Subscription to our journal continues to grow, issue by issue, which is wonderful news and also – gulp, the pressure to deliver! I think it’s safe to assume that (almost) everyone who reads this journal works therapeutically with children, young people and families (I know it also gets passed around family and friends, and sometimes ends up on waiting room tables in GP surgeries, dentists and hairdressers). But, I think it’s important to bear in mind, as editor, the vast diversity in our readership in terms of experience, modality and areas of interest, as well as personal and professional backgrounds. This might be the first issue you’ve picked up (or clicked online) – if so, hello and welcome.
You might be a trainee or newly qualified counsellor or psychotherapist – if so, check out Sue Kegerreis’ regular column In training. Or, you might have already done several laps around the counselling block, in which case, our regular columns In counselling and In supervision offering bite-sized wisdom are a good place to start. Speaking of starts, I’m thrilled to welcome Samantha Johnson as our newest regular columnist. If you’ve subscribed to our journal for any length of time, you might recognise her name as the author of previous articles The gentle power of the playlist (March 2020), Trauma and the art of just being there (March 2021) and The crocodile on the couch (March 2023).
Other ‘Voices’ this issue include Youth Ambassadors from bereavement charity Winston’s Wish, who spoke to Rebecca Wemyss On bereavement, and Janet Wilson’s sensitive exploration of religious trauma in Thou shalt not leave.
Our readership includes diverse areas of interest and specialism; I know this from the requests and proposals I receive for themes you want to read about, and I try to commission accordingly. If it’s variety you’re after, this issue delivers in bucket loads.
"Counsellors and psychotherapists, especially those of us who work with young people, are a creative bunch, and creativity abounds in this issue"
Two years since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Helen Axelby, a play therapist, and Krystyna Shkandrii, an interpreter, share their innovative way of using play therapy to support young Ukrainian refugees in our featured article Sanctuary. Using play as a means to communicate, says Helen, gives children a space where they become narrators of their own stories, while an interpreter provides cultural familiarity and a sense of safety, enabling children to express themselves in their mother tongue.
Counsellors and psychotherapists, especially those of us who work with young people, are a creative bunch, and creativity abounds in this issue. Bridget McConnell shares the ways that, despite her reservations, she has managed to integrate Gestalt, embodiment and transpersonal perspectives into her online work with adolescents in On virtual turf. Dr Gina Gómez de la Cuesta shares her LEGO® play method for managing childhood anxiety and loneliness in Brick by brick. Self-proclaimed ‘garden therapist’ Kate Beckwith incorporates nature, art, guinea pigs and goats in her counselling practice Beyond four walls, while Sue Steer shares how she draws on traditional and creative methods to help children in Telling stories.
So, I feel confident that there is something for every one of our 21,836 (at time of writing) subscribers. I look forward to hearing your reactions to what you read, either via email or the annual reader’s survey which will be emailed out this month, or in person at this month’s BACP CYPF Conference. Happy reading and I look forward to hearing from you!
Jeanine Connor, Editor
