“The Parallel Dialogue”: Parental experience of their role in the relationship with their child's counsellor/psychotherapist

The parent–therapist relationship is a central consideration in child counselling and psychotherapy, particularly in private practice where parents are typically financially, emotionally and practically invested in the process. The relationship, which can be ambiguous and anxiety-laden on both sides, has historically received scant attention in therapeutic discourse, leading to gaps in practitioner confidence and training. In this context, and seeking to centre parent voices, this study provides an interpretative phenomenological analysis of four mothers' experiences of their role in the relationship with their child's therapist. Key identified themes encompass parental expectation of involvement; the destabilising, disorienting nature of the relationship; the centrality of trust; and critical evaluations of value. Findings are discussed in relation to attachment theory and cultural expectations of parental responsibility. The study concludes that the relationship is a live and potent property with potential to impact the course of the intervention, and recommends that practitioners thoughtfully consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of meeting or frustrating parental involvement expectations.     

A Grammar of Love

Abstract

Recently researchers in the family therapy field have encouraged a focus on aspects of therapy common across all models that are important to therapeutic change. The purpose of this study was to build on the “common factors” literature by exploring clients' perspectives of what was useful to their therapeutic experience. Quantitative and qualitative measures were used to collect data from 41 clients who participated in therapy at a university-based family therapy clinic. Quantitative results indicated that therapeutic relationship, client motivation, extratherapeutic factors, and hope and expectancy accounted for 49% of the variance of clients' perception of change and 73% of the variance of clients' perceptions of therapy helpfulness. Qualitative results indicated the therapeutic relationship to be the most helpful aspect of clients' therapeutic experience.     

Counselling in primary care: a systematic review of the evidence

Primary objective: To undertake a systematic review which aimed to locate, appraise and synthesise evidence to obtain a reliable overview of the clinical effectiveness, cost‐effectiveness and user perspectives regarding counselling in primary care. Main results: Evidence from 26 studies was presented as a narrative synthesis and demonstrated that counselling is effective in the short term, is as effective as CBT with typical heterogeneous primary care populations and more effective than routine primary care for the treatment of non‐specific generic psychological problems, anxiety and depression. Counselling may reduce levels of referrals to psychiatric services, but does not appear to reduce medication, the number of GP consultations or overall costs. Patients are highly satisfied with the counselling they have received in primary care and prefer counselling to medication for depression. Conclusions and implications for future research: This review demonstrates the value of counselling as a valid choice for primary care patients and as a broadly effective therapeutic intervention for a wide range of generic psychological conditions presenting in the primary care setting. More rigorous clinical and cost‐effectiveness trials are needed together with surveys of more typical users of primary care services.