Is it OK to smoke in a session? Or to talk to your client about death? Or to wear shorts or shout? Social norms around appearance and behaviour - including emotional expression and what is seen as taboo to discuss - surely influence counselling practice. But this is understudied.
This online survey was developed by members of the international Society for Psychotherapy Research's Culture and Psychotherapy Special Interest Group: Shigeru Iwakabe (Japan); Harold Chui (China) and Naomi Moller (United Kingdom).
The anonymous survey asks about norms in the UK related to ‘appropriate’ dress, appearance, consumption and self-care for psychotherapists, as well as what is seen as ‘appropriate’ in terms of greetings, touch, emotional expression, disclosures, and direct inquiries.
The questions are a mix of open and closed and there are some questions also about your professional background and counselling work.
We will also be collecting data in Japan and China with the aim of trying to understand how local culture impacts counselling practice in subtle but potentially significant ways.
You can access the English-language survey via this link.
Many thanks, Naomi, Harold + Shigeru
