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In this short response to the papers appearing in this special issue (Technology, AI Bots and Psychotherapy After Covid), psychotherapist and author Aaron Balick draws on the variety of themes that have arisen within the contributed papers to reflect on the wider issue of computer mediated human relations. In it he makes a distinction between the papers that focus on the therapeutic process mediated by technology and those that look more broadly at the paradigm of therapy practice in this context. Framing technology as a tool, the author pulls together both strands to explore what psychotherapy research may say about the broader issues of societies mediated by technology and how therapeutic research may contribute to these larger social issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Whilst one might not expect most therapists to assist in changing nappies, what percentage of current therapists would have reported the client on the birth of his son to Safeguarding (UK Government, [5])? However, it is not only this referred to professional who takes over from the therapist who is likely to not have had any personal therapy. All the well-known professional counselling, psychotherapy and psychoanalytical bodies, at least in the United Kingdom, have reduced at least some of their requirements for personal therapy with an ever-increasing number of so-called qualified therapists having had no one-to-one personal therapy at all. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article reviews several articles including "Acknowledging and understanding complexity when providing therapy in prisons," by Joel Harvey, "Therapeutics of despair in the prison setting," by Joanna Gee, Del Loewenthal and Julia Cayne, and "Delivering therapy in prison: An IPA study researching the lived experience of psychotherapists and counsellors," by Betty Bertrand- Godfrey and Del Loewenthal.

The article comments on studies about group psychotherapy published in the periodical. The author addresses the issue of how the studies discussed the most contemporary concerns in the field of psychotherapy. The challenges encountered by psychotherapists and the relevance of psychoanalytic and group therapeutic models are also assessed.

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper contributes to a recent call for dialogue between the different professional groups representing psychotherapy in Europe. At present, two core psychotherapy groups exist in Europe, namely the EAP, representing psychotherapy, and EFPA, representing psychologists specialising in psychotherapy. This article compares and contrasts two competency frameworks representative of these bodies, which capture the skills, knowledge, reasoning and values of the respective professions. The shared and divergent competencies are identified and discussed, followed by suggestions for potential changes in future European competency frameworks. By doing this, we not only respond to the recent call for dialogue but also promote collaboration and discussion between the professional groups representing psychotherapeutic practice both in Europe and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three years, Greece has been in the throes of economic and social crises. The crises have been triggered by the implementation of severe austerity policies and have been connected with negative effects on people's mental health and well-being. Consequently, psychological therapies have been instigated to respond to the arising systemic and political problems such as unemployment, deprivation and economic oppression. Traditional modes of intervention based on individualization, depoliticization and pa-thologization are hard pressed to help people confront such issues. Could mainstream approaches prevail? Using the mythical and tragic hero Prometheus, this review focuses on how psychotherapists and counsellors can help people who have been confronting insurmountable problems to reflect on the meaning of human suffering and develop active resistance against unjust authority in adverse conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the complexity in providing therapy in prisons, therapeutics of dispair in the prison, and the lived experience of psychotherapists and counsellors in providing therapy in prison.

The article offers the author's insights on the work of psychotherapist Peter Lomas, particularly his life and achievements. He states that Lomas was an important person for the alternative history of psychotherapy in Great Britain who articulated a position on issues such as symptom-focused and evidence-based therapy and counseling. He discusses the themes of ordinary language and the role of values in therapy that are both important in the works of Lomas.

