Saturday, August 19, 2006

Mid-August Post

Hope the dampness of August has not depressed you too much. A few things:

1. Next (last scheduled) meeting
We are due to meet again on Sunday, 17 September, from 1pm at the Voluntary Services Centre, Bradford. The Day Centre on the 3rd floor will be available to us on this occasion. I hope as many of you as possible can attend – particularly since this is the last scheduled meeting and there is the very real danger of us running out of steam altogether and the whole thing grinding to a standstill.

Apologies, plans to attend, thoughts about future meetings and/or the future of the group generally, and any other comments – please mail back soon to pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk

2. URGENT request for counselling placement
We have been approached by a Diploma student in a very difficult situation. He has until November to clock up another 23 practice hours for his Diploma or faces the prospect of all his work over the last two years coming to naught. If you are aware of any individuals seeking FREE counselling, or of any agency which could offer some work, please get in touch at the earliest opportunity. He has been CRB checked/cleared, and his CV is available on request.

3. Counselling Skills tutor/s required
Some teaching is currently available at Shipley College, starting from this September 2006:

NCFE level 2 Introductory Counselling Skills Course – 20 weeks at 2hrs per week
NCFE level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills – 30 weeks at 3-4hrs per week

Anyone interested should contact Elaine Dewhirst, Shipley College 01274 327254 ASAP.

[PC]

Friday, August 11, 2006

New password for members section

The password for access to download papers from the "members only" section has changed.

To get the new password, click on CONTACT US (top left hand corner) to email a request. No anonymous requests please!

The summer has been a quiet time for uploads, but there are plans to share a bundle of new material starting next month.

Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Barbara Brodley - key paper on directivity

Barbara Temaner Brodley, a key thinker and writer on the person-centred approach, has very kindly made available - for distribution to those of you who are students/trainees (and which of us isn't) - the following 'study aid':

NON- DIRECTIVITY IN CLIENT-CENTERED THERAPY
http://rapidshare.com/files/264850780/Brodley_-_Non-Directivity_in_CCT.pdf

A close variant on this paper recently appeared in the WAPCEPC journal.

IF YOU READ ONLY ONE PAPER POSTED ON THIS BLOG, MAKE IT THIS ONE!

Saturday, June 17, 2006

User-led consultation


Anyone interested in facilitating user-led consultation - or just interested in the published outcomes of a really well-run example in the mental health field - could do much worse than check out the following:

Slough User Led Consultation (SULC), supported by East Berkshire Mind – ALL TALK – A Study of Talking and Mental Health

or http://digbig.com/4jfts

The NIMHE / CSIP post

Not strictly (in fact hardly ever!) PCA-related, but nevertheless a useful resource for those of us working in NHS provided/funded mental health services, NIMHE – The National Institute for Mental Health In England - is responsible for "supporting the implementation of positive change in mental health and mental health services".

It has recently become part of the Care Services Improvement Partnership, whose main sponsor is the Department of Health.

There are eight development centres, (our own regional centre being NIMHE NEYH - North East, Yorkshire & Humber), through which the majority of the work is delivered.

There is also something called the NIMHE Knowledge Community – something you might use as a resource, or join in a more active way – and links to other resources, such as the Mental Health Library.

When it gets its website sorted, The NIMHE (now CSIP) Newsletter is usually worth getting – you could try subscribing to it (one pdf every couple of months) by emailing Karen.Cardy@nimheneyh.nhs.uk.

A copy of the latest newsletter (May-June 2006) can be downloaded from:
http://rapidshare.de/files/23338203/NIMHE_NEYH_May-Jun06.pdf

[CLICK ON FREE DOWNLOAD AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.
Any problems, contact pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk ]

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The Eddy Elmer Post


For those of you with a broad interest in the field of psychology - and a healthy sense of humour - the following site, with its myriad links, is demonstrably a labour of love, and cannot fail to hit the spot:

http://www.eddyelmer.com/psychology

To quote from a recent email from the man himself:

"I think the PCA is really important and the more information there is about it online, the better."

