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In this issue we present a clinical commentary on the first film of the 1999 BBC series The Talking Cure. Based on work at the Tavistock Clinic, the first film presented an account of a four-session assessment conducted by Caroline Garland from the Tavistock Trauma Unit of Jan Gale who, in 1991, had been involved in a motor accident which resulted in the death of the other motorist.
The decision of the Tavistock to allow the BBC to film its work raises questions in the minds of many clinicians about confidentiality and violation of the safety of the consulting room. However, we need to be reminded that the family therapists have been using videotaped sessions for training and for conference presentation for many years.
The filming of Caroline Garland's assessment sessions with Jan Gale gives the psychotherapeutic community a chance to see with its own eyes so to speak what these sessions were like. But, as our commentators emphasize, we must recognize that what we see is no less a construction than any other processed version of a therapy session. The BBC has edited its footage to create what the film-makers feel will be a watchable, lively programme. As such our clinical commentaries are commentaries on what we are shown, not necessarily on what ‘really’ happened in this therapeutic dyad.
Many readers will have had strong professional reactions to the BBC's representation of Garland's sessions, both positive and negative. However, it is vital that psychotherapy begin to move beyond strong reactions to begin to formulate principled criticisms and self-criticisms of our theories and practices. We have asked three experienced clinicians to express their thoughts on these sessions as a way to further constructive engagement between different points of view and orientations.
Although the commentators range in opinion about the effectiveness of the assessment sessions, there is broad agreement on the importance of the major clinical issue that appears in these sessions: the