This paper offers a brief overview of research on the impact of therapists' professional backgrounds on psychotherapeutic process and outcome as an introduction to the presentations in this special issue on the psychotherapeutic professions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The workforce providing psychological therapies in the UK has traditionally been divided according to where they work, sharp boundaries between professional associations and adherents of different treatment models, and allegiances to other professions. There are signs of a more unified (and larger) psychotherapy profession emerging as a result of government initiatives that, directly or indirectly, have the potential to reduce each of these divisions. The paper summarises recent initiatives in service delivery, training standards, evidence-based practice and professional regulation that are working to reshape the workforce responsible for providing psychological therapies in the UK, especially within publicly funded services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper it is argued that becoming a psychotherapist involves learning about the unknown, not so much as a commodity or as something to be acquired but rather in the sense of learning to speak from our unknowing. If learning about the unknown is considered important in being a psychotherapist, what are the best ways of developing such a practice? The unknown can be approached, broadly speaking, in two ways. Some writers attempt to explain the known of the unknown, for example conceptualised as the unconscious whereas others attempt to hold open the question of the unknown of the unknown. It is argued here that experience and experience of the relational is the milieu for the kind of learning associated with both the known of the unknown and the unknown of the unknown. These ways of viewing the unknown are considered by exploring how they emerge in both learning theory and psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) was formed to provide a professional body for all psychotherapists in the UK. It maintains a register of trained practitioners who abide by the ethical standards ratified by UKCP, which includes psychotherapists working in all the modalities recognized by UKCP irrespective of their primary professional training. In the absence of statutory registration, there is no fully representative list of UK psychotherapists, but the UKCP register is probably the nearest thing to it. The UKCP board recognized that a survey of registrants would provide a snapshot of the state of UK psychotherapy, which would be valuable in understanding the contribution of psychotherapists to health services in the UK. A questionnaire was designed, and sent out to all 4005 practitioners registered by UKCP in December 1997. One thousand three hundred and thirty-one questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 34 per cent. The respondents were representative of all registered psychotherapists in 1998 in those characteristics that are published in the paper register, or that can be inferred from it. The respondents were aged 51 years on average, predominantly white (97 per cent described themselves this way) women (69 per cent) practising in London and the South East of England (55 per cent). All the respondents described themselves as being influenced by psychotherapeutic approaches rooted in psycho-analysis. Ninety-five per cent of respondents had another profession previous to psychotherapy. This was most commonly teaching (27 per cent), social work (22 per cent) or counselling (21 per cent). Only 11 per cent of respondents were psychologists. The contribution of UKCP registrants to the National Health Service has never previously been estimated. A breakdown of the diaries provided by respondents in this survey suggests that UKCP registrants may contribute as many as 44,760 hours of psychotherapy per week to the British National Health Service and other health sectors. Assuming that a whole-time-equivalent psychotherapist works 37 hours per week, this means that UKCP registrants may provide the equivalent work to health service organizations, both public and private, of more than 1,311 full-time psychotherapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study was to understand how relational difficulties in psychotherapy may be handled to represent possibilities for change. Temporary interruptions and subsequent reestablishment of contact were chosen as the strategic focus in one severely challenging case of long term psychodynamic psychotherapy where outcome was known to be good. Interruptions and reestablishments were conceptualised by how the informants gave meaning to them. The choice of focus represented a strategic selection of events in the course of therapy where the regulation of the alliance by the therapist as well as by the patient was at stake. A detailed case record was studied and interviews with patient and therapist were conducted. A hermeneutical-phenomenological approach was used to analyse the material. The narrative dimension was important in structuring and interpreting the data. It was shown how important relational difficulties, such as mutual incompatible expectations and demands was handled both on a structural and interpersonal level, and some important steps and hallmarks of the healing process was identified. Close inspection of the course of events in psychotherapies is seen as a promising method for bringing a better understanding of how change processes unfold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-six psychotherapy students in three groups at one training institute for psychoanalytic psychotherapy in Sweden were asked to fill out a questionnaire about important influences on their professional development during their three-year training and afterwards. The questionnaire was distributed on three occasions during the training program and on one later occasion. Twenty-one students responded to the questionnaire on all four occasions. Working with patients in therapy, getting supervision, and participating in personal psychotherapy were viewed as the three most important influences on the students. The importance attributed to specialist literature and technical skills seemed to increase over time during the training, while the influences of experiences in personal life and personal qualities decreased. These changes in reported views were reversed in the initial years after graduation. Concerning assets, the students valued the ability to be containing and emphatic as the most important, but in their first years as licensed psychotherapists assigned more importance to the ability to create contact. The training program led to a change over time in a higher rating for the importance of technical and methodological attributes and less emphasis on personal characteristics and experiences. Most of the changes reported during training tended to be reversed afterwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working through transferences to the leader/trainer, within a learning community context, is a fundamental and vital element in the training of psychotherapists and counsellors. Bion and Laplanche offer useful ways of thinking about regression and transference in this context; while the four-year training we offer at Roehampton University is phenomenologically based, and has a significant experiential aspect through the learning community; such existential-analytic thinking helps the tutor/leaders live through and communicate the transference experience to our students. A selection of vignettes aims to convey the texture of this experience and an examination of tutor/leader roles in relation to Freud's three ‘impossible professions’ gives an idea of its complexity. There are arguments against tutor involvement of the kind we outline, but we consider here the case for regarding it as mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]