As this issue of Inside Out goes to press, we find ourselves once again faced with the turning of the season: the turn of the leaves, the turn from warm evenings to a chill in the air, the turn from long days to longer nights. It’s a time when, traditionally, we slow down, turn inward, remember those who have gone and are perhaps drawn to consider our own place in the larger scheme of things, and our engagement with the unspoken, unconscious forces that influence our lives. With our clients, we might notice how, as winter approaches, our presence too might change as we hold space for them to grow and transform.

Both birth and death have made themselves felt as we put together this issue of Inside Out. Maria Moran writes a moving tribute to Althea Hayton, who passed away recently, accompanied by Althea’s own beautiful poem The dying room. Ray Martin also remembers a friend who has gone before, in his reflection on Brendan Connolly’s training at The Irish School of Awareness Therapy, and Marie Merton’s poem ‘The weary maids of Arcachon’ vividly evokes the all-too-swift passing of time.

In contrast, Paul Bradley’s discussion of pre- and perinatal psychotherapy reminds us that even the very beginnings of life are significant, a theme explored in greater depth in Shirley Ward’s book Fractals from the womb, reviewed for us by Sarah Kay.

Brid Commins writes about Mindell’s Process Work, with its view of the ‘dream body’ – life as a waking dream that connects us with all things, while Margaret Brady explores clients’ experiences of sharing dreams. In our second book review, Carmel McCarthy reviews Whispers in the stillness: Mindfulness and spiritual awakening by Martina Lehane Sheehan. Michaela McLaughlin and Sandra Mullen reflect on their experiences of psychotherapy training and their emerging identities as therapists, while Linda Somerville discusses the 5-Steps method of helping family members affected by substance misuse. Finally, we present two very different conversations, as Aisling McMahon interviews Sorca McGrath about her developmental group work with adults with special needs, and Gerry Mulhern discusses statutory registration with Ed Boyne.

The Editorial Board has been delighted to receive so many outstanding submissions for this issue – an excellent response to our call for contributions, and one which makes it encouragingly clear that Inside Out is important to its readers. We ask you to keep writing and submitting your work, and remind you that visual art is also more than welcome. The Editorial Board is always happy to discuss a potential submission with you, so if you’re wavering, go for it!