New UNICEF report underlines how low wellbeing is in UK children
17th September 2011
The UK branch of UNICEF very recently stated "In 2007, UNICEF's child well-being report put the issue of child well-being firmly on the UK's political agenda. When compared with 20 other OECD countries, including substantially poorer ones, the UK was at the bottom of the league table of child well-being. …
Client-directed, outcome-informed therapy: a workshop with Scott Miller
14th September 2011
"The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them." George Bernard Shaw Wednesday morning - half way through this two day workshop with Scott …
Six recent research papers on mindfulness: outcome reviews, brain changes, self-compassion, current depression, and overview
12th September 2011
Here are half a dozen interesting recent papers on mindfulness that have caught my eye. Mindfulness research is roaring ahead a bit like a runaway train (probably not an ideal analogy for this subject matter), so it's good to get regular reviews of where we're getting to. The first two …
Health crisis for Britain's middle-aged
10th September 2011
Ouch, a very interesting international health survey, that has just been released, reports: "Middle-aged Britons are experiencing a mid-life health crisis, according to new research from Bupa, which shows that those aged 45-54 are more likely to be obese, more likely to smoke and more likely to suffer from depression …
Orlinsky & Ronnestad's "How psychotherapists develop": what maintains commitment, fascination & care in our work?
9th September 2011
I wrote a few days ago about Orlinsky & Ronnestad's very interesting book "How psychotherapists develop: a study of therapeutic work and professional growth" which reports on their 15 year study of nearly 5,000 psychotherapists in a dozen countries. I said that when describing the main findings from their study …
Recent research: articles from August journals
8th September 2011
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 16,600 abstracts. Every few weeks I scan through all the articles I've found interesting in the previous month (in the general areas …
Orlinsky & Ronnestad's "How psychotherapists develop: a study of therapeutic work and professional growth"
27th August 2011
In my blog post about Barry Duncan's book "On becoming a better therapist", I mentioned three major influences that had helped form that work. I've already written about the first two - "The heart & soul of change: delivering what works in therapy (2nd edition)" and "The Norway feedback project: …
The Norway feedback project: a clear and sensible way to make psychotherapy more helpful
25th August 2011
I wrote a few days ago about Barry Duncan's interesting book "On becoming a better therapist". Duncan cited three major influences that had helped to form the book. The first was his involvement as an editor of the recently published, multi-authored "The heart and soul of change: delivering what works …
"The heart & soul of change: delivering what works in therapy (2nd edition)"
23rd August 2011
I wrote a few days ago about Barry Duncan's recent book "On becoming a better therapist". Duncan cites three major influences shaping the book. One, he said, has been his involvement as an editor in the recently published, multi-authored "The heart and soul of change: delivering what works in therapy". …
15 minutes of exercise daily reduces mortality by 14% - and each additional 15 minutes gives 4% additional mortality benefit
21st August 2011
There has been a ripple of media interest - and rightly so - in the recent Lancet article "Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study." The article's abstract reads "The health benefits of leisure-time physical activity are well known, but whether …