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Hepple, J., Lloyd, J., 2010. Letter from the Editors. Reformulation, Winter, p.3.
Welcome to the second colour edition of Reformulation. We had very good feedback about using colour in the last edition. Some people with ageing eyesight found parts hard to read, but we hope we have got it right this time.
We have again been spoilt for choice with submitted articles and we have not been able to publish all of them, but this edition is as varied in content as the previous one. A new development is that we have included a painting for the first time. In this work by Waterhouse, Echo stands unobserved and overlooked in the shadows staring longingly at Narcissus transfixed by his own reflection. She is both admiring and contemptible at the same time. As he said to her at their only encounter ‘Noli me tangere’ – ‘Do not touch me’. In this sense, there is nothing healthy in narcissism.
On the subject of narcissism, Annie Nehmad describes a welcome twist on the narcissistic template-map in CAT. The special state traditionally put at the top of the map (and so hard for people to give up) is no more than the smiling side of the Janus – face of the empty monster of narcissism. Annie’s reworking elegantly makes the diagram more acceptable than the traditional CAT ‘split egg’.
We have some reflections on workshops presented at the last ACAT Conference and an excellent paper on what is sometimes called ‘sex addiction’ by Robert Watson, which describes the relational individuality of clients who use sex to escape unmanageable feelings. Tony Ryle’s article in the previous edition has prompted a further thoughtful exploration of the political context of both target problems and therapy. There is an article describing the process of restarting a West Midlands’ practitioner training and Jane Melton’s re-working of some of the most common snags she has encountered in her work with clients.
Taking the plunge and writing for Reformulation might seem a bit of a leap in the dark. To lighten the way a little bit, the editors have described on page 410 of the journal their current thoughts about the aims and scope of Reformulation and described the benchmarks they use when editing submissions. We would like to invite contributions for the next edition which we can receive at the latest by 31st March, although notices of forthcoming meetings, which do not require editing, may be sent as late as the end of April.
Finally, if your Sunday morning in bed needs lightening up before a roast potato and a glass of Pinot Noir, we have the first ‘16 plus 1’ interview with one of the “elders” of the CAT village (sorry Steve), who while leading the development of ICATA and the 4th International CAT conference in Poland next year, has found time to entertain us – thanks Steve. Please keep the articles, reflections, poems, cartoons etc….rolling in and maybe use the long dark evenings to pick up that pen…..
Jason Hepple and Julie Lloyd
reformulation@acat.me.uk