's partner affected decision making, and the difficulties some men had in the process of making decisions about the place of ERS in their relationships.
Review(s) of: What doesn't kill us: The new psychology of posttraumatic growth, by Stephen Joseph, Piatkus, 2012, PB. RRP $32.95.
I have been considering whether to attend a conference that focuses on one of my practice qualifications. I am required to gather PD points particular to this specialisation. I also have two other specialisations that require PD points. Conferences are only one way to accrue points, but a specialist conference makes the whole thing a slam dunk: no need to double-check myself, no need to justify other training that might be seen to be less relevant. Most importantly, I am relieved of 'audit anxiety'. I noted just this week another conference provider writing in advance of the conference to specify how many points will be accrued if I attend, and I haven't even signed up yet. It seems necessary to sign off on the points before even signing up for the conference; to make sure I will be PD point compliant before I am even engaged clinically and intellectually.
