Key Cases In Psychotherapy Psychology Revivals

Originally published in 1987, the purpose of this book was to show how therapists grappled with cases which challenged their ideas about the theory and practice of psychotherapy at the time, and how they revised these ideas as a result of encountering these cases. The contributors, leading therapists from Britain and the United States, discuss a range of issues – personal, conceptual and technical – that will be of interest to all those engaged in psychotherapeutic work. As such, the book is aimed at those working in psychotherapy counselling, clinical psychology and psychiatry, and at students of these disciplines. It will also have relevance for those with a scholarly interest in developments in the theory and practice of psychotherapy.

Originally published in 1983, fifteen well-known psychologists and psychotherapists write about their personal interests to give the reader a vivid picture of the complexities of psychotherapy in Britain at the time. They explore aspects of the interaction and intersection of the psychological and psychotherapeutic worlds, paying particular attention to the practical and theoretical controversies involved in this overlap. The first half of the book concerns itself with problems of theory and practice in psychology and psychotherapy, while the second half deals with professional conflicts and political issues impinging upon the practice of psychotherapy by psychologists. Areas of concern and controversy that are scrutinised include the problematic relationship between academic psychology and psychotherapy; doubts and certainties in psychotherapy; the psychology of helping; the relevance of the psychodynamic tradition; inter-professional disputes; women and psychotherapy; and social class issues in psychotherapy.

The family therapy movement had from its earliest days been marked by a surge of creativity and by the energy of the new ideas it generated. Originally published in 1979, the authors of the original essays collected together in this book felt that the time had come to take stock and to scrutinise more carefully the meaning and effectiveness of this new psychotherapeutic method within the particular conditions prevailing Britain at the time. The book focuses on issues relating to theory, research and practice and, while concentrating on three sub-specialities of family therapy – family group therapy, marital therapy and network therapy – the papers cover a wide variety of topics. In addition to papers by practitioners and teachers of family therapy, two contributions are included from the field of academic psychology. Before this, much of the family therapy literature had been presented in the form of an uncritical eulogy of the method. The special interest of this book lies in its attempt to bring a critical perspective to bear upon family therapy and its application. Moreover, in contrast with much that had been previously written, the authors sought to make a distinctive contribution to the development of family therapy through their effort to integrate, rather than to polarise, what is valuable within a variety of different theoretical and empirical approaches.

In his earlier book Rational-Emotive Therapy: Fundamentals and Innovations Dr Dryden outlined the central features of Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) as it had developed in and from the work of Albert Ellis. He then proceeded to discuss innovations within the theory, several of which had been instigated by the author. Originally published in 1987, this book builds upon these latter elements. It discusses the theoretical basis of RET, arguing that it can be accurately described as theoretically consistent eclectic therapy, and analyses the problems encountered in, and the benefits derived from, its practice. At the time this book provided a state of the art discussion of RET and will still be of interest for those involved in counselling, psychotherapy, clinical psychology, psychiatry and social work.

Working through the process of image-making in a therapeutic relationship, the art therapist is able to explore feelings, fantasies, and myths in different setting with diverse client groups. Originally published in 1987 Images of Art Therapy is a collection of essays by experienced art therapists which discuss and develop both theoretical and practical issues central to art therapy. The authors describe how they work through the use of illustrated case material which includes children, adolescents, and adults, in normal schools, psychiatric hospitals, therapeutic communities, and out-patient clinics. Theoretical considerations include bereavement, play, transference, symbolism, and verbal versus non-verbal communication. The first book on art therapy, Art as Therapy, edited by Tessa Dalley, was a useful introduction to the subject. Images of Art Therapy expands the issues raised in the earlier book in more depth, and develops new and innovative ideas which it was hoped, at the time, would influence both the theory and practice of art therapy in the future.

Originally published in 1986, one of the major developments in behavioural psychotherapy and mental health in the previous decade had been the growing involvement of non-psychologists in behaviour therapy. This was a result of the fact that there were too few psychologists to cope with problem behaviour and that other professionals or carers began to appreciate more clearly their potential as agents of behaviour change. Foremost among these ‘mediators’ of therapy were parents, nurses (particularly psychiatric nurses) and teachers (especially remedial teachers). Their involvement had greatly increased the efficiency of behaviour therapy at the time and opened up a new era in applied psychology. It also entailed the development of new training formats, evaluation procedures and implementation strategies. The main aim of this book was to provide a summary of the research relevant to these issues, and to offer practical guidelines to those who were interested in training or being trained as behaviour therapists. For this reason there are chapters by researchers who have been involved in training parents, nurses and teachers. These chapters provide a detailed account of training in a form that was rarely available in published form at the time, and even today should be of great assistance to readers.