Presentation in English

MELLANRUMMET

Mellanrummet – Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy – was founded in 1999. The title Mellanrummet is an equivalent to the Winnicottian expression Potential Space. In Swedish it also literally means “the-room-in-between”. So the whole idea behind the project of starting a new journal was to be “a room in between” different parts of our country and other Scandinavian speaking readers.

A bit of history

The initiative of starting a journal of child and adolescent psychotherapy came from Britta Blomberg, licensed psychologist and licensed psychotherapist at the Erica Foundation in Stockholm (www.ericastiftelsen.se). From the training programmes in child and adolescent psychotherapy there were many extremely well written final theses, papers that never reached a wider group of readers. One of the wishes we had at the start was to spread these interesting and elaborated texts into digestible articles. Britta Blomberg also worked in private practice, including teaching and supervision. In this she met many dedicated professionals all around Sweden as well as in other Scandinavian speaking countries. There was a huge request from them to have access to a journal, which would spread articles, reviews and information within the field. As an EFPP-delegate (The European Federation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy – www.efpp.org) she also came into contact with many others in Europe engaged with psychotherapy for young people. One of the tasks of an EFPP-delegate is to promote psychotherapy on a national and international arena. A new journal could be one means of reaching this goal. There was a “market” of readers on one hand and there were lots of interesting and thought-provoking ideas on the other and now these could find a forum for meetings. So the need for a national as well as an international interchange could to some extent be met by founding a journal.

In co-operation with some former students of the Erica Foundation therapy training and others, who were dedicated enough to embark on such a time consuming project as launching a new journal, the preparations for editing and publishing a journal started in 1997. In December 1999 the first volume (“Psyche-Soma”) came from the printers, saw the light and could reach out to some potential subscribers. With some financial and professional support from the Erica Foundation as well as the former PBU in Stockholm County Council (Psychological Child and Adolescent Care, later changed to BUP, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) and some private donations, the launching and advertising of the newborn journal, was made possible.

In order to publish a journal in Sweden there have to be some structures which attend to the financial issues. The easiest, and most handy thing to do was to start a Vänförening – an Association of Friends of the Mellanrummet, with a chair, vice chairman, treasurer, secretary and some other members. The aims of Vänföreningen are solely to support the publishing of the journal and to arrange two annual meetings for the members (anyone interested in the project can become a member and support the publishing and spreading of the journal for a small amount of money per year). It is a totally non-profit-making Association. The two meetings are exclusively built on articles published in Mellanrummet or other topics concerning the stipulated annual meeting as regards to the work done by the editorial committee and the board of the Association of Friends (Vänföreningen).

In 2004 the 10th volume was published and a celebration of that occasion took place. More about this can be found at the website (www.enigma.se/mellannrummet). And in 2009 Mellanrummet will celebrate its 10 anniversary and the publishing of the 20th volume!
There is obviously a lot of work to be done by the editorial board but just as much has to be taken care of “behind the scenes”. Lena Poulsen has been our editorial secretary from the very start and done a tremendous job setting the frames for how the journal could be put together for printing. The treasurer of the Association of Friends has one of the most crucial tasks to take care of and be responsible for, otherwise the whole project could not be manageable. There are lots of invoices to be written and checked out as well as all the other issues for the accountant to handle.

The journal is available through subscription or can be bought in separate volumes.

One of our most important contributors to Mellanrummet is the licensed psychologist and licensed psychotherapist Magnus Bjurhammar, who has been of enormous help with the website, and all this on a voluntary basis. Apart from being the principal display case for our readers, it is also the main asset for subscription and for ordering previously published volumes of the journal.

The aims

The journal aims at reaching out to readers in Scandinavian speaking countries, interested in and engaged in psychotherapy and people working in the field of psychological welfare and disorders amongst the young population. The editorial board puts a great effort into trying to reach writers and readers from all over the country. There is always a risk that a journal like this only attracts contributors from the bigger cities, usually where the training institutes are located. We know that enormously important work is done all over Scandinavia and has been done for many years within the field of child and adolescent psychotherapy and we consider it crucial to spread information about these interesting developments – especially these days when the huge psychiatric and pharmacological input appears to be accepted as the sole evidence-based remedy to mental and social ailment.

