The Change Process in Psychotherapy During Troubling Times

The Change Process in Psychotherapy During Troubling Times invites readers to consider what it is psychotherapists do that leads to change. The book highlights different theoretical approaches, questions old paradigms, and illustrates the change process when working with people facing a range of life challenges such as the survivors of childhood trauma, refugees, and people dealing with traumatic loss. Moving between consideration of micro-moments when working with individual clients and bigger questions about how to promote change in the face of current world problems, it addresses issues that touch us all. At the same time, the book acknowledges the unprecedented challenges in today's world such as the pace of change, the thousands of displaced people who seek refuge in other countries, the illness and loss caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the impact of climate change on lifestyles and the environment. The book presents a topical consideration of the relevance of therapeutic assumptions, theories, and practices to current global crises. With the breadth of presenting issues considered and the examples of a variety of creative approaches supporting change, the book will be useful to psychotherapists in practice and in training working in a range of settings with different populations. It will also be of interest to others working in the helping professions.

Sue Wright is a psychotherapist, supervisor, and trainer based in the UK. She integrates psychodynamic work, sensorimotor psychotherapy, dance moment therapy, and the Feldenkrais method into her work, with a particular specialism in working with survivors of complex trauma.

Acknowledgements List of Contributors Preface 1.What leads to change in Psychotherapy? Theory and Research Richard Davis 2."Getting to the Essence": Working towards truth in psychotherapy Philippa Smethurst 3.Moments of Meeting: The sudden, unexpected moments in therapy that often prompt change Jim Pye 4.Holding the Body in Mind in Times of Transition Tree Staunton 5.Therapy, the Body and Time Philippa Smethurst 6.Supporting change and adaptation after traumatic loss Liz Rolls 7.A Change of Time Judy Ryde 8.Living with someone else's trauma: Extreme events, time, liminality and deep subjectivity Jeremy Woodcock 9.The "something new" that is 'really' different": The Temporal Dimension in the change process Sue Wright 10.The change process of the trainee: A necessary rite of passage. Richard Davis 11. Who needs to change? Reflections on the complex relationship between climate change, mental health and the profession of psychotherapy. Steffi Bednarek 12.Change and challenge: Developing clinical fluidity Sue Wright Index