‘Tricky people’: an interview with Andrew Fuller
Liz Sheean and Jenni Richardson
‘Difficult people’ can be the cause of suffering for many of us, whether we encounter them at work or in our personal lives. ANDREW FULLER, a clinical psychologist and family therapist, in his recent book,‘Tricky People: How to deal with horrible types before they ruin your life’, takes an in-depth look at how difficult people manage us for their own ends and how to overturn this process. In this interview, he discusses what inspired him to write on this topic, how we are all ‘tricky people’ at some time, productive and unproductive ways to respond to ‘tricky people’, how to understand relationship patterns, office politics, our own shortcoming in our dealings with others, and how a ‘tricky’ person might be one of our best teachers.
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Acceptance and well-being
Ivan Milton
Recent developments in therapy identify ‘acceptance’ as a fundamental aspect of a healthy life, however the practice of acceptance is often more difficult to grasp than it is to write about. IVAN MILTON draws on poetry and various spiritual teachings to convey the flavour of acceptance as an active response of allowing and letting feelings ‘be’ without trying to fix, judge or change them. Acceptance then becomes a powerful antidote to the experiential avoidance that is at the heart of many psychological problems. The practice of acceptance is framed as an important foundation for the development of a more open relationship to unpleasant experiences. On the other hand, it can also be used as an unproductive means to avoid or get rid of pain. Forgiveness and acceptance of failure are used to illustrate the multifaceted nature of acceptance.
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Is psychotherapy a vector for isolation and anomie?
Mark Furlong
A key traditional question the client learns in the conventional psychotherapies is ‘Am I getting what I want?’. But can this question incite a mindset that does not align with the ‘give and take’ essence of sustainable everyday relations? Is it possible that the psychotherapies—if these practices can be bundled together—might teach clients to become more self-centred and relationally illiterate? MARK FURLONG suggests that well-intentioned practitioners can inadvertently de-empathise, ignore or even disrupt their clients’ intimate networks. Findings from his research support the proposition that the action of the mainstream therapies tends to undermine the service users’ prospects for sustainable personal relationships. Exceptions were found in the specialist settings of paediatric and aged care, and in narrative and family therapy practice.
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Levels of reflection: on learning reflection
Michael Carroll
The purpose of supervision is to set up reflective dialogues through which we learn from the very work we do. Reflection is the medium through which we learn. Not only is it the bridge between information and wisdom, it is the process that turns information and knowledge into wisdom. For a long time we have presented ‘reflective practice’ as an ideal to be attained. However, there is little to help us learn how to reflect or how to deepen reflection. How do we understand reflection and, in particular, how do we help coachees and supervisees to use reflection to its maximum? MICHAEL CARROLL presents six levels of reflection that deepen the reflective process, accompanied by methods to help move through the levels as appropriate. He argues that access to all six levels of reflection creates the best environment for ongoing learning.
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Making and remaking the world: the influence of constructivism on psychotherapy
Jonathan Norton
The universal human quality of seeking to make sense of one’s world—of interpreting things in particular ways and of forming meaningful associations—is what marks us so distinctly as a species. Any discipline that claims to understand or analyse people needs to deal directly with these processes of sense-making and the construction of meaning. The work of George Kelly provided the first thorough introduction and application of constructivist ideas in psychology. JONATHAN NORTON argues that constructivist notions in psychology have permeated the field of psychotherapy and it is time for this important legacy to be recognised. A case which elaborates these ideas is presented, and the influence of constructivism in numerous contemporary approaches to therapy is described.
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The communication of emotions and the growth of autonomy and intimacy within family therapy
Dan Hughes
In this chapter from the recent book, ‘The Human Power of Emotion: Affective Neuroscience, Development and Clinical Practice’, DAN HUGHES highlights the primary role of the family in human development. Increasingly, many fields of human research, including neuroscience, demonstrate that the choice between autonomy and intimacy is false. Optimal family functioning considers autonomy and intimacy, as well as self and other, to be two sides of the same coin. The family is entrusted with the responsibility of nurturing both sides, and when it does its job well, these dichotomies fade. Interwoven with autonomy and intimacy, and reflecting the energy of interactions, are the emotions. Emotions represent the various forms of specific energy that move within one mind or between minds within relationships. Anger and joy, fear and love, guilt and excitement are here-and-now experiences that bring the individual—and the relationships between individuals—to life. Emotions carry direction, meaning, and purpose in the development of the individual and the relationship, and intimacy develops through the continuous presence of ongoing experiences of shared affect. Such experiences are at the core of intersubjectivity, which plays a central role in the rich emotional life of the family. Three clinical case vignettes illustrate these ideas and the role of the family in the development of emotional regulation.
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