Counselling and psychotherapy research special section: What core knowledge is needed to be a therapist. Editorial introduction.

Significant changes have emerged in the field of counselling and
psychotherapy during the last couple of decades. From being relatively steeped in mystery, evidence and accountability have been put to the forefront. Symington (1986) described once psychotherapy “as impossible to convey the sense of … as it is to explain to an eight‐year‐old child what it is like to be in love” (p.9). The changes towards transparency may be reasonable and welcomed—but are potentially confusing for the many therapists who find themselves caught between contrasting schools of thought. The evidence‐based approaches emphasise the importance of certainties and a for therapy commonly held “truth”; whilst postmodern and contemporary thinking emphasise differences with socio‐cultural, linguistic, gender related and other context dependent interests in mind. Both bring a refreshingly demystifying approach to traditional therapy;
they argue for transparency and accountability—but from different angles. In this journal issue, we will bring a broad selection of research which put therapists core skills and knowledge to the forefront. They will be presented in terms of three overarching themes.