John McLeod & Mick Cooper, PCP2e@pluralisticpractice.com

When Pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy was published by Sage in 2011, it offered an introduction to a collaborative way of working with clients, based on a relatively limited body of practice and research evidence. Over the last decade, pluralistic theory, training, and practice has hugely expanded in terms of the number of practitioners who use it, the range of therapeutic strategies and activities that are available, and the amount of research evidence that has been published. There have also been significant challenges to therapy theory and practice that have emerged over that period: such as an increasing requirement to address social justice issues, and the much wider use of on-line therapy. We believe that this would be a good time to produce a new edition of Pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy. Although there is now The handbook of pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy, many introductory chapters on pluralistic practice are available, and the excellent Pluralistic therapy primer has been written by Kate Smith and Ani de la Prida, it is important to be able to access a book that offers a comprehensive, in depth account of what is involved in working pluralistically – the kind of book that could be referenced as a treatment manual in research studies, and that we can use to explain the approach to colleagues from other therapy traditions.

In the spirit of pluralism, we want the new edition to reflect the diversity and creativity of pluralistic theory and practice, including the tensions and growing edges that exist within it. We ourselves have lots of ideas about what we would like to include. But we have not had the experience of being students or practitioners who have struggled to find the information, explanations, or examples that they need in the existing edition; or being tutors who have found that the present edition does not sufficiently support the topics they need to teach. So, we would like to hear from you – your feedback about bits of the book that are helpful and make sense (and those that do not), your suggestions for areas that should be added, and your thoughts about how the book is written and laid out. We are open to anything you are able to offer. You can send us a few lines outlining one thing you would like to see changed, or an extensive list of points that you believe should be addressed.

Publishers always commission reviews of proposals for new books, or new editions of existing books, from people they regard as leading figures in the profession. SAGE will do that anyway. What we are looking for, from you, are the thoughts and feelings of those for whom the book really matters.

Please email suggestions and any other comments to PCP2e@pluralisticpractice.com