Fifty Years of Counselling – My Presenting Past

This is an engrossing book. It looks back over a remarkable life working in the developing world of the counselling profession, when it ‘was finding its feet’ as Michael Jacobs says. It covers a golden age of university, college, and low cost counselling from its early growth to its present day decline in times of austerity and increased regulation, and traces the development of BACP, but always from the personal perspective of the author. Michael writes with self-awareness and modesty of his many achievements as a therapist, teacher and author, and with honesty of failures. His energy, creativity and commitment to the importance and protection of the therapeutic relationship and the necessary accessibility of counselling is constant. This book will be of huge interest to anyone involved with counselling, and provides an essential background to understand the profession now.

This is a fascinating memoir of the author's long career in the field of counselling and psychotherapy as well as some details of his personal life. Michael Jacobs is probably best known for his writing and editing, some 60 books on counselling and psychotherapy which have been read and referred back to by so many of us who trained as counsellors over the last 30 years. This short but dense book tells of his original studies in theology, his ordination and work in the church before his transition, not without pain, into the world of secular counselling; and into the development of training of counsellors. Alongside all this he describes his part in the development of counselling organisations, in particular the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. What comes across is his huge energy, creativity, innovativeness and a lifelong passion for accessible low cost counselling. It is sadly ironic that Jacobs, who began work in this field before formal training in counselling existed and who then played a large part in the development of that training and of its umbrella organisation, is now no longer accepted as a member of that organisation, largely because of BACP's continuing driver towards regulation and standardisation.

A critical look at the trajectory Counselling has taken ; not always for the better.Michael Jacobs, one of our best known and earliest counsellor,supervisor and trainers in Psychodynamic Counselling, traces in his usual lucid style, the fascinating journey Counselling has taken in its’ increasing professionalisatn.He shows that, admirable though this has been , the cost has been the loss of the gifted volunteer Counsellors , lost to often pointkess beaurocratic hurdles they were unable to surmount.

A slim volume and inevitably condensed, this is nonetheless an absorbing and illuminating account of Michael Jacob’s remarkable career at the forefront of psychodynamic counselling. We get an insight into his process, his openness to opportunities (and fulsome acknowledgement of his debt to those who have provided them), his determination and relentless energy, his willingness to tangle with organizations as well as his impatience with bureaucracy.He is a risk-taker and catalyst; there are successes and setbacks. He allows us to witness his vulnerability, for example, in his first post as a fledgling counsellor. What particularly shines through is his impassioned belief in accessibility: the importance of low cost counselling services, and the relevance of affordable training not just for those who wish to make counselling their career. His books have been a model in expressing psychoanalytical ideas in an accessible and imaginative form.If sometimes a breathless read, this memoir conveys a richness of experience. It also raises questions of continuing relevance to the counsellors of today.

Michael Jacobs writes as always with a clarity and engaging style. This is his personal journey through the early days of the profession and his desire to advance the future and accessibility of counselling is a theme running through the book. He writes with honesty and self reflection.Through his personal recollections I learnt so much about the evolution of the profession which illustrate the many struggles which have taken place at a local and national level. His voice can truly be heard through the pages of this fascinating book. I was completely absorbed from beginning to end.

An engaging read that brings to life the history of counselling in the UK. To those who are new to the profession, it may provide valuable context in relation to the professional organisations, contemporary training principles and working practices. For all those who’ve read Jacobs’ books to support their training and practice, here is an opportunity to get to know the author in a more personal way.