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This paper examines the question of how counselling psychology might move forward into the future. It argues that, for many counselling psychologists, the defining feature of our profession lies in a humanistic value-base; and that, to move forward, we need to look at how that could be more fully actualised. The paper argues that this value-base is most succinctly expressed in Levinas's concept of 'Welcoming the Other,' and it proposes five ways in which this ethic might be taken forward: developing our capacity to see beyond diagnoses, enhancing our responsiveness, focusing more fully on our client's intelligibility, taking a lead in giving psychology away, and developing our evidence base. The paper concludes by suggesting that the key issue is not the survival of counselling psychology as a profession; but the survival, development and proliferation of this value-base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mick Cooper is Professor of Counselling Psychology, as well as Acting Director of the Centre for Research in Psychological Wellbeing (CREW) at the University of Roehampton. Aside from being a research-active practitioner, with research interests in counselling with children and young people as well as humanistic, existential and relational approaches to therapy, Mick is co-developer of the pluralistic approach to therapeutic practice. He has published numerous research articles and texts including his latest book ‘Psychology at the Heart of Social Change: Developing a Progressive Vision for Society’. Mick kindly agreed to be interviewed by two of our editors (Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez & Eva Fragkiadaki) to discuss qualitative research within psychotherapy and counselling research, his own research journey as a therapist and to give us tips and pointers for therapy trainees and bridging the gap between research and therapeutic practice for our Special Issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes, acceptability and helpful aspects of a pluralistic therapeutic intervention for depression. Design: The study adopted a multisite, non-randomised, pre-/post-intervention design. Methods: Participants experiencing moderate or more severe levels of depression (as assessed by a score of 10 or greater on the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale, PHQ-9) were offered up to 24 weeks of pluralistic therapy for depression. This is a collaborative integrative practice oriented around shared decision making on the goals and methods of therapy. Of the 42 participants assessed, 39 (92.9 per cent) completed two or more sessions. Participants were predominantly female (N=28, 71.8 per cent) and white (N=30, 76.9 per cent), with a mean age of 30.9. The principal outcome indicator was improvement and recovery on the PHQ-9 and Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. Results: Of the completer sample, 71.8 per cent of clients (N=28) showed reliable improvement and 43.6 per cent (N=17) showed reliable recovery. Effect sizes (Cohen's d) from baseline to endpoint were 1.83 for the PHQ-9 and 1.16 for the GAD-7. On average, the clients found the PfD sessions helpful and valued the flexibility and collaborative approach of their therapists. Clients felt that change had been brought about by their own active engagement in therapy and through the therapists relational qualities, as well as their use of techniques. Conclusions: Initial indications suggest that pluralistic therapy for depression has acceptable outcomes, retention rates, and user satisfaction. Refinement and further testing of the approach is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bereavement research has traditionally focused on the negative sequel of loss. Recently, however, research has begun to focus on the positive outcomes following loss: post-traumatic growth (PTG). Purpose: To synthesise studies which directly examine PTG following bereavement. Design: This is the first systematic review which synthesises studies into directly examining PTG following bereavement. Data sources: From the 70 published journal articles reviewed from PubMed, PsychINFO, IsiWeb of Knowledge Google Scholar, Science Direct, Springer Link, Taylor & Francis online, Sage Journals and Wiley Online Library, only 15 studies were directly examining PTG following bereavement and thus, included in this review. Results: Findings of this systematic review suggest that PTG can indeed occur following bereavement and that certain factors can act as mediators for such growth to emerge. Key factors are: (1) The age of the bereaved; (2) social support; (3) time since death; (4) religion; and (5) active cognitive coping strategies. Conclusions: Further research should include comparative-longitudinal studies controlling for maturational growth with non-trauma comparisons, as well as meta-analytic studies designed to examine effect sizes for associations among variables theorised to predict PTG following bereavement. Potential clinical applications include therapists becoming better positioned to recognise when PTG is likely to occur and its mediating factors, in order to more effectively facilitate it [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research data suggests that eating disorders symptomatology is determined by the individual's unique combination of biological and psychological factors, in relation to their familial and social backgrounds (Brumberg, 2000). This means that different clients may benefit from different psychological interventions (Lock et al., 2010). Purpose: This systematic review investigates the significance of the quality of the therapeutic alliance for the effectiveness of psychological treatments with eating disorders. Method: A review of electronic databases was conducted against pre-determined exclusion and inclusion criteria, with applicable studies been abstracted using the PRISMA four-phase flow diagram (Moher et al., 2009). Nine quantitative and two qualitative studies which were published prior to June 2012 were included, and their data are critically considered and analysed. Findings: The quality of the therapeutic alliance is significantly associated with the success of treatment outcome for anorexia nervosa, although its importance remains unclear for bulimic individuals. Discussion: Possible reasons behind the ambiguity of the results are discussed, and alternative contributors to successful treatment outcomes are incorporated. Conclusion: Notwithstanding the fact that this systematic review encountered a number of limitations, the findings could inform practice as well as form the basis for additional research in the field of eating disorders [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]