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This article reports on the rigour of a selection process for master's degree programmes in clinical and counselling psychology at an undisclosed university in South Africa over a six-year period (n=81). This was achieved by completing correlation and regression analyses between the six selection activities, the six course modules, and the course average in the student's M1 year. Results showed significant positive regressions between the metaphors activity, child psychopathology, and theory of psychological interventions modules, between the research task and neuropsychology, between the psychopharmacology and psychopathology modules, and between the problem-solving activity and the course average. The case study activity negatively predicted the ethics and practical work and applied and community psychology modules. The conclusion was that the selection process can be considered valid, as the skills assessed for most of the selection activities positively correlated and predicted the skills required to succeed both academically in the M1 year and as a practising psychologist. However, the case study activity required further investigation, as the skills that are purportedly assessed should correlate and positively predict the ethics and practical work module, which was not the case. Future studies should also investigate the usefulness of interviews during this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to university is a process that presents young adults with several challenges in adaptation, especially students with disabilities. The current study investigated the differences in adaptation and academic performance between students with and without disabilities and further examined these differences among students with disabilities. Additionally, we explored the role of academic support for students with disabilities' adaptation and academic performance, as well as their perceptions of a proposed specialised package of counselling psychology interventions. The sample consisted of 127 students with disabilities and 127 without disabilities, aged 18–24 years. Results revealed that students with disabilities reported a lower GPA and adaptation than students without disabilities. Additionally, differences among students with disabilities were observed only in terms of GPA, according to their disability type, existence of comorbidity and type of exam accommodations. Interestingly, no differences were found in GPA or adaptation between students with disabilities who utilised psychological therapy and those who did not. Finally, adaptation scores, but not GPA, were higher for students with disabilities who were positive in receiving a specialised package of counselling psychology interventions. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature and future considerations of counselling psychology's role in support of students with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overemphasis on appearance and strong appearance stereotypes to date are expected to contribute to the challenges and distress of people who live with skin conditions and those with appearance distress. Skin conditions are highly prevalent and are often associated with high levels of distress and disruption in the life and well-being of patients. On the other hand, demand for cosmetic procedures and elective plastic surgery has been increasing. Psychological interventions in the field of skin and appearance rarely feature person centred approaches. We intend to fill this gap by: Juxtaposing symptom-based and person centred conceptualisations; Presenting person centred ways of working therapeutically of skin and appearance related concerns and Discussing potential challenges in application of the approach in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The relevance of the work is set by the need to develop new approaches and methods in psychological counseling and psychotherapy. Objective. The article presents the results of three research works currently being carried out by the Laboratory of Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy researchers of the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education. These studies aim to investigate various aspects of helping practices: (1) the professional competencies of counselling psychologists, (2) the specifics of the psychology of communication in logopsychotherapy, and (3) existential Self of teenagers in artlogotherapy. Results. The first direction emphasizes that there are many models of professional competencies of counselling psychologists and psychotherapists, accepted by various professional communities and schools of psychotherapy. Relying on such models simplifies assessing the development of competencies in students during the learning process and in practitioners with increasing work experience. The authors present the results of developing their theoretical model of the competencies of psychologists-consultants. The second direction focuses on the fact that one of the most important competencies that a specialist in the helping professions must possess to be effective in communication is the ability to inspire confidence in his work. A study of the attitudes towards psychotherapeutic influence in the system of the family group logopsychotherapy is presented, which made it possible to identify the main two types of such attitudes: a setting for communication as a way to transfer the information and setting for trust in the methodology and the leader. The study also revealed a typology of attitudes towards the impact of a significant Other on the personality. The third research direction is represented by the discussion of a study on the existential self of a client personality in the artlogotherapy. It shows how the art-logo technique “Jewel” by T.A. Popova contributes to understanding by the client the value of his own life. The technique can be used from early adolescence. Conclusion. It is stated that the use of integrative methods combining several approaches is a promising direction of psychological counselling.

