October 2007 - Posts
Given the ingedients you might think that this is pretty much the same recipe as the courgette & mushroom bake I posted a few months ago - but it's not. However much you might thinks it looks the same it tastes quite different. Really.
serves 2
2 oz Margarine 1oz Breadcrumbs
3 medium courgettes 4 fl oz Yoghurt
1 Clove Garlic Half Tb Chopped Almonds
4 oz Mushrooms Half tsp Paprika
7oz Canned Tomatoes 1 oz Cheese
Slice and saute courgettes in frying pan. seperately saute garlic and mushrooms for about 3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and saute for a further 3 minutes. Stir in breadcrumbs, yoghurt, almonds and paprika and saute for another minute. Remove from heat, add courgettes, mix and spoon into baking tin. Top with grated cheese and put in Mark 4 oven for 30 minutes.
I saw Atonement a few days ago and thought it was a stunning film - and one that did justice to the original book. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet seen it but, when (or if) you do, think about this when it's finished - Briony has told you how she's feeling, what she thinks about the part she has played in the past.
As her friend, what would you say to her, and why?
As her counsellor, what would you say to her, and why?
You could, if you wanted to, post your responses on this blog. It'd be nice to hear from someone from time to time!
Just back from the BACP conference at the NEC, and it was an excellent event – challenging, stimulating and thought provoking. When I get time to type up my notes I’ll post them on the blog but, meanwhile, here’s a bit of a ragbag of thoughts and impressions – in no particular order, and with no substantiation.
25 years ago the average number of jobs someone in management might have through their working life was 2.5. Today it’s between 12 and fifteen. Think about the implications of that – on the worker and his/her family. Overall cost of mental health (or lack of it) in the UK is estimated to be £77 billion pounds. Autism costs £2.9 million per person in their lifetime. More than 20% of the prison population are dyslexic. Back pain is no longer the greatest course of absenteeism, it’s mental health – stress, depression, etc. The UK has the longest working hours in the developed world. What are the implications of that – when do people find time to be with their children? Does that matter?
What would it be like to have a therapist on every government committee – a specialist who would participate but not dominate. “The Surface of life is where the depth is” (Andrew Samuels)
“The past can predict the future but it can’t guarantee it” Nurture versus Nature as a redundant debate. Both will inevitably impact. The greatest predictor of depression – by far - is whether someone has had depression before. There’s an 80% chance of relapse. Poverty, relationships etc are far less significant. The correlation between identical twins is very high – likewise having a parent who has had depression – but not an adoptive (non-biological) one. There aren’t positive or negative feelings, but pleasurable and uncomfortable ones.
A couple of links you might like to follow –
http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/daniel.nettle/http://www.nickbaylis.com/Both Nick and Daniel had fascinating things to say. How about this – “Talking cures are chemical cures” because chemical change takes place in the brain during therapy. People who take part in contact sports live longer and are more successful. You can’t passively unwind – you have to do something – activity is important in promoting mental health.
Do something!
Susie Orbach was as interesting as ever, and I was glad to see her - I was beginning to wonder whether the entire event was going to be led by charismatic men. Vaguely disturbing this – what happens to the uncharismatic people who have exciting ideas to share? Anyway, here are a few web sites relating to Susie Orbach’s presentation that you might like to visit –
http://www.any-body.org/http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.co.uk/ (look for the film to play)
http://adbusters.org/spoofads/index.php (for some great spoof ads)
The next BACP conference (there are two a year) is on May 9-10th, and is in Cardiff. Why not think about going? While you’re a student you can do it on the cheap (or at least, cheaper) by claiming a student discount.
If you're studying on our Postgrad Diploma - or thinking about doing so - then you might well be interested in a new addition to our Resources page - "The Integrative Model". Els and Ariana talk about the model in a sound file that you can download and play on your computer, on an MP3 player or wherever. Where's the Resouces page? You'll find a link under "counselling links" on the right hand side of this blog.
A little more information about the counselling conference being held at Newport on 24th November. It runs from 9.30 to 4.30 and will be on the Caerleon Campus.
Key note speakers:
Prof. Julia Buckroyd (outgoing editor of Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, the research journal of the BACP) - ‘Tracking your own practice: an introduction to research-mindedness’
Kaye Richards BACP Research Facilitator - ‘The need for evidence in a regulated profession’
Panel Debate - ‘Evidence based practice: friend or foe’
You'll find booking information further down in this blog. As a shortcut you could just type "conference" into the search box on the left hand side of this page and every posting including that word - but only those including that word - will be displayed for you.
Apologies to all for this piecemeal presentation of postings, but here's the
final attachment. To make any sense of this you really need to scroll down to Part 1 and work your way up from there.
And here's another attachment!
It doesn't seem possible to post two attachments on the same posting - so here's the second PowerPoint presentation that Lesley refers to in the posting below this one.
A message from Lesley Spencer -
I recently attended the Welsh regional consultation meeting at the Holiday Inn in Cardiff on the 27th September 2007. This meeting was open to all BACP members and it served two significant purposes. Firstly to update people who were able to attend the meeting (of which there was a reasonably good turn out) on how statutory regulation is going to affect those of us who call ourselves ' applied psychologist, psychotherapists, counsellors and other psychological therapists' (White paper). You may be interested to see the attached powerpoint called 'Statutory Regulation - what will it mean for me?' which spells out what is currently known about how we might be included in the register. There essentially appears to be four routes: transfer for those who are BACP accredited for an annual fee onto the new register; approved qualifications ( which these are going to be is still under negotiation); a grandparenting scheme; and a professional certificate of confidence. There is clearly a lot still be be sorted out, so it is important to keep updated.
The second purpose of the meeting was to consult members on what should be included in the core curriculum for counselling and psychotherapy training and the attached powerpoint and handout covers some of the dilemmas the BACP was wanting to consult us over. One thing that was clear was that the BACP wanted to hear our opinions, so if you are reading this blog, and hold an opinion you want to voice, there is no reason why you shouldn't e mail Alan Dunnett at a.dunnett@yorksj.ac.uk yourselves. My impression was that the BACP saw this as an exciting but challenging transition phase, and one in which they wanted to bring as many members/ courses etc with them as possible whilst still maintaining the standards that we all know are important for a rapidly emerging and growing profession.
Something that part time students - and all our counselling students are part time students - often forget is that there are some very real benfits to being a student that have got nothing to do with gaining a qualification - student discounts! If you're thinking about buying a computer - or some software - then it's always worth checking what the deal is for students. Software bought straight from the manufacturer is often heavily dicounted - just go to the web site and look around for the appropriate link. Similarly, if you've got your SU card, you'll find it cheaper at the cinema!