Virtual Reality (VR) has been defined as the use of technological interfaces to simulate the behaviour of 3D entities that interact in real time with a user immersed via sensorimotor channels. The aim of this study is to explore the possibilities and limitations in the use of VR systems in mental health treatment and research. We conducted a…

Poetry therapy is an arts-based psychotherapeutic intervention, often delivered in groups. This paper argues that the process and benefits of poetry therapy may be particularly suited to clients recovering from anorexia, as an adjunct to other treatments. Poetry therapy and its history are described briefly, and the relevance of poetry therapy for…

Attending personal therapy sessions is a requirement in many counselling and psychotherapy trainings worldwide. More research is needed to establish why the requirement is essential and what it is intended to achieve. This study focused on the question, "what is the rationale for mandated self-development requirements in therapy…

The authors conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature associated with Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) and Reflecting Team (RT) methods in order to find evidence for their use within skills development in therapist trainings. Inclusion criteria were: empirical research, reviews of empirical research, and responses to these; RT…

Dialogue is presented as human alternative to armed conflict. A non-national forum where interests and values can be uncovered, and which provides context for potential dialogic encounter, is tentatively suggested. Some insights from realm of counseling and psychotherapy that can contribute to understanding of the nature of dialogue are explored.…

Individuals can be envisaged as living within a number of parallel universes of discourse, where different meanings and values may apply. The inner and outer worlds of the counseling client also constitute different universes. Decisions made with respect to one universe may have different meanings or adverse consequences in another; it beholds the…

Argues that change processes in psychotherapy can be understood more clearly by comparing them with other change-inducing social relationships. In showing how this may be done, describes different social interactions and discusses them in terms of a parsimonious set of common factors in change. Stresses the importance of the cross-fertilization of…

Reviews the topics of the symposium covered in this issue of the "British Journal of Guidance and Counselling." The papers, focusing primarily on the United Kingdom, comment on the past, present, and future of counseling, guidance, and psychotherapy. Specific topics include the rise of psychoanalysis, the development of the counseling…

Traces the history of psychological therapies, including behavior therapy and humanistic therapies that challenged the initially dominant psychoanalytic model. Examines the development of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and the British Confederation of Psychotherapists, as well as other developments, such as psychotherapeutic studies…

Charts the development of counseling in Britain and speculates about possible directions counseling may take in the future. Focuses on counseling as a developing profession; the relationship between counseling and psychotherapy; the role of supervision; the development of standards and ethics; and the tension between relational and technical…

Expresses the author's personal view of evil as considered by psychotherapeutic theories. Challenges the psychotherapeutic tendency to avoid the moral and existential dimensions of evil via the transformative language of psychopathology that allows practitioners to rely upon metaphors of disease or immaturity. Presents an inter-psychic viewpoint…

Addresses the challenge of meeting the requirements of the United Kingdom's new National Health Service in primary care, while at the same time protecting conditions for counseling as a creative rather than a mechanical process. The profession of counseling and psychotherapy in primary care needs to rapidly find its place within the new…

Explores the experience of psychotherapists (N=100) working with suicidal patients. Findings indicate that suicidal patients can evoke intense feelings within the therapist. Commonly mentioned responses include feelings of hopelessness and helplessness and a sense of failure. Outlines measures vital to the support of therapists and discusses the…

Examines potential relationships to explore between counseling and philosophy. Posits that philosophy already provides the ground on which counseling stands, and, therefore, if counseling is to strengthen its foundations, it needs to examine where it currently locates itself intellectually, ethically, and culturally. (Contains 11 references.) (GCP)

An on-going theoretical issue for pastoral counseling concerns the integration of psychological and theological concepts. The possibility of exploring the compatibility of Gestalt psychotherapy and feminist theology is considered with reference to the 'practical-values' of each, and it is proposed that there is significant common ground between…