ABSTRACT

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.     

chapter 1|15 pages

What leads to change in psychotherapy?

Theory and research

chapter 2|14 pages

Getting to the essence

Truth seeking in psychotherapy

chapter 3|14 pages

Moments of meeting

chapter 5|9 pages

Therapy, the body and time

chapter 6|17 pages

Supporting change and adaptation after traumatic loss

A conversation between Liz Rolls and Sue Wright

chapter 7|6 pages

A change of time

chapter 8|14 pages

Living with someone else's trauma

Extreme events, time, liminality and deep subjectivity

chapter 9|16 pages

Journeying in time

Psychotherapy and the change process

chapter 10|20 pages

The change process of the trainee

A necessary rite of passage

chapter 11|11 pages

Who needs to change?

Reflections on the complex relationship between climate change, mental health and the profession of psychotherapy

chapter 12|17 pages

Change and challenge

Developing clinical fluidity