Contents:

• Features
  • Dare we do away with professionalism?

    • The institutionalisation of therapy through statutory regulation, Andy Rogers argues, poses great dangers for the profession as a whole and specifically for those working in the person-centred approach

  • Making sense of dementia

    • A new book by Danuta Lipinska shows how person-centred counselling can have positive outcomes for those with dementia and the people who care for them

  • Making your mind up
    • The Alliance for Counselling and Psychotherapy has issued a statement outlining their reasons for opposition to Health Professions Council regulation. Sally Aldridge, Director of Regulatory Policy at BACP, responds to their arguments
  • Moving men at midlife
    • An alarming number of personal issues hit many men in middle age. Joining other men in the context of a personal development group can provide a safe space to weather the midlife transition
  • Protecting the public

    • Whilst there are many genuine concerns and questions about statutory regulation, Jonathan Coe of Witness believes it is the only route that puts public protection first

  • Resisting regulation
    • The Alliance for Counselling and Psychotherapy is diverse in its range of interests but united by a wish to derail HPC state regulation of the psychological therapies. It held its inaugural rally last month
  • Cover feature
    • Statutory regulation will do little or nothing to protect clients, Brian Thorne argues, but it will sap therapists of their creativity and preparedness to take risks
• Regulars
  • Columns
    • Therapist column - Regulatory whispers
      • There is a great new game doing the rounds, and you have probably already played it without realising. It is a variation on the game you might have played as a child, or at very bad parties, called Whispers.
    • Client column - Weeding the plants
      • As I stand on the doorstep for my weekly appointment I notice that the pot plants have been weeded. I had remarked a few sessions ago that I was tempted to weed my therapist’s plants as I stood there. Why would I do that?
    • Student column - Is therapy for all of us?
      • There is an article of faith that accompanies us as counselling students. It is in the room with us every week when we attend college and came to the fore on our recent ‘residential’ – a kind of counselling boot camp
  • News
    • Famous names support anti-regulation coalition
      • Alain de Botton, Tracey Emin, Esther Freud and Will Self are amongst a host of well-known artists, writers and intellectuals who have signed a petition launched by the newly formed
    • Are older patients denied access to services?
      • New research has found serious gaps in the treatments available to older patients experiencing depression, anxiety and panic disorder
    • More help for under 18s’ mental health
      • Two million pounds will be made available by the Scottish Government for specialist services for under-18s with severe mental health problems
    • Lithium in water may help
      • Scientists in Japan have found that very low levels of lithium in drinking water may help prevent suicide
    • Mothers of twins ‘more likely to be depressed’
      • Mothers of twins or triplets are more likely to suffer post-natal depression than other new mothers, according to a survey carried out for the Twins and Multiple Births Association (Tamba)
    • Valleys top antidepressant league table
      • More antidepressant drugs are being prescribed to patients in the south Wales valleys than anywhere else in England and Wales, new figures show
    • Botox mood boost
      • By preventing frowning, Botox may actually make people happier, psychologists claim
    • Turning talking therapies into doing therapies
      • There’s plenty of research evidence for the effectiveness of CBT, but for some reason it doesn’t always seem to work so well in real-life settings, claims CBT expert Glenn Waller
    • Bullied children more likely ‘to suffer delusions’
      • Children who are repeatedly bullied are up to four times as likely to suffer delusions than youngsters not tormented by their classmates, a study by researchers at the University of Warwick has found
    • Homeless need mental health help
      • Experts have already predicted that the recession could lead to a rise in homeless people. And now Crisis and St Mungo’s have called for improved access to specialist services because of the high rates of problems being reported
    • New agency for a new era
      • A new agency to ensure national mental health policies bring about real improvements for patients and carers started work on 1 April 2009
    • Genetic clues to autism
      • Scientists have found the first substantial evidence that autism may be caused by genetic differences that damage the connections in the brain in early childhood
  • Editorial
    • With the Professional Liaison Group (PLG) only two meetings away from completing its work which could see legislation for the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists through the Health Professions Council (HPC) drawn up before a general election next year, a cross-modality alliance has sprung into action and is fighting these proposals.
  • Letters
    • Regulation: where is the evidence?
      • I am aware that Phillip Hodson has worked hard for many years to raise public awareness of the value of counselling and psychotherapy, and he should be applauded for this. In a recent piece for a national newspaper (The Independent, 11 April 2009) he gave an eloquent description
    • Balanced coverage of debate
      • I was pleased that the March issue of Therapy Today indicated the beginnings of a debate on state regulation. Not only did it contain a full page colour advertisement for the Alliance for Counselling and Psychotherapy, it also included excellent letters
    • Ignoring the warning bells
      • I have been a member of BACP for over a decade. During this time many and various issues have been raised, and I have been generally very happy with the Association’s attitudes and responses. Over the past year or so, however, I’ve found myself feeling much less confident
    • Revised depression guidelines
      • Doubtless there will be an enormous response to the information relating to the proposed revised NICE guidelines for depression. Many people more learned and experienced than I will be able to argue the pros and cons
    • The business of integration
      • ‘Yes, I’ve wondered too,’ was my first response to Kevin Chandler’s article ‘Turning tricks’ on the relationship between prostitution and therapy (Therapy Today, April 2009)
    • Computers no substitute
      • I read with interest in the April issue of Therapy Today (‘Online self-help’) regarding computerised CBT (cCBT)
    • IAPT – a golden opportunity
      • There has been much attention paid in recent months to the IAPT training programme for cognitive behavioural therapists, and its potential impact on the counselling profession. Many counsellors and psychotherapists feel concerned that our work may be squeezed out as primary care is putting a strong emphasis on CBT
    • ‘Not the place for politics’
      • As longstanding members of the BACP, we are writing to you concerning the recent, quite shocking article ‘To resist is to exist” in the March issue of Therapy Today
    • Failure of empathy
      • I am sure there will be those who are upset by the article ‘To resist is to exist’ (Therapy Today, March 2009) because it explores the psychological stress on Palestinians and does not equally look at what Israelis are coping with
    • Brave step
      • I am very proud to be a member of an organisation (BACP) which took the brave step of publishing the moving account of the situation in Palestine (Therapy Today, March 2009)
    • Response to NICE on depression guideline update
      • I am writing in advance of the imminent consultation process on revisions to the NICE guideline for depression. This letter represents the views of the Chair and senior staff at the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), as well as our colleagues Malcolm Allen (Chief Executive of the British Psychoanalytic Council) and James Antrican (Chair of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy), on behalf of their organisations
  • Questionnaire
    • Emmy van Deurzen
      • Existential psychotherapist Emmy van Deurzen believes perfect happiness is only found in the peace beyond death
  • Marketing Toolbox
    • When is the price right?

