Five recent research studies on the worrying variability both in psychotherapist effectiveness and also in willingness to change
15th October 2012
I have written a good deal in the past about variability in the effectiveness of psychotherapists - see, for example, "What shall we do about the fact that there are supershrinks and pseudoshrinks?", "Psychotherapists & counsellors who don't monitor their outcomes are at risk of being both incompetent & potentially …
Recent research: articles from September journals
11th October 2012
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - EndNote - which currently contains over 18,400 abstracts. Every few weeks I scan through all the articles I've found interesting in the previous month (in the general areas …
So what dietary advice should we be following - for psychological as well as physical health?
22nd September 2012
A couple of days ago I wrote a blog post that I think makes a very important point - "Emerging research on diet suggests it's startingly important in the prevention of anxiety & depression". Much of what the post said is downloadable in Powerpoint and can be printed out as …
Emerging research on diet suggests it's startlingly important in the prevention of anxiety & depression
20th September 2012
The key points of this blog post can be downloaded & printed out as a helpful 6-slide-miniatures-to-a-page Powerpoint handout. Back in December 2009 I wrote a blog post entitled "New research shows diet's importance for preventing depression" where I commented "You know how it is - no buses in sight, …
Going back for a university reunion: emotional archaeology unearths a treasure trove of insights & new directions (6th post)
18th September 2012
This is the sixth and final blog post about going back to my old university for a reunion dinner. I wrote three posts last month and a further couple earlier this month. In the first post of the series, I said: "I've never been back for any kind of reunion …
Going back for a university reunion: I couldn't have imagined the script if I'd tried (5th post)
16th September 2012
It's the day after our "university reunion dinner". It was weird ... and actually very lovely ... and fun and warm and moving and interesting and hugely welcoming. Gosh, I really couldn't have imagined that script if I'd tried. I came back to this reunion as an exercise in "emotional …
Going back for a university reunion: self-esteem, hallucinogens, wonder & the transpersonal (4th post)
14th September 2012
"Who will prefer the jingle of jade pendants if he once has heard stone growing in a cliff?" Lao Tzu "To stand and stare, to watch the rising sun, fills me with such calm happiness, I am sure I have dwindled away too much time on inessentials." Diana Gault (when …
Psychotherapy training workshops improve skills considerably better if they are linked to subsequent ongoing supervision
12th September 2012
Rinad Beidas & colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania published a paper earlier this year entitled "Training and consultation to promote implementation of an empirically supported treatment: a randomized trial." The abstract reads "OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated the efficacy of three training modalities and the impact of ongoing consultation after …
Recent research: articles from August journals
10th September 2012
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - EndNote - which currently contains over 18,000 abstracts. Every few weeks I scan through all the articles I've found interesting in the previous month (in the general areas …
Going back for a university reunion: emotional intelligence, group work & learning to relate more deeply (3rd post)
19th August 2012
"God guard me from those thoughts men think in the mind alone; he that sings a lasting song, thinks in a marrow bone." W. B. Yeats "We camouflage our true being before others to protect ourselves against criticism or rejection. This protection comes at a steep price. When we are …