Couldn't agree more!

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The Jerold Bozarth Post

The Jerold Bozarth Post

Jerold D. Bozarth, PhD, Professor Emeritus at The University of Georgia, has been a prolific and highly-influential writer on the person-centred approach. The following links are to a selection of his papers (they have not all been uploaded to the PCAyorks collection yet).

Why Person-Centered Therapy?
The Essence of Person-Centered Therapy
The Foundation of Person-Centered Therapy
Forty Years of Dialogue With The Rogerian Hypothesis
Actualization
The Basic Encounter Group
The Large Community Group
Psychotherapy Outcome Research
Non-directiveness in Client-Centered Therapy
The Specificity Myth

BAPCA event on verge of cancellation

Apparently the August tented PCA gathering (see previously circulated emails and post in April - see below) is in danger of not happening at all due to lack of bookings.

If the event doesn't go ahead BAPCA stands to lose £500! Not reason to go in itself, but not a good situation.

Are any of us interested? If you have already booked, or are interested in going, we could maybe get a contingent together, possibly car-share. Please email pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk if you are thinking about it - as well as getting in touch with Bernard Mooney (who is organising it) at b.mooney1@ntlworld.com

Counselling News

End Of The 'Prozac Nation'?
Mind have been given 3.7 million funding over two years from the Department of Health. People suffering from depression will be able to have better access to counselling and talking therapies under a major new programme announced on the 16th May 2006 by UK Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Miss Hewitt said: 'Millions of people suffer from mild to moderate mental health problems, and treating them takes up about a third of GPs’ time. Too many people are prescribed medication as a quick fix solution, but talking therapies work equally well and patients prefer to receive them.'
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=43363

Albert Ellis not awfulizing
We announced in our newsletter the problems between Albert Ellis and the Albert Ellis Institute which he founded. For those who have not followed the story so far Dr. Ellis was removed from the Board of his own institution. Calls were made for Dr. Ellis to be re-instated and for the resignation of the Chief Executive Dr. Broder; A Committee was formed to put things right and found that Dr. Ellis` removal from the Board was actually Illegal. Al`s intentions are to stay on the Board for the rest of his life and steer the Institute which he founded.

Dr. Broder has since resigned as the Executive Director, however the http://www.rebt.org
domain seems to be becoming a public noticeboard for the dispute, see: http://www.rebt.org/Lyle%20Stuart%20Letter%205-9.htm and the legal costs continue to mount.

According to an open letter, Dr. Ellis is claimed to have said, "The Institute consists of several idiots - incompetent *astards who are doing me and Debbie in. And I don't like that - why should I like that? I hate it. So, I talk back and fight back. But I never say, 'They shouldn't be that way.' They SHOULD be that way because they were born and raised to be that way - so I accept them and I don't upset myself or awfulize about them."

More information about Albert Ellis can be found on WikiPedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Ellis

Stress Facts
According to an ACAS report published in 2005, stress is estimated to cause over 13 million sick days each year, and costs employers a staggering GBP 3.7 billion.

News items as circulated by Counselling http://www.counselling.ltd.uk

Friday, May 19, 2006

The Ruth Sanford Post

Ruth Sanford was a close friend of Carl Rogers and seemingly never tired of telling people what it was like to know and work with him.

She is not short of an idea or two of her own, as the papers below will demonstrate.

If you want to download the whole lot in a single book-sized pdf file, its here.

Otherwise, the following links are to Ruth's own website: http://members.tripod.com/ruthsanford/Toc.htm

On Becoming Who I am...
This is the autobiography that appeared in Mel Suhd's bio-anthology Positive Regard. (excerpt)

Capetown Conversation Transcript
This tape was made February 12,1986 at the University of Capetown. This was the second trip Carl and Ruth made to South Africa. They were more familiar with the setting but still enthusiatic about the tasks. They were also flushed with the success of the recent conference at Johannesburg where the 36 small group facilitators after finding deep, deep differences in the pre-conference preparation sessions discovered they could work together in the small groups.

