history which we cannot simply erase by removing statues. I wonder if they have ever heard of a man called Adolf Hitler. He was a man who was a big part of German history less than a century ago; a history which is much talked about and studied, and yet I do not know of a single statue to him in the world. It is illegal in Germany to have a statue of him because they recognise the horrors he perpetrated, but he is still discussed as a significant historical figure. We don’t need statues to know about history. We don’t need to glorify slavers by making statues to them. This personal sentiment may not seem to have a lot of relevance for family therapy, but I believe it does. If we value the graces, then it must, and throughout this general issue you will find high quality articles which value human life, respect difference and diversity, challenge prejudice, and promote not tolerance but equality. I will leave you with a poem written on the theme dominating this editorial which I find very moving.
Ways of working during the COVID-19
crisis Sarah Helps, Conny Kerman and Carol Halliwell
We wrote this blog as an immediate response when COVID-19 led to lockdown. In the two weeks between writing it and sending it to Context, much has changed. Many of you have emailed with comments and suggestions based on your own evolving practices. By the time this has been published, it is impossible to know how much of the thinking described below will remain the same and what will have changed. What follows is therefore a punctuation, the capturing of some thoughts at a particular moment in time, full of the mania and fear and anxiety that comes from wanting to do something and not being quite sure what to do.
Remote working in a pandemic As for many other professions, the
COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed the way that systemic practitioners work. With weeks or months of lockdown looming, we cannot practise with families and groups in the ways that have been carefully developed over decades. In just two weeks, all but essential face-to-face contact between psychotherapists and patients and clients has stopped. Crisis mental health services have been set up and reorganised to provide services to those most in need and most at risk and to ensure hospital beds are privileged for COVID patients.
What follows are some ideas we
generated, regarding some practicalities of providing systemic psychotherapy remotely via video link. Organisations across health, education, social care and the voluntary sector are using a variety of platforms to enable staff to connect via video conference. At the Tavistock, we are using Zoom via faculty trust accounts and this has been assessed as secure enough to conduct both clinical and training activities. Recent NHS guidance has helpfully emphasised the importance of maintaining a connection with patients over worrying about which platform to use.
Ged Smith. (Please feel free to contact me about anything relating to this issue of Context on
Ged59@hotmail.com)
Carol (on screen) and Conny (smaller) 2 Context 170, August 2020
Ways of working during the COVID-19 crisis
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