Contents:

• Features
  • Choosing to be childfree

    • For a wide range of reasons more and more women will remain childless. Whilst much of this childlessness is involuntary, an increasing number of women are choosing to live childfree lives. What are the implications of this for our work as therapists?

  • Containing not blaming

    • With the Government poised to widen its psychological therapies programme to include children and young people, there may soon be new opportunities to make a real impact in school settings

  • Emotional Eating

    • With almost one in four adults in England classified as obese, what is needed is a better understanding of the issues underpinning compulsive eating and some targeted psychological help

  • The illusion of choice

    • A belief in the individual’s ability to achieve change through the exercise of choice is central to counselling, but Wendy Jefferson explains why she steers clear of telling her clients that they have a choice

  • Cover feature

    • In order to secure a sustainable future for counselling post-regulation, John McLeod argues that we need to decide on what we want counselling to be, and then work together to achieve our vision

• Regulars
  • Columns
    • Therapist column – The journey not the destination

      • I have been reminded recently of the paradox we often face in our work as counsellors: that is, of how important the everyday things are, and how we can so easily take them for granted. Let me say a little more of what I mean. I work in a northern university.

    • Client column – Taking a big step

      • I think I can be hard work as a person. People see me as independent, wanting things on my own terms, sometimes intimidating, I don’t suffer fools.

    • Student column – Making up role models

      • Following footsteps. It is one of society’s time-honoured mechanisms; the way one grocer begets another, the way the next ward sister is inspired by her mentor.

  • News
    • Use of antidepressants soars

      • Last year in England there were 2.1m more prescriptions of antidepressants than in 2007, leading to concerns that doctors are increasingly supplying the drugs as a ‘quick fix’ without attempting to address the underlying cause of the problems.

    • Depression costs economy £8.6bn a year

      • Depression is costing the economy £8.6bn a year, up from £5.2bn in 1999, according to analysis carried out by the independent research service of the House of Commons Library. The rising number of people prevented from working due to their poor mental health is thought to be behind the increase.

    • Malleable not vulnerable

      • Certain individuals are susceptible to developing behavioural and emotional problems when they experience negative environmental conditions, due to the fact that they carry so-called ‘vulnerability genes’.

    • Under-5s slipping through the net

      • Evidence that under-5s in Scotland are not being monitored for mental wellbeing by statutory services has been highlighted by the Health and Sport Committee in a new report.

    • Mental health attitudes taking a turn

      • Government figures suggest attitudes towards mental health are finally taking a turn.

    • New guidance on sexual boundaries

      • New guidance from the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence sets out how patients can protect themselves from sexual misconduct by healthcare professionals and links to advice for professionals, employers and training bodies.

    • Blushing: a vicious cycle

      • Thinking you’re blushing makes you blush even more, according to research conducted by Corine Dijk and colleagues published in Behaviour Research and Therapy.

    • More young people seek help for drug problems

      • Figures published by the National Treatment Agency (NTA) for BBC Radio 1 have shown that more people than ever under the age of 30 are getting help for problems with drugs.

    • Landmark verdict in employment case

      • Cheltenham Borough Council recently lost its case to sue a former employee for £1m for not disclosing her past experience of depression.

    • Services ‘must place emphasis on recovery’

      • Mental health services must place more emphasis on the principles of recovery, according to a new position statement from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

    • Mind joins call for HPC regulation

      • Mind has joined forces with Witness to welcome the regulation of psychologists by the Health Professions Council (HPC) and urge psychotherapists and counsellors to follow suit.

  • Editorial
    • What’s the difference between counselling and psychotherapy? Now there’s an interesting subject for debate! We could argue that psychotherapy is historically associated with medicine, whereas counselling in Britain has its roots in education and the church.
  • Letters
    • Regulation: refusing to participate

      • Given the growing numbers of BACP members who do not support state regulation of counselling and psychotherapy through the Health Professions Council (HPC), as evidenced by letters and articles in Therapy Today

    • Regulation: refusing to participate - BACP response

      • You raise important matters in your letter and invite us to engage with the challenging debates associated with the ever-changing regulatory landscape.

    • BACP: selling us short?

      • I can’t remember feeling as disappointed with BACP as I do at this moment. I have just finished reading Sally Aldridge’s response to the Alliance for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s statements of opposition to state regulation through the Health Professions Council (‘Making your mind up’, Therapy Today, May 2009)

    • Two agendas merged into one

      • Brian Thorne’s metaphor (‘A collision of worlds’, Therapy Today, May 2009) describing statutory regulation as like putting ballet dancers under the direction of a regimental sergeant major helps us to conceptualise some of the current confusion within the therapy profession – is therapy an art or a science (or both)?

    • Titles: respecting the difference

      • I would draw attention to the objectives of BACP printed on the inside front cover of Therapy Today, in particular that BACP aims to ‘represent counselling at national and international level’. I note that only in the first objective is psychotherapy referred to, and I wish to take issue with the way BACP defines psychotherapists and simultaneously fails to represent its members.

    • Palestine: a fit subject for therapists

      • I thought the article ‘To resist is to exist’ in the March issue of Therapy Today was excellent and informative. I don’t agree with the letter of objection in the May issue and was saddened by the signatories’ attack.

    • Supporting women in mid-life

      • Jim Holloway’s article ‘Moving men at midlife’ (Therapy Today, May 2009) had a particular resonance for my colleague and I as we are in the process of setting up similar groups for women facing midlife issues (also in Cambridgeshire).

    • Thank you

      • I want to thank the editor for the last few issues which have re-ignited my interest in BACP.

    • To resist is to exist: authors’ response to criticism

      • In writing ‘To resist is to exist’,¹ we were motivated by the conviction that what is happening in Palestine can only be sustained in the dark. Reactions to the article seem to bear this out. Much hostility was directed at the editors for having allowed the material to appear, and there was pressure to withdraw it from the website.

    • Turning stones

      • Martin Halifax’s contribution ‘Is therapy for all of us?’ (Therapy Today, May 2009) offered me food for thought and provoked strong feelings in me. I offer two responses.

  • Questionnaire
    • Ernesto Spinelli

      • Like all good existentialists, Ernesto Spinelli has a passion for crime novels of the hard-boiled variety

  • Marketing Toolbox
    • Top 10 tips for perfect PR

      • Building a good relationship with the media can really help to market your practice. Clare Jones offers some guidelines for success

  • Day in the Life

    • Following a first career in teaching, Hugh Clarke joined the Student Counselling Service of London Metropolitan University on placement 15 years ago and is now managing the department

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      • BACP members, we are looking for reviewers to join our book reviews panel. Please email Sally Despenser, Reviews Editor for details: reviews@bacp.co.uk

  • Noticeboard
    • Supervision

      • Search for a supervisor

    • Placements

      • Search for a placement

    • Research

      • Participate in research

    • Networking

      • Find a group to join

• BACP
  • BACP News
    • BACP News

      • News from the Association

  • BACP Professional Conduct
    • Professional Conduct
    • Professional Conduct
    • Professional Conduct
    • Professional Conduct
    • Professional Conduct
  • BACP Professional Standards
    • Professional Standards

      • Accredited members will have the option to use a bespoke BACP logo on their publicity from 1 September 2009, following the launch of a new annual subscription service.

  • BACP Research
    • Counselling girls in Gambia

      • Counselling is high on the agenda for the Department of State for Education in Gambia, and supported by policies relating to Third World development nationally and across Sub-Saharan Africa. With the support of BACP seed-corn research funding, Sue Pattison of the University of Newcastle and Antoinette Corr of the Department of State for Education, Gambia carried out research