Book Review: Complaints and Grievances in Psychotherapy: A Handbook of Ethical Practice

* Complaints and Grievances in Psychotherapy: A Handbook of Ethical Practice Fiona Palmer Barnes. Routledge 1998, 195pp

The title of this book provides a clear description of the content. In this regard, I had a number of responses to this book and it is these that I will now outline. Firstly it seems to me that this is a comprehensive book that is long overdue. The issue of ethics is crucial to all trainings and at all stages of training/practice and I am sure that ethics is something that most practitioners would see as central to Psychotherapeutic practice.

My second response is that this book is very useful as a reference text and as such should be on the reading list of the Psychotherapeutic trainings for use by trainees, therapists and trainers alike. I anticipate using this text in my teaching from now on. For the trainee or the beginning therapist, the chapter on contracts is particularly useful as it discusses the ethical negotiation of boundaries, fees and other aspects of the therapeutic 'frame'. For the organisers of trainings and managers of Psychotherapeutic services the collection of ethical guidelines of almost all of the relevant therapeutic organisations (British Association for Counselling, The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, The British Confederation of Psychotherapists, The British Psychological Society Division of Counselling Psychology) is particularly useful. One notable omission is information on the British Psychological Society Division of Clinical Psychology which has well developed guidelines for practice and management procedures, yet is not mentioned in the text. This surprised me as clinical psychologists are sometimes seen as the main providers of psychotherapy in the NHS. I am also aware of this organisation's involvement in workshops that occurred during the preparation of this book and am therefore left wondering whether this is an omission on the part of the author or alternatively whether the Division itself was reluctant to engage with the project? This book also contains a collection of complaints procedures and protocols and a selection of formats for letters that can be used should the need arise to engage in complaints and grievances procedures. These make this a useful book in the establishment and management of ethical issues in the different aspects of practice and training.

My third response is slightly less positive and this is to do with the style of the book. I found the approach taken to the material to be quite dry and not one that stimulated me to consider the meaning of ethical practice and the dilemmas that exist for each of us as we attempt to practice ethics in relation to our clients, trainees and even in relation to ourselves. This should not be too much of a criticism though as the book could not hope to cover all the requirements of a whole literature on ethics in psychotherapy. Indeed, I would hope that as Fiona Palmer Barnes has provided such a clear synopsis of the issues in practice, our professions will experience a bit of a kick-start in developing this literature in a way that covers the experience of ethics. Indeed, it would be heartening to see a range of texts considering the meanings and the processes involved in ethical practice as well as the structures and guidelines. While having said this, on reflection, it may also be that my response to this book was due to the fact that I read it on my own. At the time of reviewing it, I was not able to use the text in seminars or in discussions in learning situations with others. The consideration of this book in a focused study group may have prompted the stimulation I was looking for when reading on this topic.

In considering who would benefit from reading this book, I would think that most therapists (existential or otherwise) should find a place in their professional lives to be aware of the issues and procedures raised here - both for ethical reasons and also of the increasingly stringent requirements that are placed on therapeutic professionals to demonstrate an awareness of these issues in such workplaces as the National Health Service. Overall therefore I feel that this is an important book that requires the attention of all of us involved in the world of psychotherapy.

Martin Milton