Chaos
This synthesis of the new sciences has been presented many times and appears in Beyond Carl Rogers: Towards a Psychotherapy for the 21st Century, David Brazier, ed., in The Person Centered Reader, Carol Wolter-Gustafson, ed., and in French in Processus Non Lineaires d'Intervention, Paul Carle, ed. (excerpt)

Conversation at Terschelling
Presented at the Fifth International Forum in the Netherlands, it is in answer to the question "What it was like to work with Carl Rogers?"

A Study of Creativity and Intelligence: Implications for Counsellors
This study of creativity (1964) is a work of many years including research studies (the first was the Holding Power Project in which Ruth was invited by the NY State Department of Education to design research for the problem - why do some students drop out of school early and other students remain to graduate from high school), collaborations, statistical measures, and special courses like EXP (a title chosen by students, was a partnership of teachers, students, and parents in the process of education) that was written up in the second and third editions of Freedom to Learn. Carl remarked when he read it, for the first time, in the 80's, "Ruth, I had no idea about your work on creativity! Why, there are four or five doctoral dissertations here! Five!"

Creativity
Presented in Moscow, it discusses the LeBoyer method of childbirth and many other aspects of creativity.

Forum 1 (ADPCA '94)
These forums within a conference or International Forum started with a short address from Ruth after which she threw it open. They have served to discuss contemporary work and research and also as a platform for those who hadn't spoken at the meeting. This first one was in Tampa, Florida.

Forum 2 (Greece '95)
The second forum was at the Sixth International Forum in Leptokarya. Work from Europe, the USA, and other parts of the world were discussed.

Forum 3 (Kutztown '96)
This third forum was in Kutztown, Pa., May, 1996. Ruth began with a short paper on "The Psychotherapist of Tomorrow" to lead into discussion. Among the topics pursued were current work, other approaches, outreach, labor relations and the PCA, and increasing official recognition of the PCA in Michigan and Germany.

Healing
This deals with five healing moments in the USA and in the Soviet Union.. It was sent to Living Now 1998.

Inner Process of Significant Change
This is a discussion in Strasbourg in 1990 of the six year research project on the Inner Process of Significant Change.

Intimacy in a Person-Centered Way of Being. Do We Dare?
This is a dialogue between Ruth and Barry Witz on the topic. It was presented at the First International Forum in Oatepec, Mexico, 1982.

Intimacy in the Person-Centered Way of Being.
A further discussion by Ruth.

Letter To Brigitte
One summary of Ruth's experience in education in response to the question "How does the Person - Centered Approach apply to education in South Africa. See also her description of the EXP program in Freedom to Learn For the 80's, Chapter six, pp. 108-111.

Keynote on Community - ADPCA '93
A short comment on community.

The Place and Value of Community in Person-Centered Groups
A more detailed presentation also given at Knoxville in 1993.

Carl Rogers and Ruth Sanford Review of their First South African trip
This is a tape that Carl and Ruth made for their host Len Holdstock at the conclusion of their 1982 visit.

The Meaning of Carl Rogers at the Opening of the 21st Century
Centers on power and politics and the PCA.

"Unconditional Positive Regard: A Misunderstood Way of Being"
A companion piece to Carl's article "Empathic: An Unappreciated Way of Being" in A Way of Being.

Monday, May 15, 2006

The Richard Bryant-Jefferies post

Following correspondence with Richard, we are delighted to be able to make a number of his papers available as a single pdf document:

  • Carl Rogers' Client-Centred Therapy: A Spiritual Perspective

  • From Person to Transperson-centredness

  • Stress: An Esoteric Necessity?