The editorial board is also actively engaged in promoting writers from non-Scandinavian countries to contribute. Some articles are therefore published in English. The EFPP-network, as well as the network of contacts, which many of the members of the editorial board are actively engaged in, has all been of great help and importance in these efforts.
Apart from the articles, each volume also entails some book reviews and reports from conferences, where issues linked to mental welfare and psychological pain have been the topic. And of course, there is room for advertisements and information about forthcoming conferences. The economic surplus from advertising is used to contribute to the finances of Mellanrummet. But since around 2005, most people and firms refer to their websites and are not so eager any longer to spread information via general advertising.

The editorial board

Some 6–7 psychotherapists and psychoanalysts are engaged on the editorial board – we are specialized in work with children, adolescents, parents as well as in group psychotherapy. Many of us are engaged in training programs for psychotherapists at different universities or other institutions for higher education. An up-dated presentation of the editorial board can be found on this website (please click menu link Redaktionen).

One of the pre-requisites for publishing a journal like Mellanrummet was to have each volume built around a special theme. This makes it feasible for the board to handle, since all of us are doing this work without any financial support and totally on a voluntary basis, over and above our ordinary time consuming profession.

There are two volumes per year and this means that the editorial board, in addition to the readers and potential writers, know a year ahead about what is going to be the focus in the two forthcoming volumes (information about future volumes can also be found on the website). Each volume contains some 200 pages, which means that today, in 2008, some 2 600 pages on the subject of child and adolescent psychotherapy have been published in Mellanrummet! Not bad for a journal made on a voluntary, free-time basis!

One volume includes many articles in English and one of them can still be found in translation on this website (please see Vol. 18 In the psychotherapist’s room and the article The Child Psychotherapist's room).

Here is a list in translation of the topics of Mellanrummet so far:

1999 Vol 1 Psyche-Soma

2000 Vol 2 Psychotherapy with adolescents
Vol 3 Therapy with parents

2001 Vol 4 Time and space in child and adolescent psychotherapy
Vol 5 Psychotherapy with children (1)

2002 Vol 6 Psychotherapy with children (2)
Vol 7 Therapy with infants

2003 Vol 8 Child and adolescent psychotherapy: research and development
Vol 9 Group psychotherapy; children, adolescents and parents

2004 Vol 10 Adolescents (2): psychotherapy, research and development
Vol 11 Child and adolescent psychotherapy: history and future

2005 Vol 12 Diagnostics and assessment
Vol 13 Child and adolescent psychotherapy of today

2006 Vol 14 Child and adolescent psychotherapy: crisis and trauma
Vol 15 The psychotherapist: aspects of a profession

2007 Vol 16 Parents (2): Parenthood and treatment
Vol 17 Psychotherapy and play

2008 Vol 18 In the psychotherapist’s room
Vol 19 In preparation Supervision and Consultation

2009 Vol 20 Psyche-Soma (2), the room of our mind and senses
Vol 21 Attachment and psychotherapy

(Please click menu link Tidigare nummer, for more information of the contents of each volume).

Up until vol 19, Mellanrummet has published articles from contributors in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Greece, Germany, Northern Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa, UK, and USA.

Contact persons

In order to reach out to all parts of Sweden the editorial board has built up a network of kontaktpersoner. They are all licensed psychotherapists, trained within accredited training programmes in Sweden. Since they work in so widespread parts of our vast country, this makes it possible to get information on what is going on all over the country. Alas, in the last few years the substantial changes within psychiatry have altered the terms according to which psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapists are even allowed to engage in their profession. The contributions from this extended network have unfortunately therefore been scarcer during recent years.

Presentation in English

MELLANRUMMET

A bit of history

The aims

The editorial board

Contact persons

Read more about Mellanrummet