      • Are you charging enough? If not, why not? Clare Jones tackles the sensitive subject of pricing

  • Day in the Life
    • The Place2Be works with 146 schools across the UK providing emotional support to a child population of around 47,000. Fenella Quinn joined them as a volunteer counsellor in 2004 and now manages a hub of eight schools in Greenwich
  • Reviews
    • Value and limitations of research

      • Research in psychotherapy and counselling, Ladislav Timulak, Sage 2008, £19.99, ISBN 978-1412945790 Reviewed by Els van Ooijen

    • Eclectic reader on personality disorder

      • Personality disorder: the definitive reader, Gwen Adshead and ?Caroline Jacob (eds), Jessica Kingsley 2008 £22.99, ISBN 978-1843106401  Reviewed by Gabrielle Brown

    • Immersive story of childhood guilt

      • Guilt: an exploration, Caroline Brazier, O Books 2009, £11.99, ISBN 978-1846941603 Reviewed by Sue Rowe

    • Critique of happiness agenda

      • Psychotherapy and the quest for happiness, Emmy van Deurzen, Sage 2008, £20.99, ISBN 978-0761944119
        Reviewed by Val Simanowitz

    • Engaging guide to EMDR

      • EMDR essentials: a guide for clients and therapists, Barb Maiberger, Norton 2009, £18.99, ISBN 978-0393705690 Reviewed by Joy Kay

    • Working with sound in therapy

      • Listening to music in psychotherapy, Mary Butterton, Radcliffe 2008, £21.95, ISBN 978-1857757415 Reviewed by Gillian Ingram

    • Self-help guide to dealing with death

      • Coping with your partner’s death: your bereavement guide, Geoff Billings, Sheldon Press 2008, £7.99, ISBN 978-1847090539 Reviewed by Melanie Crewe

    • Big ideas about the body

      • Bodies, Susie Orbach, Profile Books 2009, £10.99, ISBN 978-1846680199 Reviewed by Margaret Akmakjian-Pitz

  • Noticeboard
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    • Research

      • Participate in research

    • Networking

      • Find a group near you

• BACP
  • BACP News
    • BACP News
      • The latest news from BACP for members of the Association
  • BACP Research
    • NICE guideline update: questioning the evidence

      • In its updated draft guideline for depression in adults, NICE has downgraded treatment by counselling and psychotherapy. Having reviewed the scientific evidence, BACP questions the rationale on which the new recommendations have been made