  • Trust

  • The Person of Tomorrow

  • The Jigsaw of Self

  • Right Human Relations

  • Seeds: A Living Metaphor for Our Time

  • Collaborative Review - helping ensure psychological health in practitioners of all disciplines

  • Europe: The Evolution of an Idea

  • Who Knows Who?: A Challenge to Primary Health Care Counselling

  • Abortion: An Esoteric Perspective for Reflection

  • A Fresh Look at Depression

  • On Becoming an Alcohol Counsellor

  • A Seven Ray Perspective on Addiction

  • A Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities


  • Download here:

    Also uploaded individually:

    Person-Centredness: A Heartening Experience?

    ---------------------------------

    Perhaps Richard’s best known work is the ‘LIVING THERAPY’ Series, but since making this (now edited 3 March 2010) post, he has a brand new website and a number of new publications; you can check out his prolific authorship for yourself at: www.richardbj.co.uk

    Wednesday, May 03, 2006

    PCA Papers Nos.7-41


    A 'Pat' Patterson Extravaganza:

    A number of papers written or co-written by 'the Sage' himself:


    A behavioral view of the therapeutic relationship
    A universal system of psychotherapy
    Client-centered career counseling
    Client-centered supervision
    Concreteness (specificity) in therapy
    Diagnosis and rational psychotherapy
    Divergence and convergence in psychotherapy
    Education and the humanistic crisis
    Empathic understanding
    Empathy, warmth and genuineness in psychotherapy
    Ethical standards for groups
    Existentialism and disability
    Group counseling - a personalized view
    Implications of developments in psychiatric treatment for rehabilitation
    Integration in Psychotherapy Part 1
    Integration in Psychotherapy Part 2
    Involuntary clients - a PC view
    Is psychotherapy dependent upon diagnosis
    Is that all there is to counselling and psychotherapy
    Morris Jacksons email interview with CHP
    Multicultural counseling from diversity to universality
    On being client-centered
    On being nondirective
    On interpretation
    Outcomes in counsellor education
    Resistance in psychotherapy - a person-centered view
    The 1994 Leona Tyler Award Address
    The classroom teacher and the emotional problems of children
    The nature of self-actualization
    Transference and countertransference
    Patterson & Nassar-McMillan - The life of a legacy-bearer - biographical interview
    Patterson & Poidevant - Perspectives on school counseling - a personal view
    Patterson & Purkey - The preparation of humanistic teachers
    Patterson, Goodyear & Watkins - The counselor's counselor – interview
    Patterson, Myers & Hyers - The philosophy and practice of CCT with older people

    DOWNLOAD ANY/ALL OF THESE PAPERS FROM:
    PCA Papers: http://digbig.com/4hcpx (password: ‘pcayorks’)

    C. H. Patterson
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    C. H. (Cecil Holden) Patterson (born June 22, 1912 in Lynn, Massachusetts) is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States.
    He received his bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 1938, and his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1955. He is the author of many publications in the fields of educational psychology and counseling.

    He served in the Army during World War II. In 1942, he married Frances Spano, a nutrionist whom he met at Fels Research Institute in Yellow Springs, Ohio. They had 7 children. His second-eldest child is Francine Patterson, a researcher who taught a modified form of American Sign Language to a gorilla named Koko.

    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._H._Patterson"

    Thursday, April 27, 2006

    University & College Counsellors

    The Association of University and College Counsellors (AUCC) Conference takes place from 20-23 June 2006, at the University of Wales, Bangor.

    It is definitely at the pricier end of the market – as exemplified by the dazzling full-colour brochure http://www.aucc.uk.com/conference2006/brochure_web.pdf

    There is a good 'person-centred' input this year. Brian Thorne, Kate Hayes, Mike Worral, Colin Lago - all are either keynote speakers or presenting seminars/workshops.

