Do you remember that old balloon game in which the balloon must jettison individuals one by one in order to stay airborne? Why not try that game in the context of helping. Each individual represents one form of practice and in turn spends a couple of minutes justifying their presence in the balloon. After everyone has had their say a vote is taken and the person with the least votes is jettisoned. The process is then repeated until only one person is left.

The list of helping practitioners is as follows:

• Counselling Psychologists
• Counsellors
• Psychotherapists
• Clinical Psychologists
• GPs
• Psychiatrists
• Dramatherapists/Psychodramatists
• Group Therapists
• Art/Music Therapists
• Family Therapists
• Hypnotherapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Social Workers
• Community Psychiatric Nurses
• Careworkers

Some of the variables you might like to consider in making your decisions are as follows. Are there additional variables?

• having a humanistic focus
• having a scientific basis
• easy to access
• free of charge
• being socially useful
• being psychologically critical
• facilitating a creative approach to life
• challenging the status quo
• supporting vulnerable groups