News: September to October 2009
We are now providing professional supervision for coaches and mentors. Supervision is not a new concept. It has been practiced in social work, psychotherapy and counselling for many years. Professional supervision is new to the coaching and mentoring field but a growing number of professional coaches and mentors now regard supervision as essential to good practice. To find out more click: Coaching and mentoring supervision Last week we held a board meeting and two individuals were nominated and unanimously accepted for the appointment of board member of Lewis Psychology CIC. We are thrilled that our new members have agreed to serve on our board and look forward to working with them. Their knowledge, expertise and vision in the field of psychological health and management will be an invaluable contribution to Lewis Psychology CIC. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) have been hearing mixed news from counsellors regarding the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) initiative. In response to these concerns IAPT have released a statement entitled 'The relationship between counselling and IAPT'. This document emphasises the important contribution counselling makes to NHS psychological therapies provision, and states that "the IAPT programme envisages a long-term need for counselling services and has ... not issued any guidance encouraging a de-commissioning of counselling services or recommending that counsellors should retrain". BACP welcomes this confirmation that counselling is a necessary and important part of local mental health provision. BACP's website has an IAPT FAQ's section which you may find useful. The IAPT website is also comprehensive, including links to all documents relating to IAPT that counsellors could possibly need. Systemic reviews have suggested that single-session psychological debriefing is ineffective in the prevention of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A new review, published on the Cochrane database, evaluated the results of 11 studies (with 941 participants) that tested a diverse range of psychological interventions aimed at preventing PTSD. The results showed that single-session interventions can have an adverse effect on some individuals at three to six months' follow-up. Source: Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal: October 2009, Volume 9, Number 4. p2. Lewis Psychology CIC is now providing coaching and mentoring supervision
A warm welcome to our new board members
Is IAPT leading to a decommissioning of counselling services?
Single session interventions can worsen PTSD
New 'jobs' section launched on Lewis Psychology CIC website
We have launched a new Jobs section on our website. We don't have any openings right now but we hope the jobs section will provide prospective employees with all of the information they need.
Outdoor activities boost body image
Getting active outdoors improves body image, especially for older women, a new study has shown.
Research by Denise Mitten and Sara Woodruff - presented at the BACP International Adventure Therapy Conference - showed that when women over 40 took part in outdoor activities it reduced the importance they placed on cosmetic appearance and increased their respect of physical functionality.
Following outdoor sessions participants reported that being physically attractive included a combination of physical ability, inner confidence, expressed self-assuredness, and physical proportion. They defined physical effectiveness as having intrinsic motivation, physical capability, and access to resources. Additionally, they indicated an understanding of attractiveness and effectiveness as interconnected.
Denise Mitten said the research showed "that as a woman participates in outdoor adventures she will realise her body's strength and capabilities, recognise for herself the importance of being proficient, competent, and strong, and come to appreciate the importance of having a positive perception of her body's appearance".
Fitpro News website. Accessed 27th September 2009.
HPC regulation of counselling and psychotherapy
In February 2007, the White Paper, 'Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century' stated psychotherapists and counsellors were a priority for future regulation. The government White Paper also said that these professions should be regulated by the Health Professions Council (HPC).
In preparation, in autumn 2008, The HPC established a working group, known as a 'Professional Liaison Group' or 'PLG' to discuss and make recommendations to the Secretary of State and Ministers in the devolved administrations about the regulation of these groups. This working group is made up of registrant and lay members of the HPC Council, as well as representatives from professional bodies representing psychotherapists and counsellors, education providers and service users.
To date, the group has made good progress in discussing and making decisions about the structure of the Register, protected titles, voluntary registers, the grandparenting process, standards of education and training and standards of proficiency. It is planned that the group will report to the HPC Council in July 2009.
Recommendations will then be subject to a further public consultation before proposals are finalised in December 2009. Once the HPC makes final recommendations, the final decision about the regulation of these groups will rest with government.
The HPC strongly believe that the regulation of the psychotherapy and counselling is necessary for the protection of members of the public.
Health Professions Council (HPC) website. Accessed 23rd September 2009
CBT and arthritis pain
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine has found that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may help people with arthritis to sleep better and feel less pain. The small randomised controlled trial carried out by researchers in the US found that people who took part in CBT sessions said they slept better and reported feeling less pain than a comparison group of people who learned about breathing techniques, stress, anxiety, exercise techniques and nutrition.
Vitiello MV, Rybarczyk BD, Von Korff M, et al. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia improves sleep and decreases pain in older adults with co-morbid insomnia and osteoarthritis. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2009; 5:355-362.
Lewis Psychology CIC join the CIC Association
We have joined the new Community Interest Company Association. CIC legislation came into effect in 2005 and represents one of the most important legislative changes to company law in the last 100 years. Over 3200 CIC's are now incorporated and demand for the representative body has mounted. In response the CIC Association has been formed.
Knowing me, myself and I: what psychology can contribute to self-knowledge
How well do you know yourself? It's a question many of us struggle with, as we try to figure out how close we are to who we actually want to be. In a new report in Perspectives on Psychological Science, psychologist Timothy D. Wilson from the University of Virginia describes theories behind self-knowledge (that is, how people form beliefs about themselves), cites challenges psychologists encounter while studying it, and offers ways we can get to know ourselves a little better.
The study of self-knowledge has tended to focus on how accurate we are at determining our own internal states, such as our emotions, personality, and attitudes. However, Wilson notes that self-knowledge can be broadened to include memory, like recalling how we felt in the past, and prospection, predicting how we will feel in the future. Knowing who we were and who we will be are as important to self-knowledge as knowing who we are in the present.
Wilson remarks that "self-knowledge is less a matter of careful introspection than of becoming an excellent observer of oneself." Wilson suggests some ways that can help us learn more about ourselves, such as really attempting to be objective when considering our behaviours and trying to see ourselves through the eyes of other people. Another way of knowing ourselves better is to become more aware of findings from psychological science. Wilson concludes, "Most of us pay attention to medical findings that inform us about our bodies (e.g., that smoking tobacco is harmful), and can learn about our psychological selves in the same way."
Association for Psychological Science (2009, September 8). Knowing Me, Myself And I: What Psychology Can Contribute To Self-knowledge.
Why cry? evolutionary biologists show crying can strengthen relationships
Medically, crying is known to be a symptom of physical pain or stress. But now a Tel Aviv University evolutionary biologist looks to empirical evidence showing that tears have emotional benefits and can make interpersonal relationships stronger.
New analysis by Dr. Oren Hasson of TAU's Department of Zoology shows that tears still signal physiological distress, but they also function as an evolution-based mechanism to bring people closer together.
"Crying is a highly evolved behaviour," explains Dr. Hasson. "Tears give clues and reliable information about submission, needs and social attachments between one another. My research is trying to answer what the evolutionary reasons are for having emotional tears.
"My analysis suggests that by blurring vision, tears lower defences and reliably function as signals of submission, a cry for help, and even in a mutual display of attachment and as a group display of cohesion," he reports.
Dr. Hasson investigated the use of tears in various emotional and social circumstances. Tears are used to elicit mercy from an enemy, he claims. They are also useful in eliciting the sympathy - and perhaps more importantly the strategic assistance - of people who were not part of the enemy group.
Multiple studies across cultures show that crying helps us bond with our families, loved ones and allies, Dr. Hasson says. By blurring vision, tears reliably signal your vulnerability and that you love someone, a good evolutionary strategy to emotionally bind people closer to you.
Tel Aviv University (2009, September 7). Why Cry? Evolutionary Biologists Show Crying Can Strengthen Relationships. Science Daily.
