A new initiative in the UK involves women who have been raped supporting others recovering from the same experiences of violation, anger, grief, shame and being effectively shut up by society as a whole. Why do these relationships work so well, and what can therapists learn from them?

The classic response to a client’s question is to turn it back on the client, treating the question as revealing of a particular need. “I see it is really important to you to know…” This technique makes me flinch.

Blatant, overt racism is easy to spot — but what about subtle racism? And are there measurable cognitive effects that come as a result of witnessing not-so-obvious racism?

Will we turn around one day and discover that the way of life we have created, with all its individual freedoms, is totally unsustainable? Will we come to agree with most of the societies who have ever lived on Earth that interdependence is the only way to go on a planet as small, and yet incredibly diverse, as ours?

Are young people taking up, or making up, new forms of spirituality uniquely concerned with self-fulfilment? Does this lead to individualism at the expense of society and their own mental health? Or is this a scare story which gets cause and effect mixed up?

It seems that conscious choice and the exercising of responsibility are good for us — physically, psychologically, and even, according to new research, morally. Apparently, those who have a strong belief in their own power and influence over events are less likely to cheat, lie and steal.

Self-Help is a massive and growing industry. Are these books really selling the secrets to happiness, thinness and wealth? Or are they making profits from the comforting illusion that these things are really for sale?