Humanism in Counselling and Psychotherapy

The Humanist Tradition in Counselling and Psychotherapy

The April lecture to Hastings Humanists will be given by Andrew Colquhoun, who provides counselling and psychotherapy services in Hastings (at 44 Wellington Place). His talk will cover the various schools and their history, with emphasis on the humanist tradition in person-centred and cognitive behavioural therapy, and will also touch on national policy and regulation. This is a subject in which great strides in scientific effectiveness have been made in recent years.

The meeting is at the Arts Forum, 36 Marina, from 6:30 pm, Thursday 14 April.

The above is the wording of a press release I have sent out. A PDF poster advertising the lecture is available here. This is an unusual subject and I hope it will be of interest to a wide range of members. The talk will be followed as usual by a question and answer session.

Skeptics in the Pub comes to Lewes

I've only recently found that there are now Skeptics in the Pub meetings being organised in Lewes, at the Elephant and Castle, White Hill. The March 24 Meeting, featuring Simon Singh on Alternative Medicine is already sold out. There are meetings planned from April to August, but it looks as if it is necessary to book in advance.

There is also an established programme in Brighton. They meet at the Caroline of Brunswick, 39 Ditchling Road. The April 12 talk is by David Aaronovitch on Conspiracy Theories.

There are other Skeptics in the Pub groups all round the country, though not all are as active.

A Multifaith Royal Wedding?

Our discussion of Monarchy v Republicanism at our March meeting didn't get very far. In fact there was such an evident disparity of views that I thought it best to cut that part of the discussion short in case it led to violence! On the other hand our discussions on the Census and on Disestablishment were largely consensual.

There are a lot of amusing suggestions coming forward on Twitter on the subject of making the Royal Wedding a Multi-Faith event. This spoof seems to have originated from a Jewish Chronicle article.

A pastafarian (follower of the flying spaghetti monster) suggests serving meatballs and spaghetti. An alarming number call for human sacrifice: Wiccans want to burn a chief constable in a giant wooden effigy in Trafalgar Square: Hindus favour the Queen committing Sati on the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral pile: Jedi's want to see Charles chop off William's hand with a light sabre. Pagans want a bearded Chief Druid to lead the celebration ... Oh, hang on ...

Local BBC Radio Sussex

I had a phone call from BBC Radio Sussex last week asking if I would be willing to appear, via telephone, on their Sunday morning programme, at the impossible time of 7:15 in the morning. Fortunately they got Mr Edmonson from Worthing Humanists to chat to them about the Census campaign, and he came across quite well. Not having listened to anything much on local radio I tried to continue listening to the programme, but found it to be three hours (6 to 9) of relentless religiously biased propaganda. I did think of phoning in to express some contrary views, but after spending some time searching for the contact details, found better things to do. It is perhaps fortunate that these religious programmes are mostly confined to times of the week when very few people will be listening. What are the chances of getting the BBC to put on a three-hour broadcast with a relentlessly atheistic slant?

Our March Meeting

Humanism and the State.

This will be the subject of the next Hastings Humanists meeting at 6:30 pm on 10 March at the Arts Forum, 36 Marina, St Leonards on Sea.

There will be a round table discussion of Humanist views on issues such as the reliability of the Census, Monarchy versus Republicanism, Disestablishment of the Church of England, and any related questions people might like to raise. The entrance fee for nonmembers is £2.50.

The Census on 27 March will again include the leading question: "What is Your Religion?" To avoid the misuse of statistics to justify government involvement of religious organisations, Humanists urge everyone who does not actively practice a religion to tick the "No religion" box, and not to enter joke answers.

The above is the wording of a Press Release that I have sent out. Members are urged to bring their arguments and opinions and questions on these issues so that we can have a lively debate. The Census is on 27 March and the Royal Wedding in April, so these are topical issues. The current revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East may also have some bearing on these subjects.

A PDF poster for this meeting is now available.

East Sussex SACRE meeting

I went to the East Sussex SACRE meeting as I have been doing for a couple of years. The latest meeting was held at Uckfield, which is very awkward to get to by public transport from Hastings (train to Eastbourne, and 54 bus to Uckfield). Even by car it is a long journey. I was kindly given a lift back by one of the SACRE members. Unlike the previous meeting in Uckfield last year this time there was a full complement of 18 people round the table.

Although it had been agreed at the last meeting that the question of whether a Humanist could be co-opted onto the committee (as opposed to being an observer as I am at present) would be placed on the agenda, this was not done (and I didn't see a copy of the agenda until the tea break). I raised this issue at the end and have been given to understand it will be discussed at the next meeting in June. Not that there seems to be much difference between the two roles; I still would not have a vote on anything.

The East Sussex Agreed Syllabus for RE is due to be launched at a meeting in Lewes scheduled for 21 March.

Do You Adam and Eve It?

At our February Meeting Dr Tom Rees will be talking to us about Adam and Eve. Did they really exist? What is the scientific evidence? Who were mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosome Adam, and why did they never meet?

The science of genetics has come a long way in the last 50 or so years since the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA and it is surprising what it can tell us. This subject should also be of interest to religious believers.

We didn't get a mention in the local press this week**. Probably since I was late sending out the press release. However a PDF poster is now available from the Hastings Humanists page on my website. Also I've had difficulty printing this out, since the black ink cartridge on my printer seems to be faulty. So if members can print and distribute some this would be helpful.

**Correction: Our member Rose points out that there was a notice in the Hastings Observer. It is on page 26.