This article examines how client expectations about psychological therapy compare with subjective experiences of undertaking therapy. We interviewed 10 clients who had recently completed therapy about their expectations and experiences, and thematically analysed data in the template style. Three themes are presented ([1]"I didn't know what I was capable of"; [2] "It's 50% me, 50% her"; [3] "You take your stabilisers off and off you go") which describe the experience of psychological therapy from the client perspective, and highlight how expectations compared to experiences of therapy, and changed over time. Findings could inform the development of materials to ensure those referred to therapy are well informed and prepared for therapy, potentially promoting improved client experiences and therapy engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To introduce this special section about practice-based research and counselling psychology, I first provide a brief overview of the discourses and methods of practice-based research in counselling psychology and psychotherapy fields. I then discuss each of the three papers appearing in this special section, before concluding with some further reflections on the questions and issues raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay focuses on the contribution and challenges posed by existential practice (as a psychological psychotherapeutic and counseling model) in interdisciplinary groups and settings where the practitioners work mostly with cognitive behavioural models. The existential approach, inspired and influenced by philosophical thinking, focuses on the right of every person to live authentically by exploring and shaping his/her own needs. The emphasis on accepting pain as part of the human nature as well as managing fundamental and inherent existential anxieties such as loss, existential isolation, search of meaning, responsibility and freedom in shaping choices, can work (often paradoxically) as a map on the multidimensional path, leading to authenticity, spiritual transcendence and personal happiness. My work based on personal experience aims to reflect on whether and how the existential approach on human issues can contribute to and co-exist in counseling and therapeutic settings (hospitals, universities' student support, psychotherapeutic centers, child care centers, etc.) where cognitive approaches prevail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content & Focus: This study has investigated how White trainee counselling psychologists construct their experience of training in the area of racial difference, and how they discursively explore and negotiate their own potential for racial prejudice within the therapeutic encounter. This study attempts to offer some insight into the available discourses and their role in the creation of subject positions that the trainees come to occupy. Method: Using the framework of Critical Discursive Psychology (CDP), data from eight interviews and two focus groups have been discursively analysed and are presented as one of an ever-evolving number of possible analyses. The study consisted of four female and four male participants, ranging in age from 28-57 years, who were between their second and fourth year of training. Findings: The present analysis of the data has found that as the participants grapple with their professional identities as counselling psychologists in training, they inhabit one of three seemingly omnipresent discursive fields; 'colour-blindness', 'interculturalism' and 'pluralism'. These fields offer the trainees alternative constructions of practice that are drawn on depending on which professional representation appears to be at stake. In particular, the participants struggle to balance the desire for value free openness associated with a pluralistic approach, alongside a need for professional competency. This professional competency is characterised by a dependence upon generalised understandings of racialised groups as supported by an intercultural perspective. Conclusion: It is argued that the multifaceted epistemological roots of counselling psychology leave much open to interpretation. Discursive fields are occupied interchangeably and supported by ideologies that are seemingly ill-defined. The present study would argue that the result is a basis for practice that runs the risk of alternating between privileging and excluding difference, whilst espousing an apparent integrity presented within the theory of pluralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a therapeutic approach focusing on the role of interpersonal dynamics in creating psychological difficulties that may be particularly relevant to the field of counselling psychology. IPT's development within randomized controlled trials in the 1970s resulted in a strong empirical foundation without a cohesive theory. Regardless, theorists have since created a theoretical framework for IPT, which has received empirical support. Counselling psychologists have contributed to this research base and may have unique expertise to enhance IPT. Specifically, counselling psychologists can help integrate multicultural and diversity perspectives into IPT with the goal of creating a more culturally competent approach. For example, several aspects of IPT can be expanded to reflect these perspectives, such as integrating cultural sensitivity, cultural knowledge, cultural empathy, and cultural guidance. The authors conclude that IPT is a well-researched and effective treatment approach that holds potential for continued development within counselling psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using attachment and mentalisation theories as a framework, the present paper aims to explore the impact of the current socio-economic crisis on the micro-processes and interpersonal dynamics that emerge between client and therapist as well as the ethical dilemmas that surface within the context of the therapeutic relationship. The first part of the paper focuses on the intrapsychic level and the subjective appraisal and experience of the crisis, as this may differ from individual to individual as well as the unique meaning-making processes that take place for clients and therapists alike. It is argued that the socio-economic crisis itself cannot be seen as an entity that is entirely independent and external to the individual but as a phenomenon that interacts in unique ways with the individual's inner current and past experience. The second part focuses on the exploration of intersubjective processes that emerge between client and therapist, in particular the transference-countertransference dynamic, as this develops within conditions of increased arousal and anxiety. The role and responsibility of counselling psychologists in preserving reflexivity, empathy and a mentalising stance (through supervision and personal therapy) are highlighted in order to safeguard the ethical and competent practice of counselling psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wittgenstein showed us non-dualist mental processes that have relevance for psychotherapy and our ecology. His methodology is therapeutic in that it helps us realise that our attunement with nature and each other is natural and immediate. This thinking helps us redeine mental health, and with the aid of feedback tools enhance our attunement to clients and their attunement to the world. The values of counselling psychology, with its focus on conversational meaning-making, are highly consistent with the demands of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the psychological health of Pasiika people in New Zealand continues to challenge clinicians and health professionals, particularly in the provision of therapeutic care that is both beneficial and culturally anchored. This article discusses the Uputaua Therapeutic Approach, a Samoan-based perspective in counselling psychology aimed at supporting clinicians and researchers in this important endeavour. A case-study example is provided to conceptualise this approach more specifically within a therapeutic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the process of conducting qualitative research augments the development of many of the fundamental psychotherapeutic skills needed by counselling psychology students. By conducting qualitative research the student optimally develops a psychologically sophisticated understanding of their own worldview and personality, an intellectual rigor, and trust in the process and an empathic, open, curious and respectful ability to become immersed in the research participant's lived world. Leaving the security of the already known, maintaining an optimal distance from the data and resisting the pull for premature closure, the student learns to tolerate complexity, confusion and ambiguity. The student gradually identifies patterns and forges meaning at increasingly higher levels of abstraction. These skills are transferrable to the process of conducting psychological therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content and Focus: Counselling psychology's 30-year passage in the UK, its origins and philosophy, open a reflective article that also considers training, research and practice. Academic and reflective practitioner's roles grounded in human science often work in contexts where natural science predominates. The effects of the influence of recent economic and political changes are considered; this discipline's responses to these effects are outlined. This article is a summary of an invited address given in Melbourne, Australia, in February, 2013. Conclusions: The sharing of the philosophy, practice, research and training of counselling psychologists across countries in an increasingly aware international climate will have advantages for the discipline; however, the fuller benefits remain to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Counselling psychology training courses in the UK are required to focus upon at least two therapeutic approaches. Such a stipulation means that trainees need to become competent at navigating the complexities associated with therapeutic integration (e.g. tolerating its ambiguous nature), a factor that proves commensurate with the pluralistic stance often advocated in the theoretical writings of counselling psychologists. This study intends to explore such challenges and engage with the philosophical nature of 'being and becoming' a pluralistic therapist. Method: A case study design has been adopted to reflect in depth upon one counselling psychology trainee's understanding of their developing therapeutic practice. The trainee in question kept a detailed reflexive journal whilst undertaking a training activity which involved working as a therapist over a six-week period with a colleague on the same training programme. Cooper and McLeod's (2011) pluralistic framework for counselling and psychotherapy was actively utilised to harness the therapeutic work. The journal was analysed using thematic analysis with a view to eliciting the major themes associated to the trainee's experience of 'becoming a pluralistic therapist'. Findings: Analysis of the data would indicate that the trainee was becoming a pluralistic therapist through the interaction between four selves: the Reflective Self, Thoughtful Self, Relational Self, and Skilled Self. Each of these is briefly introduced and discussed. Discussion and Conclusion: The paper ends by reflecting upon the complexities inherent in using pluralist philosophy to underpin therapeutic work. Incorporated within this, it reflects upon some of the challenges associated with using the pluralistic framework in practice. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for those training in programmes that advocate pluralistic practice. In particular the importance of understanding pluralistic philosophy, the positive role of ambiguity, the personal nature of training, and the need for further research in this area are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content and Focus: The aim of this paper is to introduce the sense of coherence (SOC), a core construct of Antonovsky's salutogenic model of health and resilience, and to explore its relevance for counselling and psychotherapy. Antonovsky defined the SOC as global orientation expressing the extent to which the individual perceives the stimuli deriving from one's internal and external environments as predictable, manageable and meaningful. A strong SOC is assumed to help people to manage stress and stay healthy. Research findings show a close relationship between SOC and psychogenic aspects of health. The paper focuses on the possibilities of fostering the SOC as global orientation in a therapeutic setting. It explores the conceptual overlap between SOC and different therapeutic approaches by analysing and comparing the relevant literature. The review of the relevant literature suggests that a salutogenic framework can help to shift the therapeutic focus towards resources and actualisation of potential. This is supported by findings of research studies on counselling and psychotherapy interventions utilising the SOC as an outcome measure. Conclusions: Used as a general framework in working with clients, the SOC has the potential to put salutogenic resources, actualisation of potential and empowerment processes at the centre of therapeutic attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This report describes the case of Ed, a mid-30s male, who sought help after struggling over two decades with social