Counsellors' use of reflective space

While reflection on practice is a frequent and essential aspect of counselling, what exactly this process entails is not completely clear. This paper describes a study of counsellors ‘caught in the act’ of reflecting, and uncovers various ways counsellors made use of a reflective space.     

Mapping grief: A study in practice using a quantitative and qualitative approach to exploring and addressing the range of responses to loss

The Adult Attitude to Grief (AAG) scale was devised for an earlier study (Machin, 2001) to test the validity of a concept of loss, which proposed that grief reactions fall broadly into three categories — ‘overwhelmed’, ‘balanced’ and ‘controlled’. There was statistical support for the proposed differences but the AAG scale, more importantly, provided insight into the diverse reactions taking place in individual bereaved respondents. This paper describes a second study undertaken to examine the clinical usefulness of the AAG scale with clients receiving help within the Psychological Services Operating Unit of the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare (NHS) Trust. The scale has been used both in its original form with bereaved clients and in a modified form with clients having distress symptoms associated with other losses, such as relationship breakdown or the onset of chronic illness. The use of the AAG scale in this clinical setting suggests that, both as an assessment tool and as a cue for therapeutic dialogue, it provides a promising way of mapping the general and particular characteristics of response to loss in individual clients. Consideration is also given to varying therapeutic approaches needed to help clients regain the equilibrium disturbed by their grief.     

The participation of children and adolescents in family counselling: The German experience

This paper reflects the experiences of young people in child guidance and family counselling. For this purpose, first the institutional background of these counselling services in Germany is outlined. The fact that the adolescents concerned feel partly excluded and insufficiently integrated into the counselling process is illustrated through qualitative analysis of the experiences 17 young people had during their counselling process. These empirical findings are critically discussed in terms of the institutional conditions and methodical approaches which counteract the involvement of the actual addressees of the counselling service. The paper concludes that professionals need to attend more to facilitating the participation of young people.     

Evolution,depression and counselling

In this paper a framework of evolutionary psychology is used to develop a model of depression. In this model depression is seen as not normally a biochemical illness or disorder, but instead as usually due to the person becoming trapped within a psychologically activated but unwanted and inappropriate suite of natural emotions, with the activation coming from a perception of a major decline in personal usefulness that can include failure, guilt, shame or perceived rejection. A neuropsychological observation that supports this model is described. The implications of the model for counselling with depressed clients are outlined in terms of a multi-dimensional approach, oriented around perceived usefulness. It is predicted that clients receiving such counselling will recover more rapidly and be less likely to suffer a relapse than those receiving just drugs or a form of counselling that covers fewer dimensions.     

History of the Association of Medical School Psychologists (AMSP), 1982–2005

This paper presents a brief history of the Association of Medical School Psychologists (AMSP) from the Association’s beginning in 1982 to the present day. Prior to 1982, there had been several unsuccessful efforts to form an association that would represent psychologists in academic medical centers. Attempts by psychiatry to limit the growing number and influence of psychologists in medical schools created a sense of threat among psychologists that catalyzed the formation of the Association. Membership was initially restricted to one senior psychologist from each medical school, a restriction that limited AMSP’s development, but AMSP later opened its doors to all academic medical center psychologists. The Association was rebuffed in initial efforts to join the Association of American Medical Colleges, and at a later date, to become a Division of the American Psychological Association (APA). In time, however, AMSP did establish formal ties to both of those organizations, and it has collaborated with APA in important surveys of academic medical center psychologists. Following a period in the late 1990’s when AMSP seemed likely to lose its way, the Association rebounded. AMSP now has an Administrative Director, a stable home base, and revised bylaws that assure greater stability and continuity of leadership. These developments, in conjunction with a strong working relationship with the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, have positioned AMSP to grow and more effectively serve the community of psychologists who work in academic medical centers.     

The effectiveness of counselling with older people: Results of a systematic review

In 2003 the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) commissioned a systematic review of the research evidence relating to counselling older people. This paper reports on some of the findings of this review, particularly those which address the effectiveness of counselling with this population. Electronic searches of the research literature spanned six databases and were supplemented by hand‐searches of reference lists and key journals, along with an extensive search of the “grey” literature. The location of papers testing interventions which fall within a definition of counselling set out by the BACP, with samples aged 50 years of age or above resulted in the inclusion of 47 relevant studies. Studies investigated a variety of mental health problems in older people, particularly depression, anxiety, dementia and the psychological impact of physical conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Of the 47 studies, eight tested counselling as a generic treatment, 15 tested cognitive behavioural therapy, 13 tested reminiscence therapy, and 11 tested various other specific approaches. The review concluded that counselling is efficacious with older people, particularly in the treatment of anxiety and depression and outcomes are consistent with those found in younger populations. Evidence as to the efficacy of counselling interventions in the treatment of dementia is weak.