The Future of Psychological Therapy

The helping professions have been increasingly influenced by the prevailing political and economic climate since the 1980s. This book contains a set of timely reflections on how counselling and psychotherapy are affected by the current zeitgeist. They make it abundantly clear that the modernist paradigm, as exemplified by both a state-endorsed version of 'therapy' such as IAPT and NICE's overemphasis on the value of randomised controlled trials, is totally incompatible with non-prescriptive, potentially transformative, 'authentic' therapy. This book is an important wake-up call to the pernicious effect of various aspects of neoliberalism, particularly the practices and language associated with it. In the Brave New World of 'managed care' public discourse is in danger of falling into a moral vacuum, leading to a general loss of the real meaning of 'care'. I hope that this book will be widely read.- Dr Els van Ooijen, Psychotherapist, counsellor and supervisor in private practice, Visiting lecturer in Consultative Supervision to the University of South Wales Incisive and timely, this collection of critiques of contemporary professional therapy contains astute analysis and radical political challenge regarding the neoliberal trend of managed care, IAPT and associated societal dynamics, presented by some of the most knowledgable observers in the field. It is a gauntlet of a book, not to be missed by all who care about the future of mental health and psychological therapies.- Colin Feltham, Emeritus Professor of Critical Counselling Studies, Sheffied Hallam University