anxiety and compulsive behaviours. In recent years Ed had developed an internet pornography addiction, and felt shackled in an unsatisfactory marriage. Content and Focus: An evolving theoretically integrated therapy, spanning a four-year period, was co-created between therapist and client, predominantly using relational Transactional Analysis (Berne, 1961, 1966; Hargarden & Sills, 2002) and the Skilled Helper Model meta-framework (Egan, 2010). The treatment integrated individual and group therapy modalities. Conclusions: The outcomes suggest the utility of a pluralist psychotherapeutic approach combining interventions under a meta-framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to explore some of the tensions and dilemmas of combining different qualitative methods in a single study. The author presents a sample of results from recent research exploring the role of attachment status in counselling psychologists’ experiences of personal therapy. Participants were interviewed twice: once using Main and Goldwyn's Adult Attachment Interview, coded for reflective function (Fonagy, P., Target, M., Steele, H., & Steele, M. (1998)); and subsequently using a semi-structured interview format, analysed via interpretative phenomenological analysis, to explore experiences of personal therapy. Meshing results from both sets of data raised interesting questions about how to reconcile interpretations drawing on attachment theory with phenomenological, experience-near descriptions of personal therapy. Drawing on neo-pragmatist philosophies, the author considers how participants’ accounts can be seen to interrogate the professional view that personal therapy is an indispensable part of psychotherapeutic training. The value of retaining a pluralist perspective within qualitative research is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Somatic phenomena in the countertransference have historically received minimal attention despite evidence of their occurrence in the therapeutic encounter. In the field of Counselling Psychology, there seems to be an apparent gap in the academic coverage and clinical utilisation of therapists’ somatic states. The purpose of this study was to explore therapists’ somatic experiences in the countertransference using a grounded theory methodology, based on a sample of 12 participants that was composed of psychotherapists, counselling and clinical psychologists. The results indicated that therapists made sense of their somatic experiences through a developmental process of ‘relating to the body’ that combined stages of defensive operations, intellectual reflections, attributions of somatic ownership and recognitions of various working patterns in the management of somatic experiences. This study addresses the factors that constituted therapists’ processing of the experience, and the findings suggest that therapeutic work may be affected when psychosomatic phenomena as such become undermined and ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives and Conclusions: This paper outlines a critical evaluation of the way in which integration in counselling psychology is presented, and within this two core arguments are laid out. Firstly, the evidence suggesting a move away from the traditional single theoretical approaches is examined, concluding that integration can be a useful means to an end for counselling psychologists. Secondly, it is argued that authors need to be clear about the methods of integration employed, in order to be explicit about the goal of their integration. This is demonstrated by outlining the way in which the end goal can either be integration culminating in new unified models of therapy, or may purely be improvement in outcomes with no reference to a new theoretical base. Furthermore, the methods of integration themselves imply an end goal of integration. That is to say, theoretical integration and assimilative integration suggest that the end goal of integration is the creation of a unified theory; whereas eclecticism, the common factors approach and a pluralistic approach all steer away from the end goal of integration being a unified model. Egan’s Skilled Helper Model (2010) is then critically assessed as an example of the clarity which is needed in the area of integration, concluding that there are implicit theoretical assumptions within the model which are not made clear by the author. From this, it is concluded that being explicit about the goal of one’s integration is important in order for the critical nature of counselling psychology to flourish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content and Focus: The identity of counselling psychology in Britain has been described as nebulous and vague; this paper takes a provocative stance designed to initiate debate and goes quite a bit further in its critique. Beginning with an outline of how counselling psychology in Britain self-describes, the paper draws on research findings and practice examples to argue that counselling psychology in Britain has an overly rigid and often irrelevant identification with phenomenology and humanistic values. Next the paper explores the identity of counselling psychology in other countries to make two points; first, that there is actually more than one identity for the discipline and, second, that British counselling psychology is disappointingly insular in outlook. Lastly the paper outlines the commitment to diversity and multiculturalism which is becoming the defining feature of American counselling psychology. Conclusions: The paper concludes by arguing that a serious commitment to the agenda of diversity would create: (1) a strong platform for the type of critiques of mainstream psychology which British counselling psychology has historically engaged in; (2) a socially important research focus for the discipline; and (3) a special expertise in working with diverse others which would be hugely advantageous in terms of employability. More important, a commitment to this agenda would actually matter in a real world way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Availability and access to gambling, due to new licensing laws, is increasing exponentially. Practicing counselling psychologists need to be prepared to treat what is expected to be an increasing prevalence of pathological gambling (PG), and this cannot be done without the appropriate research base to expand our understanding of the condition. Content and Focus: This paper examines available literature on pathological gambling and depression to investigate how depression