The Ambitious Young Woman and the Contemporary British Sports Film

This article explores how the figure of the ambitious young woman is mediated within contemporary female-centred British sports films. The article begins by briefly outlining the relationship between postfeminism and neoliberalism and highlights the relevance of these discourses to contemporary female-centred sports films. It then goes on to explore how postfeminist, neoliberal values are mediated in the construction of the ambitious young woman through an analysis of the British film Chalet Girl (2011), using both textual analysis and analysis of the film’s extra-cinematic materials. The analysis emphasises the importance of national context within postfeminist and neoliberal discourses, highlighting in particular the significance of the film’s depictions of specifically British class hierarchies. The findings of the article demonstrate how, while Chalet Girl emphasises class binaries, the film ultimately upholds the neoliberal myth that (class) barriers can be overcome through determination, hard work and the right choice

Processing the Therapeutic Relationship

The authors propose that if therapists and clients process their therapeutic relationship (i.e., directly address in the here and now feelings about each other and about the inevitable problems that emerge in the therapy relationship), feelings will be expressed and accepted, problems will be resolved, the relationship will be enhanced, and clients will transfer their learning to other relationships outside of therapy. The authors review theories supporting the idea of processing the therapeutic relationship, discuss the relevant empirical literature in this area, and provide their conceptualization of the construct of processing the therapeutic relationship based on the theory and empirical findings. Finally, they discuss methodological concerns and suggest implications for clinical practice, training, and further research

Introduction to a Special Issue on Disclosure and Concealment in Psychotherapy

Given that questions related to disclosure have long held the interest of both clinicians and researchers, we are excited to present this special issue of Counselling Psychology Quarterly focusing on disclosure and concealment in psychotherapy. All forms of human communication involve some degree of disclosure, whether through verbal or non-verbal means. Most of us are quite careful about both the content and quantity of what we share with others. One factor that affects decisions about disclosure is the type of relationship. Friendships typically include an approximately equal amount of disclosure from both members, whereas in other relationships (e.g. parent–child, boss–employee), disclosure patterns may be less equal. Psychotherapy is one such relationship where participants likely do not disclose equally. Clients are expected to reveal themselves as much as possible so that therapists can help them, although the depth of such disclosures may gradually evolve as clients begin to feel safe with their therapists. In contrast, given that the purpose of psychotherapy is to help the client, therapist self-disclosure (TSD) is usually much more limited and ideally used only to help the client rather than meet therapists’ needs. Because psychotherapy is on the one hand much like a friendship, given the level of intimacy and sharing (Schofield, 1986), yet on the other hand a professional relationship focused on the client, it offers a rich opportunity for examining the disclosure process. We can consider disclosure to exist on a continuum. At one extreme, nothing is withheld and the person is completely open with all conscious thoughts and feelings. At the other extreme, a person does not disclose at all and in fact, might be actively concealing or lying. Few people live at the extremes, as it is almost impossible either to share or withhold all thoughts and feelings. In addition, it is important to recognize that disclosure is a state rather than a trait, such that although one may be generally open, that same person might not disclose in a particular given situation. For this special section, then, we focus on several aspects of this disclosure continuum. First, we focus on TSD. Next, we focus on client disclosure and concealment. We refer readers to prior reviews of the literature to gain more perspective on past research in this area (Henretty, Berman, Currier, & Levitt, 2014; Henretty & Levitt, 2010; Hill & Knox, 2002; Knox & Hill, 2003)

The Use of Dreams in Modern Psychotherapy

We review theories of dream work. We also review the empirical research about how dreams are used in psychotherapy, as well as the process and outcome of different models of dream work. Finally, we review how dream content can be used to understand client, the role of culture in dream work, client and therapist dreams about each other, and training therapists to do dream work

Self-Disclosure

A review of the analog literature about therapist self-disclosure suggests that nonclients generally have positive perceptions of therapist self-disclosures. A review of the naturalistic psychotherapy literature indicates that therapist self-disclosure occurs infrequently, is used more often by humanistic-experiential than psychoanalytic therapists, is most often about professional background than about intimate personal details, is used for many different reasons, is used cautiously by therapists, and is helpful in the immediate process of therapy. Effects of therapist self-disclosure on the ultimate outcome of therapy are less clear. Limitations of the research (poor and inconsistent definitions and lack of a clinically appropriate methodology for studying self-disclosure) and guidelines for therapeutic practice are presented

Teaching Graduate Trainees How to Manage Client Anger: a Comparison of Three Types of Training

The authors examined the effects of three types of training (supervisor-facilitated training, self-training, biblio-training) on 62 graduate student therapists\u27 state anxiety, self-efficacy for dealing with anger, and helping skills (i.e., reflections and immediacy) in response to videotaped vignettes of angry clients. Training overall was rated as very helpful, and trainees increased in self-efficacy for working with client anger. Supervisor-facilitated training was rated as more helpful than, and was preferred to, self-training and biblio-training; it also led to more reflection of feelings in response to clients. Results suggest that vignettes such as these might be a helpful adjunct to training once students have competency in the basic helping skills