Exhibitors

www.sagepub.co.uk
www.brunner-routledge.com
www.wisepress.co.uk
www.artspsychotherapy.org
www.playtherapy.org.uk
www.counsellingbooks.com
www.qualitytraining.uk.com
www.openup.co.uk
www.lifeworkscommunity.com

Introduction

The BACP conference has grown in stature over recent years, and feedback from delegates last year - nearly half of whom attended for the first time - was excellent. This year's conference will look at how counselling and psychotherapy develop their receptiveness to ideas from other disciplines and what the future has in store for our conversely 'young,' yet established, profession.

Through keynote speeches we will look at four key areas: diversity, environment, neuroscience and political climate. Workshops will focus on a broad range of issues, including fitness to practice, life coaching, performance measurement and law and confidentiality.

Nick Totton will open the conference by asking 'Can therapy make a better future?' He will argue that there is a tension between, on the one hand, a view of therapy as an expert technology of social and individual management and control, and on the other hand, a view of therapy as part of a range of resistances to destructive and exploitative trends in modern society. He will then suggest key contributions which therapy might make to a better future in trauma, conflict and environment...

'Insights for clinical practice from neuroscience' will be the focus of the topical keynote delivered by Margaret Wilkinson. Her presentation will explore how contemporary neuroscience and the psychological therapies offer real insight for those practising in counselling and psychotherapy. Lennox Thomas will deliver a presentation on the issues of diversity, race and how changing demographics create specific demands on practitioners.

'The human curriculum' presented by Dave Mearns, will examine the notion that 'tabloid' politics of simple answers to complex problems have created a challenging context for the development of our profession. There will also be 12 workshops covering issues as diverse as on-line counselling through to life coaching, from working with children and young people through to performance measurement systems. The Future Foundation will also be presenting its findings from a recent research project 'Self Awareness or Self Indulgence? Britain's relationship with Counselling and Psychotherapy'

We look forward to seeing you in October.