Controversies in Psychotherapy and Counselling

by Colin Feltham

• ISBN13: 9780761956402
• ISBN10: 0761956409
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-04
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd

Summary

'My congratulations to Colin Feltham for assembling a set of contentious issues and lively authors which together made me forget my surroundings' - Person-Centred Practice'Editor Colin Feltham's choice of topics shows an astute, on-the-ground awareness of the issues that dog the industry, while still making lively reading' - New TherapistIn this book, leading practitioners, critics and commentators take sides on many topical and core debates including:· Theoretical issues: Does the unconscious really exist? Is birth trauma a fiction? Should one believe in 'false memories'?· Clinical issues: Is therapy effective? Is 'the relationship' central to success? Do therapists pathologize their clients? Are boundaries necessary?· Professional issues: Do trainees need therapy? Is professionalization of the field desirable? Are counselling and psychotherapy really distinguishable?· Social issues: Can therapy be proven necessary? Does therapy benefit individuals or contribute to social control? Does stress really exist?

Table of Contents

Notes on contributors	vi
Controversies in psychotherapy and counselling	1	(6)
Colin Feltham
Part I Theoretical Issues
Does the unconscious mind really exist	7	(8)
E.M. Thornton
On the existence of the unconscious	15	(10)
Tim Kendall
Peter Speedwell
Primal therapies - stillborn theories	25	(9)
Jennifer M. Cunningham
The trauma of birth	34	(9)
John Rowan
False memories - a peripheral issue?	43	(10)
Roger Scotford
Believing patients	53	(11)
Marjorie Orr
Part II Clinical Issues
The ineffectiveness of psychotherapy	64	(10)
W.M. Epstein
It has been amply demonstrated that psychotherapy is effective	74	(12)
Stephen Saunders
The main change agent in effective psychotherapy is specific technique and skill	86	(9)
Albert Ellis
The main change agent in psychotherapy is the relationship between therapist and client	95	(9)
David Howe
Deconstructing diagnosis: psychopathological practice	104	(9)
Ian Parker
Psychopathology is a reality and psychodiagnosis is a necessity	113	(11)
Norman D. Macaskill
The limitations of boundaries	124	(8)
Derek Gale
Maintaining boundaries in psychotherapy: a view from evolutionary psychoanalysis	132	(10)
David Livingstone Smith
Part III Professional Issues
Personal therapy as a training requirement: the lack of supporting evidence	142	(13)
Ann Macaskill
In defence of therapy for training	155	(9)
Valerie Sinason
Becoming an effective psychotherapist or counsellor: are training and supervision necessary?	164	(10)
Jim McLennan
Training and supervision make a difference	174	(8)
Mary Connor
Against and beyond core theoretical models	182	(12)
Colin Feltham
Training in a core theoretical model is essential	194	(12)
Sue Wheeler
Professionalization of therapy by registration is unnecessary, ill advised and damaging	206	(11)
Richard Mowbray
Registration benefits and is necessary to the public and the profession	217	(8)
Digby Tantam
Psychotherapy and counselling are indistinguishable	225	(8)
Brian Thorne
There are real differences between psychotherapy and counselling	233	(8)
Jan Harvie-Clark
Part IV Social Issues
Stress discourse and individualization	241	(11)
Tim Newton
Employee assistance programmes and stress counselling: at a crossroads?	252	(17)
John Berridge
Psychotherapy and counselling as unproven, overblown and unconvincing	269	(9)
Alex Howard
Psychotherapy as essential health care	278	(9)
Jeremy Holmes
Mind at the end of its tether	287	(7)
Fay Weldon
Counselling and psychotherapy as enabling and empowering	294	(10)
Sheelagh Strawbridge
Index	304