We are pleased to provide, for once, a theme-free issue which provides a highly varied bill of fare in this, our first issue of 2016.But before embarking on the menu, a few apologies are in order: firstly to you, dear readers, and to our valued contributors for the lateness of the last two issues (Vol. 43, Nos 3 and 4). With this new issue we are almost back on track, and aim, as far as possible, to keep it that way. We also apologize to those contributors to this current issue who have been patiently awaiting publication for quite some time, so overwhelmed have we been over the past 12 months with the sheer quantity of top-class material that has been sent to us. We also apologize to those who have sent us material we have still not published. Our intention is to always (in due course!) publish everything we accept. Thanks again to all concerned for your patience.
Now on to the current issue. In our peer-reviewed section, we feature a research paper by Becky Seale focusing on ‘passionate presence’ in relation to Buddhism and the Person-Centred Approach. Additionally we have an excellent peer-reviewed piece by our own Richard House and Colin Feltham on the rise and rise of Counselling Psychology: is this a good thing for Humanistic Psychology, they ponder? We also have a detailed report by Grethe Hooper Hansen on Iain McGilchrist's talk at the July 2015 Glastonbury Conference.
We've decided to give over a lot of space to extensive reviews of what are undoubtedly two of the books of 2014–15, if not the decade, and of great relevance to our ‘self and society’ theme: Thomas Piketty's bestselling book Capital in the 21st Century, reviewed in depth by Stuart Morgan-Ayrs; and Naomi Klein's barnstorming update on ‘all things climate change’, in her This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, reviewed by Nigel Armistead and our own David Kalisch, and with a commentary by Teresa Belton (author of Happier People, Healthier Planet).
We also feature an Open Letter on fighting to save counsellor education, from former S&S editor David Murphy. And we have two Appreciations sections in this issue: three appreciations of Professor John Forrester (1949–2015) by Robert Hinshelwood, Karl Figlio and Andrew Samuels; and one of Natalie Rogers (1928–2015) by S&S Associate Editor Keith Tudor.
Our ‘Regulars’ features have been reduced in this issue in order to make more space for the backlog mentioned earlier, but we are absolutely thrilled to start this issue with a new regular column by the eminent American psychologist Robert Sardello, under the regular title ‘Psychology for Heart and Soul’. Manu Bazzano provides his customary thoughtfully selected and wide-ranging book reviews feature (including a review of Robert Sardello's new book).
Finally, we have several ‘Retro reviews’ in this issue – one by Peter Beresford celebrating Peter Sedgwick's classic 1982 book Psychopolitics, and the other Julie Webb's retro review of John Daido Loori's The Art of Zen Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life from 2005.
All in all, then, something for everyone, we hope, as we welcome in the much-longed-for springtime!