Editorial

This Summer issue of Inside Out is devoted to training. We list the courses which are available and provide useful advice for those hoping to train as psychotherapists. Entry to such courses is becom­ing more difficult since most are only available to those with graduate (or equivalent) status. This unfortunately rules out many people who simply as a result of life’s experience have much to offer in a training context, but this higher education standard is very much a part of the ongoing efforts to regulate the profession and to ensure that qualifications will be recognised throughout Europe. We feel it is essential that those who run training courses are open to assessment and critical evaluation by those they train, and we would welcome contributions on this subject from recent graduates and from their trainers for future issues. Susan Lindsay, Chairperson of the I.A.H.I.P., traces the development of humanistic psycho­therapy in Ireland. She addresses training issues and the inclus­ion/exclusion criteria. She also looks forward, with optimism, to the future of psychotherapy in Ireland.

In his article, Dr. Michael Fitzgerald brings us up to date on developments within the Irish Standing Conference and its Euro­pean counterparts, and Alan Mooney looks forward to the time when the profession of counselling and psychotherapy regulates itself with a good code of training ethics and standards.

The theme for our Autumn issue is Self-Help. We acknowledge that self-help groups are on the fringes of formal psychotherapy and that they work very differently, in that they do not usually have a trained facilitator or group co-ordinator, and no fee is payable. But we feel this issue must be addressed since it is such a huge growth area.

We thank those who have contributed to this issue and we encourage others to submit articles for publication.