In this paper, we present our development of a previously articulated approach to counselling education of transformational learning through a relational dynamic approach (Macaskie et al., 2013). We replace the idea of integration with a values-based approach and supplement the notion of transformational relational learning with a not-knowing…

This paper presents the findings of a survey exploring people's understandings and experiences of Spiritual Abuse (SA) in a Christian faith context. The online survey was completed by 1591 individuals from the UK, 1002 of whom identified as having experienced SA. Inclusion criteria were: membership of the Christian faith, being or having been, a…

Suicide bereavement is a newly developing field of research in the UK, yet over 6,600 people take their own lives here every year. This heuristic inquiry aims to explore the lived experiences of trainee psychotherapists bereaved by maternal suicide. It examines the lived experiences of the researcher and two participants, with data collected…

The changes taking place within the Sheffield service from 1970 onwards, away from child guidance towards a broadly based application of psychology within the whole education department, not just schools, raised questions about training psychologists to take up this new role. Since the publication of the Summerfield report in 1968 (DES, 1968),…

In this article, we consider the ethical issues arising from training counsellors in "Counselling for Depression" in the UK. We describe Counselling for Depression (CfD), a competency-based approach to counselling accredited by the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) agenda in the National Health Service in the UK. We…

Tutors of a child and adolescent psychotherapeutic counselling programme undertook a thematic analysis of five student assignments, from the same student cohort, designed to investigate their motives for undertaking the course. The assignments were thematically analysed utilising ideas derived from consensual qualitative research and narrative…

The research aimed to investigate the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, from the perspective of "non-IAPT" counsellors and psychotherapists working within IAPT services. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with therapists who were currently working within IAPT services, but had no formal…

This retrospective qualitative study investigated the experiences of 12 international students in a postgraduate counselling programme at a higher education (HE) institution in the UK. Results from an earlier empirical study on these students (Pattison, "Counselling and Psychotherapy Research" 3: 107-113, 2003) were mapped against…

This article draws on insights from the sociology of professions to explore the regulatory debate in the psychotherapy and counselling field contrasted with the regulation of arts therapists (art, drama and music therapists). A partial explanation is offered, illustrating the applicability of theory to these groups, but with adaptations to reflect…

The article addresses the question of whether the practice of mandatory personal therapy, followed by several training organisations, is justified by existing research and evidence. In doing so, it discusses some implications of this training requirement from an ethical and ideological standpoint, raising questions of import for training…

In this study the Delphi technique was used to identify the main supervision issues that require attention and consideration when supervising counsellors and psychotherapists working with trauma. A panel of supervisors, who were additionally experienced in working with trauma in adulthood, completed a series of three questionnaires comprising two…

This article considers a number of issues facing those involved in counselling and psychotherapy training within United Kingdom Higher Education Institutes. It is proposed that the increasing professionalisation of counselling and psychotherapy has significant implications for lecturers and trainers. The article will explore the tension between…

This paper is the first stage in a larger international comparative project, coordinated through the International Association of Counselling, on policy determinants in the education of counsellors. It arose in part out of an interest in the cultural determinants of what is taken as evidence. As a first stage for the project, a case study approach…

Despite the continuing expansion of psychotherapeutic training programmes within universities in the UK, very little has been written about the psychological strains which may be experienced by teams working within the context of higher education. This theoretical paper offers a psychoanalytic perspective on the location of such teams, drawing on…

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…