Build it and they will come? Understanding public views of 'emotions talk' and the talking therapies

Citation

Anderson S & Brownlie J (2011) Build it and they will come? Understanding public views of 'emotions talk' and the talking therapies. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 39 (1), pp. 53-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2010.531385

Abstract
Recent policy and practice debates about the expansion of the talking therapies in the UK have been concerned with the ideological premise of the programme or with questions of effectiveness, cost-benefit, availability and access. For the most part, however, discussion of the needs and demands for such services has been largely abstracted from any consideration of prevailing cultural orientations towards 'emotions talk' and the talking therapies. By drawing on survey data from a major Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded study of emotional support, this paper looks at how such beliefs and practices are patterned across and within the general population in the UK, with particular reference to the effects of gender and age group. In doing so, it challenges the implicit assumption that ‘if we build it, they will come' and argues for an approach to service provision that acknowledges the highly differentiated character of emotional culture.

Keywords
talking therapies; counselling; emotions talk; cultural beliefs; social differentiation

Journal
British Journal of Guidance and Counselling: Volume 39, Issue 1