I have often wondered about the impact of role models in my life whether it be the role played by my parents, siblings, teachers, friends or other significant others. I have benefited from the insightful work of Alfred Adler, and his ideas about the birth order, especially since I am from a large family. My personal family constellations […]
I have been continuing with my NHS clinical placement and have been fortunate to shadow the work of one of the largest and oldest established Eating Disorders Services in the world. The service is for anyone from the age of 11 years (with no upper age limit) who are requiring assessment, care and treatment.
This week’s lecture was the concluding one on Transactional Analysis. Dr Eric Berne’s seminar group from the 1950s developed the term transactional analysis (TA) which described therapies based upon his work. This expanded into the International Transactional Analysis Association. While still largely ignored by the psychoanalytic community, many therapists have put his ideas into practice and swear by the effectiveness of
I have been continuing with my placement in an NHS Mental Health Trust and it seems that with every visit I learn something new. I had been familiar with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) before the start of my placement through my lectures and my own prior knowledge. However, this week I attended a team meeting
This week’s very interesting lecture was on Transactional Analysis (TA). When it comes to TA we have a lot to thank Eric Berne. TA is observational and is to do with time structuring. How do clients spend their time? What script are clients using? Berne believed that our script personality was established by age 7. TA is most researched
Last week we broke into groups to devise a strategy for a short term course of treatment for a brief course of therapy. We had been tasked as a group to tackle the philosophical question of whether we worked in a person centred approach or a more structured way when seeing clients within a short framework. Essentially my
Well, I have started my second year on the course. The marking of the passage of time, a new calender year, a new academic year, a new supervision group and a new year tutor was a bit unsettling but such is the nature of change. My new year tutor started the new academic year off
Therapists are often wondering when it is okay to break silence in the therapeutic relationship or whether there are any times when it is never okay to intervene. The appropriate answer will clearly depend on the therapeutic setting and the nature of the relationship, whether it is a contracted (long term) client, a new client or a
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