Therapeutic Love and Heartfullness

Gerry McNeilly is a trained specialist in art therapy, psychotherapy and group analysis. Following art therapy training in 1976, he was the principal art therapist at the Ingrebourne Centre and ‘Full Member’ of the Institute of Group Analysis from 1987. He established and directed a psychotherapy and counselling service in Bromsgrove, England and was the principal adult psychotherapist in Warwickshire from 1995 to 2011. He is an active member of the teaching body of the Portuguese Society of Art Therapy and also the originator of Group Analytic Art Therapy. Although now retired, he still undertakes some lecturing and academic involvement.

"This book is a very helpful and accessible account of the processes involved in group therapy.Gerry's warmth and humour, as well as his therapeutic understanding and long experience of leading groups, make this book a very useful addition to the appreciation of the benefits of group therapy."Judith Barford"Drawing on several decades of experience as a psychotherapist, with extensive clinical work, particularly in the context of psychotherapy groups, McNeilly demonstrates remarkable courage in this book—courage made possible only by a deeply grounded clinical practice. He delves into the realm of the psychotherapist’s conscious affective commitment to their patients. Of particular significance here is the tenderness that develops in a psychotherapist as they care for a person in distress. Therapeutic Love and Heartfulness thus emerges as an essential gradient for sustaining countertransference, which is inevitably stirred by the patient’s complex and painful experiences. This book is indispensable for all psychotherapists, regardless of their foundational training."Ruy Carvalho, Doctor, art psychotherapist, founder and president, Board of the Portuguese Society of Art Therapy (SPAT), Vice President of Art- Therapy and Psychopathology of Expression International Society"Gerry’s new book, Therapeutic Love and Heartfullness, marks a continuation of his thoughts and ideas based on his practice as a group analyst, and is informed equally by his work as an art therapist and educator. The book is defined by two overarching themes that will catch the reader’s attention, and both have strengths and compete with one another for position and priority. The first part of the title: Therapeutic Love and Heartfullness describes the author's intention to focus on a central dynamic within the arts and psychotherapies, that of empathy, attunement, relational connection, and the soul’s search for truth. This is a beautiful title which resonates with the contemporary world of conflict and division and the heart’s truth that we all seek in times of crisis and trauma.The second part of the title: Meanderings through group analysis: Group analytic art therapy and individual psychotherapy, describes the parameters of the author's therapeutic work and his longstanding contribution to these areas of practice, theory building, and teaching. The author playfully weaves the divergence of influences along with the convergence of experience as he builds an informative and inspiring sequence of ideas and formulations. I think that Gerry’s name and reputation alongside this title will connect with a wide audience, the longer, and more descriptive title, will equally connect with a readership who may not know the author’s work but will be drawn towards the themes of group analytic art therapy."Gary Nash, Art therapist, researcher and educator at the University of Hertfordshire, UK.'It’s not often that an experienced psychotherapist, on retirement, sits down to chart their whole professional journey. This is what art therapist, group analyst, psychotherapist Gerry McNeilly has done. Drawing on clinical vignettes and his wide meander through the psychotherapy literature, he describes in a very personal and open way how he gradually discarded psychanalytic theory and technique as he moved towards the view that love, and what touches the heart, are the core of what works in the therapeutic encounter. The result is a book that is engaging, challenging, and important.'David Kennard, Former Head of Psychological Therapy, The Retreat, York

• PART 1 Introduction 1.Setting The Scene 2. Three Models and One Synthesis 3. Specifics in Therapeutic Love and Heartfullness 4. 'Meanderings Through Literature' 5. Reflections and Art Therapy Perspectives 6. Individual Psychotherapy CHAPTERS 7–10 ‘Group Analysis – Primarily Verbal’ 7. Overview 8. Early Period 9. Middle Stages of Development 10. The Closing Years 11. Convergence PART 2 The Gap 12. Mind The Gap 13. The Thoughts I Threw Away 14. Outside The Consulting Room 15. The Lighter Side 16. Epilogue