Editorial

The Autumn edition of Inside Out sees us resourcing and developing ourselves coming into the winter months.  Perhaps it is no accident that academic programmes and training courses commence at this time of year when there is a need to move in groups. This issue focuses on the need to support ourselves in our profession.

Annie Sampson takes us through our creativity as psychotherapists being supported and nurtured in our supervision relationship – reminding us that this relationship cannot be underestimated and, like other relationships needs attention. Brian McCormack’s article on working with perpetrators of domestic violence, weaves a thread of support. He talks, not only of the male perpetrator in violent relationship needing support, but also of holding the other members in that “intimate relationship” by using the feelings and hurt of women who experience male violence to influence the work with clients.

In the article Continued Professional Development (CPD) Ger Murphy tells us about the effect that “empathetic engagement with clients who have been traumatised” has on the therapist and alludes to the importance of “sharing stresses of personal and professional life”.  This is supported by Seamus O’Kane writing about a Northern Ireland support group.  “There is so much intimacy in one-to-one work with clients, but it is an intimacy that is insufficient to support the therapist’s life”.

Space should be found for the therapist to share celebratory issues from their work.  So often, in part because of the nature of confidentiality, these do not find a voice and the therapist can, therefore, be overwhelmed by both clients’stress issues and euphoric  moments thereby running the risk of burn out.

On becoming… shows how we reach out to be supported either by human contact with supervisor or colleagues and also by “digging down in research..” This is experienced by Rachel Somers in her searingly honest article, On Becoming a Pregnant Therapist.

Annie Rogers in conversation with Thérèse Gaynor speaks of her passion for her work with children and adolescents and gives a wonderful overview of her second book, The Unsayable, published in August of this year.

There is one other way left to offer support and that is by viewing our new format order form and offering the gift of this journal to a friend – Christmas is coming!!!