Critics of counselling and psychotherapy have argued tha

Critics of counselling and psychotherapy have argued that therapy comprises an over-individualized response to personal problems and ignores the social origins and conditions that ultimately produce these problems (Furedi 2004; Smail 1991; Pilgrim 1992). Do you agree? Take any one fi eld of counselling with which you are familiar (student, marital, workplace etc.). To what extent does the practice of counselling in that area ignore underlying social factors? In what ways might the counselling that is offered be more (or less) effective if social factors were given more attention?