and PG interact. Selected published papers on the role of depression in pathological gambling were reviewed. Results are suggestive of depression being more a cause for PG than a consequence. Conclusions: Lack of consensus in the literature was identified and discussed in light of a pathways model of PG for different types of gambler; emotionally vulnerable or behaviourally conditioned. The implications for counselling psychologists are discussed as the evidence provides validation for different treatment pathways, whether the depression is a cause or a consequence of the gambling behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been curiously little empirical investigation into the experiences of psychotherapeutic practitioners undertaking a mandatory training therapy. We present results from a qualitatively-driven mixed-methods study designed to explore the way in which counselling psychologists' attachment status and levels of reflective function intersect with how they experience the therapeutic relationship within their personal therapy. Participants were interviewed twice: once using Main and Goldwyn's (1998) Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to explore representations of early childhood relationships; and subsequently using a semi-structured interview format, analysed via Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to explore experiences of personal therapy. Meshing results from both sets of data showed that insecurely-attached participants experienced their personal therapy differently from secure or earned-secure participants, and were more troubled by a perceived disparity of institutional and interpersonal power within the therapeutic relationship. Results are considered in terms of the power dynamics within training therapy. Implications for training and future research in this neglected field are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence supporting the inclusion of mandatory training therapy for therapists is sparse. We present results from a mixed methods study designed to interrogate how counselling psychologists' attachment status and levels of reflective function (RF) intersect with how they experience, recall and describe using personal therapy in clinical practice. Results suggest that securely-attached, or earned secure participants with ordinary or marked levels of RF used their therapy to manage feelings evoked by difficult or challenging clients. Insecurely-attached participants with lower levels of RF found therapy valuable in terms of behavioural modelling, but not in managing complex process issues. Negative case analysis found that high levels of RF may not be uniformly advantageous for therapists. The study concludes with a brief discussion of issues relating to epistemology, validity and reflexivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper introduces the Special Issue on counselling psychologists as scientist-practitioners. The primary goal of the Special Issue is to examine the evolving nature and current status of the scientist-practitioner (S-P) model in counselling psychology from the perspectives of four early career counselling psychologists who illustrate the implementation of the S-P identity in their particular work settings. A concluding commentary by a senior counselling psychologist describes the evolution of the model throughout his career and highlights the role of context in defining scientist-practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one in a series of papers examining the application of scientist-practitioner training in different contexts, an early-career master's-level counsellor educator describes how his training has positively influenced his professional work. Specifically addressed are his work setting, his own individual training experiences, how his training affects what he does, and challenges he faces. Observations on the status of the scientist-practitioner model in his context are shared, with the broad applicability of the model highlighted as a major strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselling psychologists have affirmed their allegiance to the scientist-practitioner (S-P) model through all of the discipline's major conferences in the United States of America, and the philosophy has been critical to training across the globe. Despite the centrality of this training approach to counselling psychology's identity, no comprehensive overview of the field's history with the model has been undertaken. A review spanning sixty years describes the evolving relationship between the S-P model and counselling psychology and also points to historical and current challenges within that relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientist-practitioner training philosophy has a strong connection with the field of Counselling Psychology. Although many practitioners are committed to this model of training while completing their graduate education, the professional identity is not always easy to actualize in the workplace. The author discusses how she has maintained her scientist-practitioner identity in practice settings and how doing so has enhanced her work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientist-practitioner model is a critical element of counselling psychology's identity, but its relevance and the effectiveness of its implementation in graduate programs have been questioned in recent years. A counselling psychologist who works as an undergraduate educator describes relatively recent training as a scientist-practitioner and efforts to maintain that identity in her professional work. These efforts are considered within the context of the professional literature, concerns about the model, and recommendations for improved execution of the training philosophy. Specific strategies for developing and thriving as a scientist-practitioner are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselling psychology has long espoused the scientist-practitioner model. An early career counselling psychologist working in a doctoral program as both a faculty member and training clinic director describes his current work setting, his relatively recent scientist-practitioner training, and the ways in which embracing this model promotes a sense of professional identity. He also presents the psychology training clinic as a model professional home for counselling psychologists and scientist-practitioners. Specific strategies for developing and maintaining an integrated identity are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]