I have always been intrigued by what makes people commit murderous acts of rage. This is not a morbid reflection on man’s inhumanity to man, on my part, or indeed an attempt by me to gain vicarious pleasure from learning of the gory details of forensic events. Rather, it is my way of exploring and […]
Our second weekend on sex involved discussing sexual abuse, erotic transference and how to deal with panic attacks. There were lots of opportunities to discuss the practical aspects of our client work which was very helpful. We also referred to the BACP Ethical Framework. It was perhaps an appropriate time to have this weekend when
I feel rested and ready for the new term of my course following my return from holiday having enjoyed the sunshine in the south of France. I always find the power of now to be easier to achieve in hot and sunny climates, where every day feels like a holiday. It seems that there are
I believe I can be ‘psychotherapeutically correct’ a lot of the time I have now finished my 16 weeks of group process culminating in a weekend residential retreat in the Kent countryside. For the past 16 weeks I have been part of a group process on my course involving weekly unstructured 90 minutes sessions. What started
the journey in transpersonal integrative psychotherapy is to seek one’s essence, one’s real self I often wonder if early life experiences are important in shaping adult character and whether unconscious communication such as transference and counter-transference is integral to transpersonal integrative psychotherapy. Perhaps transpersonal integrative psychotherapy presupposes psychoanalysis or, rather, include it as a first
I have previously discussed the issues surrounding transference and indeed pre transference where I wondered how the circumstances and location of the therapy session affected the minds of both the counsellor and the client. This week I attended a ward round in a health-care setting in a prison as part of psychiatric placement. The unit serves
A lot has been written about transference and counter transference from the therapeutic relationship between counsellor and client. Of course we do not approach people in any walk of life as a blank sheet but rather we ‘transfer’ what we have already learned from the past to the present. However, in psychotherapy it is
It was good to get back to my psychiatric placement at an NHS Mental Health Trust today and to a ward review meeting. I have been sitting in on clinic sessions at a university hospital with consultant psychiatrists covering new assessments, outpatient follow up appointments as well as team meetings discussing the management of care. It was two weeks
My extended interview with systemic psychotherapist, social worker and researcher Dr Marie Keenan, author of Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church Gender, Power, and Organizational Culture. The interview was conducted at UCD in November 2011. Specialising in the area of crime, sexual abuse and sexual offending, Dr. Keenan’s most recent research involves a study of
We have been working on our receptive skills for the main part of the year thus far, how we hold the work of clients. It is important to remember that it is critical to cultivate a degree of restraint in order to be able to reflect back appropriately. Trainee therapists quickly realise that you don’t need