EDITORIAL

As autumn evenings grow longer and the weather turns colder, thoughts turn inwards and readers may be inclined to turn to Inside Out for some intellectual and creative diversion. We have a wealth of material for you on subjects as wide-ranging as desire, addiction, adolescent depression and animal assisted therapy, in addition to reviews of three new books and even some poetry to whet the creative appetite.

In this issue, Emma Philbin Bowman offers an intriguing exploration of our relationship with need and want, looking at the impact of frustrated infant desire and the reparative possibilities offered by Quantum Field Theory. Aoife Ward advocates a multi-faceted approach to addiction treatment and recovery, and offers attachment theory as a framework for psychotherapists to apply in the clinical setting. Daryl Mahon reviews the debate between supporters of diagnostic specific Empirically Supported Treatments and those who favour the Common Factors approach to therapy. Richard Hogan looks at adolescent depression and invites us to enter the world of the ‘screenager’, challenging us to hold a space for collaborative dialogue with young adults, rather than prematurely pathologising them.

It is always interesting to us as editors when articles relating to the same unusual theme arrive almost simultaneously. In this issue, we were delighted to receive two pieces on the benefits of working therapeutically with animals. Linda Sutton offers an introduction to animal assisted therapy with a particular focus on its benefits for clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and those in psychiatric care, while Mary Berkery’s article focuses specifically on her work with equine therapy.

We also have reviews of three new books – Mary Lynch reviews Lori Gottlieb’s memoir  Maybe you should talk to someone(A therapist, her therapist, and our lives revealed), while Ursula Shields-Huemer introduces BodyDreaming in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: An Embodied Therapeutic Approach, by Marian Dunlea. Finally, Shirley Ward’s Healing Birth, Healing Earth, which includes her Conversation for the Spring 2019 issue of Inside Out, is reviewed by both Ursula Somerville and Jim FitzGibbon.

In conclusion, and acknowledging that wisdom does not come exclusively from the analytical mind, we are always appreciative of the poetry, questions and reflective writing sent by our members. In this issue, we are delighted to publish the poetry of Deirdre Madden, Joan Murphy and Aine Herlihy, as well as ‘Captain of my soul’, a moving account of the author’s inner journey to self-awareness. Readers might consider responding to Paddy Logan’s question on the future of our work as humanistic and integrative psychotherapists – we’d love to hear your views.

With such a rich and diverse range of material, we hope this issue will have something for everyone, and we warmly invite you to consider putting pen to paper for our next issue. Inside Out is a voice for you – the IAHIP membership – and we’d love to hear about your work, research, hard-won wisdom or opinions of workshops, conferences, books and so on. The Editorial Board is always on hand to answer questions, or to offer guidance and support on the writing and publication process.