    [PC]

    Friday, April 21, 2006

    Canvassing for PCA holidaymakers

    BAPCA is delighted to announce its
    FIRST TENTED COMMUNITY GATHERING
    at Green And Away in Gloucestershire

    THUR 3RD AUGUST - SUN 6TH AUGUST 2006

    Prices:
    £105 per person (Early bird £90 if paid in full before end of April 2006)
    Non-refundable deposit £25 per person
    Children:
    0-2 years free (provided no more than ten 0-2s on site)
    2-12 years £65 (Early bird - £55)
    13-16 years £85 (Early bird - £75)
    N.B. Children are the responsibility of guardians, at all times, when on site.
    Parking places per vehicle: £10
    ALL CHEQUES PAYABLE TO 'BAPCA'

    For those without their own tent, there are a limited number of G & A 'berths' in tents or yurts, at £5 per night in a tent, and £10 per person in a yurt, extra to basic price. G & A website at www.greenaway.org

    NB: If you are willing to help the volunteers who run the Green & Away site as part of your experience, there are 4 free places available. Please contact Bernard (details below) as soon as possible.

    Booking forms from Bernard Mooney. Via email at b.mooney1@ntlworld.com or by post at 47 Palmerston Road, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, IG9 5PA.

    Depressing News

    NATIONAL DEPRESSION WEEK
    This week is National Depression Week (17 - 23rd April 2006) and is set to promote awareness about depression, a chronic and debilitating condition.

    Depression Alliance http://www.depressionalliance.org quote that depression is widespread, affecting at least 1 in 5 of us at some point in our lives; tragically for some depression can lead to death.

    It may be news to you that BACP commissioned a Depression Poll in March 2006 to Mintel and YouGov plc http://www.yougov.com/

    Although it's not clear at this stage what sums of money exchanged hands for this quality research, the results indicate that 66 percent of British adults now experience depression. A second investigation was then carried out among a quarter of the sample group to establish if they have a condition severe enough to see their GP or a therapist.
    http://www.politics.co.uk/press-releases/bacp-two-thirds-british-adults-now-experience-depression-$17096230.htm

    SOURCE http://www.counselling.ltd.uk

    Thursday, April 20, 2006

    Meetings [updated 23 January 2010]

    It's been a while - much too long - since we met up. A few new 'members' got in touch in 2009 and won't know how good it used to be!

    Anyway - enough of history.

    I would like to offer to organise and host a meeting in Bradford City Centre - sometime in February 2010. I'd like to know:

    1. Would you be interested in attending?
    2. Good/bad days/dates/times?
    3. Any other thoughts about meetings - frequency, format - whatever?

    My personal vision is of a 3-4 hour sessions, no less frequently than bi-monthly - the first being split equally between reviewing the group/network and what we want from/can give to it, planning for the year ahead and sustainability; and time for a specific area of focus.

    Since 'PCA in education settings' has been by far the most frequently mentioned topic of interest in the last year's correspondence, I'd suggest that for our first session.

    If enough people attend it will undoubtedly be possible for the group to split at 'focus time' into themed and open groups, depending on levels of interest in each session's theme.

    I don't want to say much more than that really. It's hard enough to get people to read and respond to the simplest of requests sometimes, so i don't want to splurge all my ideas on you in one go. Meeting up is the point of this: I hope you will share my view that it will be worth the effort.

    I look forward to hearing from you.

    All best wishes

    Paul Colley
    pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk

    Thursday, March 30, 2006

    PCA Papers Nos.5-6

    Patterson is not the only one to have had a crack at the old transference thing. Although, at the time of writing, no-one has downloaded Paper No.4, when you eventually do you will find that these two papers complement that one and expand further on this particular theme:

    http://rapidshare.de/files/16817959/Brodley_-_Concerning_transference.doc
    http://rapidshare.de/files/16818009/Shlien_-_A_counter-theory_of_transference.doc

    To download: click on the link/s above - each should take you to the Rapidshare download page. Scroll down and select the 'Free' download option and then a page will open with the link to the actual document. Clicking on this will give you the option of either opening the document or saving it to a location of your choosing. Any problems email pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk

    [PC]

    Wednesday, March 29, 2006

    PCA Papers No.4

    This paper by C H (Pat) Patterson considers the issues of transference and counter-transference (not something we necessarily 'believe' in), promoting a clearer understanding of what others mean and how it all fits in with the PCA:

    http://rapidshare.de/files/16734515/Patterson_-_Transference_and_countertransference.pdf

    To read/view this file you will need Adobe Acrobat reader. If you do not have Acrobat Reader Download it now!

