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The final reflective comments of a doctorate student at the end of this book, following completion of her research project, are both a warning and an inspiration to all of us who work in this field. As a ‘well-qualified and experienced clinician’ Philippa found that she was ‘so ignorant of the evidence-based body of knowledge about the psychotherapy process’ (p. 226). Following her research experience she found that her communication with practitioners of different theoretical orientations was enhanced and, of course, there was a ‘refreshing and developmental effect’ on her practice (p. 227). These comments demonstrate the need for this book - a need which has been increasingly recognized over the last decade. Barker, Pistrang and Elliott advocated the importance of the scientist-practitioner model in 1995 noting with enthusiasm the wider range of research methods becoming available to therapists. More recently Loewenthal and Winter (2006) find that in the UK, relative to psychotherapy, it is counselling ‘that has taken a lead in developing practitioner research’ (p. xvii). They note an ambivalence within the psychotherapy discipline to doing research which has led to ‘a lack of relative knowledge of research in psychotherapy’ as well as ‘a history of apparent defensiveness in being evaluated, and a reluctance to work with universities’ (p. xviii). Others, such as Mahrer (2004), are also raising the issue of the need for psychotherapy research.
Thus the book is timely and Lepper and Riding set out very carefully the parameters of the content as well as ways to use the book. It ‘is intended primarily as a teaching and learning resource for both practising and student clinicians’ who wish to carry out ‘clinically relevant research on transcripts of his or her own psychotherapy or counselling sessions’ (p. xiii). They suggest that it is for both the novice and those already engaged in research. Philosophy is rather briefly introduced in the book, which may limit a novic