Editorial 

Our readers will not be surprised that much of this issue features the varying ways our contributors have responded to the repercussions of the ongoing pandemic-spawned “global anxiety.”

This anxiety is perhaps most acutely experienced in homelessness and Editorial Board member Paul Daly explores the issue of therapy with homeless people, noting the lack of research on the subject from a humanistic perspective. To help remedy this missing dimension, he provides an existential overview based on interviews with three therapists working with homeless people and the available existential therapy literature.

Trauma can result from domestic strife as chronicled in Daniel Cleary’s exploration of the challenges faced by the therapist dealing with the related abuse and its collateral damage, not only within the family but also to the therapist. He addresses the possibility of “moral distress” and challenges to one’s values, and as we hear not often enough, the importance of self-care.

A possible catalyst for early trauma that receives little attention is the subject of Colm O’Connell’s “Early hospital experiences and long-term effects” in which he looks at how these events can leave lasting impressions.

Marion Rackard also addresses early trauma, highlighting her work with the Silent Voices initiative and the HSE to raise awareness of the effects of parental alcohol abuse.

Ethical issues are the subject of “Doing right when things aren’t right”. This thought-provoking work by Mike Hackett and Niall Bulfin investigates issues arising from the distancing requirements that have disrupted traditional practice, and how we must adapt to these circumstances. The authors remind us of the need to balance the welfare of client and therapist as we engage in both the new remote platform and the revised protocols of face-to-face meetings.

In “Green shoots,” her reflection on the spiritual challenges of the pandemic, Nicky Flood suggests that it offers “an opportunity to reset, rethink, and remaster our own lives.” The ongoing restriction of both our work and personal lives is the subject of Maria Moran’s look at “Remote connection and communion,” as well as Brian Gillen’s “Self-love in the time of Covid.” He draws parallels between the individual sufferer and society at large, with a message of hope for finding silver linings beyond the darkness. Lastly, in “Surviving the storm,” Sheena King chronicles her harrowing ordeal with post-natal depression and the isolation forced on us all by the pandemic, and offers sympathy to the sisterhood of new mothers with a similar plight.

On the lighter side, we find in Ger Murphy’s article on the use of poetry in psychotherapy many inspiring examples of how poems can become a “wonderful companion for clients going though many different life events.” He addresses the theoretical underpinnings of this approach and includes practical accounts of its benefits to his own clients and how poetry can be a “medicine which allows the person to sink more deeply into their own inner experience.” And if you’re seeking your own “medicine”, this issue also presents reflective poetry from John Bourke.

The issue closes with Paul Daly’s “Kidney Sisters”, a brief account of a relationship which sprang out of the gift of a transplant and which Paul wishes to dedicate to his late wife Trisha. In closing, the Board wants to extend our deepest sympathy to Paul for his sudden loss.

(C) IAHIP 2021 - INSIDE OUT 94 - SUMMER 2021