The book is up on Googlebooks. You can read without buying – at least the Intro and a chunk of Chapters 1 and 2…
Author: afwesty
Previous Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist now Developmental Conversations. Enjoy music, walking, cycling, words, people - in moderation. Author: Being With and Saying Goodbye. Karnac. 2016. afwest.com
Professional Practice
I am a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Is my profession therefore that of Medicine, Psychiatry, or Child and Adolescent Psychiatry?
That is where Being With and Saying Goodbye starts out from – from the fact of my professional identity and practice, but I chose to give the book the subtitle Cultivating Therapeutic Attitude in Professional Practice, rather than …in Child and Adolescent Mental Health because, not only was I confident that what I was saying would ring true for other, non-medical, professionals in that area of work, but I was also pretty certain that it would be of interest and relevant to other areas of professional practice – For example Teaching and Social Work as well as Mental Health, and Healthcare more generally.
So, if you are a teacher or a social worker – and not only for children – I hope that you will venture to read Being With and Saying Goodbye, and then comment on this blog.
Being With And Saying Goodbye – the book
It would be foolish for me to advertise, with shoddy writing, something that according to the generous endorsement it has received is written well. I could hardly do better than to quote from these endorsements:
‘Informed by a lifetime of experience in the author’s own field of child and adolescent psychiatry, the “therapeutic attitude” for which he argues has much to offer caring clinicians in every area of medicine.’
– Professor Bill Fulford, St Catherine’s College, Oxford
‘Anyone working in the field of child and adolescent health, education or social services will come away inspired and refreshed by Andrew’s candour, his ironic humour and superb writing.’
– Dr Sebastian Kraemer, Honorary Consultant, Tavistock Clinic
‘ This is a timely, important book because the attitude so beautifully described and illustrated is in danger of being squeezed out of us. Reading it will help you survive through difficult times whilst rekindling the hope that things could and should be done better.’
– Penelope Campling, medical psychotherapist and co-author of Intelligent Kindness: Reforming the Culture of Healthcare
‘This book inspires hope that we can recover a kind of professionalism that has been undermined by our current target-driven culture. Andrew West’s vision is compelling. A book that should be read by all those involved in commissioning services as well as by practitioners.’
– Sue Gerhardt, author of Why Love Matters
I can direct you to Karnac Books where you can get a better idea of this title and order it:
Click here to go to Karnac United States
Of course I would love it if you ordered it from your local “High Street” bookshop. Blackwell’s in Oxford have it in stock, for example, and at the time of updating (Sept 2018) Blackwell’s Online have it at a reduced price! Alternatively, you may want to by it online, using one of Ethical Consumer Magazine’s high-scoring sites.
Please take a look, read, comment, recommend…..
Therapeutic Attitude 