    [PC]

    Monday, March 27, 2006

    PCA Workshops in Brighton

    Saturday 20 May 2006
    One-day Workshop facilitated by Colin Lago - "Peace or War? Healing or Discrimination? Forgiveness or Aggression? The Challenges of the Contemporary World to Being a Therapist"
    Cost £35

    Thursday 20 July 2006
    One-day International Workshop facilitated by Goff Barrett-Lennard (Perth, Australia) - "Uncovering the process spectrum and a potential healing continuum"
    Cost £40

    Saturday 30 September 2006
    One-day International Workshop facilitated by Kathy Moon (Chicago, USA) - Provisional Title: 'Congruence and the Spontaneous Response'
    Cost £40

    Saturday 25 November 2006
    One-day Workshop facilitated by Sue Wilders - Provisional Title: 'Working with Drug and Alcohol Users in a (purely) Person-Centred Way'.
    Cost £35

    For further details of all above workshops, please see the new website:
    http://www.brightonbapca.co.uk/index.html

    To book a workshop please contact:
    Peter Hunt T: 01273 732606 /
    phunt64@tiscali.co.uk

    Full payment is required at the time of booking to secure a place for any workshop. All cheques should be made out to "Person-Centred Community". Please write on the back of the cheque which workshop(s) your payment is for and post it to: Peter Hunt, 80 Cowper Street, Hove, BN3 5BN.

    [PC]

    Friday, March 24, 2006

    Children-related stuff

    Suicidal children
    More than 1,000 suicidal children rang Child Line for help last year. The figure was 14 per cent up on 2003-2004. Most were teenage girls and some had already tried to kill themselves. ChildLine is now so worried at the rising numbers it is urging the Health Department to carry out a study of suicide in the young. It also wants every school to have a staff member responsible for pupils` mental welfare.
    http://digbig.com/4gydt

    School calls in Samaritans
    Pupils at one of Scotland's leading private schools have set up their own branch of the Samaritans to help youngsters who suffer at the hands of bullies. More than a dozen sixth formers at George Watson`s College have received counselling training from the charity, which is more commonly known for its telephone advice to adults considering suicide. Pupils at the 7,500-a-year Edinburgh school will now work with 12 to 17-year-olds whose problems may be as diverse as getting abusive text messages, being intimidated or excluded from a group, to experiencing physical violence. The counsellors will also deal with other emotional traumas, such as family bereavement.
    http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=433262006

    From Counselling Newsletter March 2006 http://www.counselling.ltd.uk

    Leeds Children & Families Resource Directory
    Online (presumably up-to-date): http://www.leedschildren.info/main.html
    PDF (August 2004 edition): http://digbig.com/4gxar

    [PC]

    Thursday, March 16, 2006

    PCA Papers No.3

    Now I can tell that some of you are actually downloading these papers, I may respond in the form of a little flurry of stuff. Here's another one from Jerold Bozarth which deals a serious theoretical body blow to those who may have strayed from the classical PCA:

    http://rapidshare.de/files/15666179/Bozarth_-_Non-directiveness_in_CCT_-_a_vexed_concept.doc

    To download: click on the link above - this should take you to the Rapidshare download page. Scroll down and select the 'Free' download option and then a page will open with the link to actual document. Clicking on this will give you the option of either opening the document or saving it to a location of your choosing.
    Any problems email
    pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk

    [PC]

    Wednesday, March 15, 2006

    PCA Papers No.2

    Following on from Paper No. 1, this one has a go at busting a few more major misconceptions.

    http://rapidshare.de/files/15594876/Bozarth_-_The_Specificity_Myth_-_the_fallacious_premise_of_mental_health_treatment.doc

    To download: click on the link above - this should take you to the Rapidshare download page. Scroll down and select the 'Free' download option and then a page will open with the link to actual document. Clicking on this will give you the option of either opening the document or saving it to a location of your choosing.
    Any problems email
    pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk

    PC

    Thursday, March 09, 2006

    PCA Papers No.1

    We promised to start posting up PCA papers and here's the first of what promises to be a highly irregular series. Keep checking the blog for new additions. If you have anything in digital format, or links to ones you think are worth letting others know about, don't be shy. Why not publish your own work too - not just stuff by the 'big guns' (how'd you think they started!?).

