Blog

Some only do what they feel like doing. Others only do what they think they ought to do. And then there is the teenager we are perhaps least likely to encounter at the start of therapy, and most hopeful to see at the end – one who has a growing sense of ownership of his life, and interest in his future. To mark the publication of her new book, Adolescent Psychotherapy: A Radical Relational Approach, Bronagh Starrs shares her concept of ‘configuration styles’ – and explains how they can help us find a therapeutic focus.

From David Bowie and The Beatles to the Myers-Briggs test and Alcoholics Anonymous, Jung’s influence ranges from pop culture to popular psychology. What sometimes slips our notice is his enduring relevance for today’s psychotherapists. To mark the publication today of her new book, C.G. Jung: The Basics, Ruth Williams tells us why it is high time young therapists were reintroduced to Jung – and why asking candid questions about his personal views has to be a key part of that process.

What can therapy teach us about love, and love about therapy? Following the death of her partner of 32 years, Lisa Appignanesi recently published a striking memoir of bereavement interwoven with psychoanalytic approaches to mourning. Ahead of her appearance at the Tavistock Relationships conference later this month, she reflects on coupledom through the rear-view mirror, shares some early marriage guidance tips from the unlikely pen of 19th century French writer Honore de Balzac – and issues a challenge to today’s couples therapists.

Alcohol Awareness Week tends to focus our thoughts on those who drink. But what about the clients who grew up with alcoholics? Are there particular aspects of this experience that we need to be aware of? It was only after he started working for the National Association for Children of Alcoholics that Josh Connolly started to confront the reality of his own childhood. Here, he shares his story, and the vital importance of validation in his own therapeutic journey.

How aware are we that alcohol is more drug than drink? That the actual physiological effects of alcohol are only a small part of the story? And that treating any substance as a ‘vice’ that needs to be ‘given up’ is a fundamental misunderstanding of its function? As Alcohol Awareness Week begins, drug and alcohol awareness trainer Davyd McNamara calls for ‘integration’ not ‘separation’ in working with people who use alcohol. Above all, he says, this should be about the human needs we use alcohol to meet – and the hidden selves we use it to express.

Professor Brett Kahr was shocked when an acquaintance remarked on the ‘ugliness’ of psychotherapists. But it got him thinking. Burdened with misery and immersed in trauma, are we therapists too often weighed down by our work, and preoccupied only with enduring? Published today, Kahr’s new book, How to Flourish As a Psychotherapist, is an attempt to shift this bar. As he argues in this blog, we become better therapists for our clients when we learn, not just how to survive in our profession, but how to thrive.

The Society for Existential Analysis has just marked its 30th anniversary with a forward-looking conference. What might existential therapy, and therapy in general, look and feel like in 2048? As existential psychotherapist Cristalle Hayes reflects, change is both an important evergreen theme in therapy, and a pressing reality for the profession itself. Here she passes on ten key messages from the weekend’s SEA conference, which might just help therapists of all modalities face, and embrace, the future.

Authoritarian personalities have preoccupied researchers since the Fifties. But until recently, a vital part of the story was overlooked: the psychological impact of authoritarian people on those they came into contact with. As Anti Bullying Week begins, American psychotherapist Eric Maisel explains why he created the Authoritarian Wound Questionnaire – and how therapists can help to address this important area of client experience.

The spoken word is considered the quintessential vehicle of psychotherapy. Yet, when it comes to auditory processing, we all have our limitations. In fact, our brains devote more resources to visual processing than all other senses combined. Charles M. Boisvert, the co-creator of Visually-Enhanced Therapy, thinks diagrams can serve the therapy session on many levels – and help us engage with harder to reach clients.

Today is the 20th annual National Stress Awareness Day, created by mental health charity Mind to encourage us all to stop and think about the impact of stress on our lives. That shouldn’t, of course, exclude therapists. We work with our clients' stress. But do we make time to notice our own stress levels? A specialist in trauma, stress and neuroscience, psychotherapist and Director of Psychotherapy Excellence, Tracy Jarvis, recaps the science of stress and the neurology of noticing, and offers some simple suggestions for reducing and regulating stress in your system.