Weitz Philippa

The digital age is both exciting and challenging for psychotherapy, opening the door to clients groups previously not able to access psychological help, whilst also providing the challenges caused by social media and internet abuse and how these impact on the consulting room. Psychotherapy 2.0 blows open the consulting room doors and shows successful pathways for attracting new clients to gain access to psychological help, as well as demonstrating that despite initial scepticism, working online as a psychotherapist or counsellor can be as effective as 'face2face' work: the therapeutic relationship may be different but it remains the centrally important feature for successful psychotherapy. It follows therefore that all psychotherapists and counsellors need to be fully informed about the impact of the digital age on their clinical practice. Psychotherapy 2.0 covers the key issues for psychotherapists and counsellors who are, or are thinking of, working online, include thinking about psychotherapy in the digital age, the requirements to modify training both for working online and also the digital issues as they arise within the face2face consulting room.

The surge of interest in psychological therapies in GP settings makes this book timely and important for the development of this field in the 21st century. As well as the suggested syllabus for training counsellors and psychotherapists (agreed by the Counselling and Psychotherapy Forum for Primary Care), the book deals with much wider issues. Chapters deal with practitioner issues - both student and professional - management issues, and the provision of supervision and mentoring for the new counsellor as well as planning Continuous Professional Development. Chapters dealing with the history of the remarkable rise in these services help set the context of the rapid development of primary care counselling. The term 'primary care counselling' denotes the context of primary care within which psychological therapies take place and encompasses practitioners from a wide variety of therapeutic traditions. The emphasis throughout is on thorough going preparation of the new counsellor/therapist to meet the proper counselling standards required in primary care practice. It will be of value to students, course providers, counselling practice managers, supervisors as well as those who commission services and general practice doctors.

Counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists are proud to belong to the helping professions. Those working within these professions see themselves as caring people trying to help others to understand themselves better, to feel better about themselves, and to help them get over various traumas and difficulties that they have experienced either within their lives or personalities. Talking about money and thinking of their clients, and the units of therapy time, as items of income can be uncomfortable. Many counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists may not easily view their private practice as a business. But that is what it is and the primary role of any business is to be profitable. In this volume, the author guides us through practicalities of setting up and maintaining a private practice, and addresses the tensions and problems faced by the practitioner trying to both provide care and run an effective business. The author provides clear models and examples that practitioners will be able to adapt to their own circumstances, for example showing them how to set up accounts.