    Anyhow, here is one of my personal favourites:

    http://rapidshare.de/files/15103451/Barrett-Lennard_-_A_reply_to_questions_and_misconceptions.doc

    Happy reading. Comments on the paper are welcome too, if you feel suitably inspired.

    To download: click on the link above - this should take you to the Rapidshare download page. Scroll down and select the 'Free' download option and then a page will open with the link to actual document. Clicking on this will give you the option of either opening the document or saving it to a location of your choosing.
    Any problems email
    pcayorks@yahoo.co.uk

    PC

    Monday, February 27, 2006

    Next meeting (& other stuff)

    MEETINGS
    Thanks to everyone who made it to - or sent apologies for - yesterday's get together (in the new decidedly more comfy Walker House Day Centre at the Voluntary Services Centre). The next scheduled meeting is for Sunday 9 April, from 1pm. Hope to see some of you then.

    After the April meeting we have nothing booked. Thoughts about venue, frequency of meetings, day/time etc would be welcomed; I'll collate and circulate all contributions.

    This is YOUR group/network so please express your views about the whole experiment so far, how you would like to see things progress in the future.

    E-BOOKS
    I keep getting sent details of e-books which I know I will only rarely consult but I just have to download them if they're free. Check the following if you like to collect encyclopedias (and who wouldn't if paper copies weren't so prohibitively expensive):

    http://rapidshared.org/index.php?t=search&w=encyclopedia

    Some are downloadable in pdf format (which of course are searchable), others compressed as .rar or .zip files. Winzip and WinRar are both readily downloadable free if you don't already have them.

    FATBOY
    Fatboy Slim has hailed Paul McCartney`s counselling skills after the former Beatle supported him during his marriage troubles.
    From Counselling Newsletter http://www.counselling.ltd.uk

    PSYCHOTIC PROCESS
    Prof. Margaret Warner PhD - Psychotic Process and the Person Centred Approach
    Double CD £20 plus p&p (£2 in the UK)
    Margaret Warner from Chicago is one of our colleagues who has advanced Person Centred Theory with her ground breaking work on "Difficult Processing". Over the last few years Counselling Works has been proud to present her workshops on Dissociation and Fragile Processing. Her latest workshop at Counselling Works, in 2005, was entitled Psychotic Process and in it she reviewed and contrasted her work with Fragile and Psychotic Process clients. Her style of presentation is relaxed, easily understood and rich with examples from her own practice. This recording was made at the workshop and has been edited into tracks to make the CD's easy to use in colleges and universities. The professionally made and edited recordings are at broadcast quality and contained on two audio CD's, each approximately an hour long, and divided into 14 named tracks. Track titles include:
    • Basic PCA concepts
    • Processing
    • No body/mind split
    • The act of processing
    • Attachment plus
    • Difficult process
    • Having to say it four times
    • Fragile process
    • Dissociative Process
    • Psychotic Process
    • You don't have to understand to know what to do
    • Dissociating parts of a person
    • Psychotic process
    • Voices and hallucinations
    • Medicating psychotic clients? The effect of drugs on a client's ability to process
    • Pre therapy influences
    • Avoid paraphrasing - stick to the exact words
    • Congruence is always behind empathy when working with a psychotic client
    • Thought disorder.
    This unique CD offers a remarkable opportunity to hear one of Person Centred's leading theorists explain her work first hand. They are warm relaxed style makes them easy, but compulsive listening.
    Copies are available at £20 each (plus postage and packing £2 in the UK). To pay by Credit/Debit card on the phone call Angela on 01908 263 800. or Make your cheque payable to Counselling Works Ltd. and send to: Counselling Works Ltd. The Old Cross Keys, 97 High Street, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK11 1AT

    HOW TO SING THE BLUES... A PRIMER

    1. Most Blues begin, "Woke up this morning..."
    2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."
    3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes...sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, And she weighs 500 pounds."
    4. The Blues is not about choice. You're stuck in a ditch, you're stuck in a ditch - ain't no way out.
    5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train, blues NEVER go on the northbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.
    6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.
    7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain.
    8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg cause you were skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg 'cause an alligator be chomping on it is.
    9. You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
    10.Good places for the Blues: a. highway b. jailhouse Bad places for the Blues: a. Nordstrom b. gallery openings c. Ivy League institutions d. golf courses
    11.No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be an old person, and you slept in it for the last 6 months.
    12.Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if: a. you're older than dirt b. you're blind c. you shot a man in Memphis Not if: a. you have all your teeth b. you were once blind but can see c. the man in Memphis lived d. you have a 401K or trust fund now
    13.Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got leg up on the blues.
    14.If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: a. muddy water b. nasty black coffee The following are NOT Blues beverages: a. Perrier b. Chardonnay c. Snapple d. Slim Fast
    15.If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.
    16.Some Blues names for women: a. Sadie b. Big Mama c. Bessie d. Fat River Dumpling
    17.Some Blues names for men: a. Joe b. Willie c. Little Willie d. Big Willie
    18.Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.
    19."Make your own Blues Name" Starter Kit: a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of a President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Pegleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")
    20.I don't care how tragic your life: if you own even one computer, you cannot sing the blues. If you are reading this on a computer - maybe you cannot sing the Blues - but you sure can listen to it.

    All the best for now!

    Paul Colley
    PCAyorks@yahoo.co.uk
    http://pcayorks.blogspot.com

    Thursday, January 26, 2006

    PCA SUMMER OPTIONS

    1. PCAN Event - Pen Rhiw Experiential Week
    Join PCAN for an experiential week in Pembrokeshire from 6 to 12 August 2006. Pen Rhiw is a fine Victorian rectory in secluded tree-lined grounds, seven acres of wildflower hay meadow and a woodland terraced garden. It is in the St David's peninsular, the Western edge of Wales, between St Davids and the sea, Britain's only coastal national park. The accomodation is comfortable, though not luxurious. There are 35 places, all can be guaranteed a room on your own if you wish. There are also twin and double rooms. The food is vegetarian and is really great.The cost will be £325 for the week. A non-refundable deposit of £60 secures a place. The early bird rate is £295 if paid in full by 31st March 2006.
    For a booking form, visit the Files section to the left of the PCA Events website http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/pca-events/ or visit the PCAN website at http://www.pcan.info/ or call Bernard on 020 8504 3675.
    2. Loitering within tent
    BAPCA is delighted to announce its first tented community gathering at Green & Away in Gloucestershire, taking place from 3-6 August 2006.
    Prices:
    £105 per person (Early bird £90 if paid in full before end of April 2006)
    Non-refundable deposit £25 per person
    Children: 0-2 years free (provided no more than ten 0-2’s on site) / 2-12 years £65 (Early bird - £55) / 13-16 years £85 (Early bird - £75)
    N.B. Children are the responsibility of guardians, at all times, when on site.
    Parking places per vehicle: £10 all cheques payable to 'BAPCA'.
    For those without their own tent, there are a limited number of G & A 'berths' in tents or yurts, at £5 per night in a tent, and £10 per person in a yurt, extra to basic price. G & A website at http://www.greenaway.org/
    NB: If you are willing to help the volunteers who run the Green & Away site as part of your experience, there are 4 free places available. Please contact Bernard (details below) as soon as possible.
    Booking forms from Bernard Mooney. Via email at b.mooney1@ntlworld.com or by post at 47 Palmerston Road, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, IG9 5PA.