Books, articles and book reviews by Emma
On this page I introduce my writing life and my work published to date. If you're looking for the books or the chapters in books I've written you can find them listed individually under the 'Books' tab you clicked to reach this page.
Words visited me at an early age and word-weaving continues to keep me sane. Growing up I was a junior reporter and book reviewer for the paper of our local region and editor of the children's page of our parish's magazine. I wrote poetry, then discovered the long story, and, eventually, book-writing. Writing and encouraging others to write has continued into adult life.
From 2010 to 2014 I was editor of 'Transformations', the in-house journal of PCSR (Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility). Since 2012 I have written 'Bodywise', a quarterly column for Somatic Psychotherapy Today, a publication of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP). More recently I have started writing regularly for One Earth Sangha.
You can find out about the three books I've authored and a fourth one I've co-edited : 'Meditating with Character' published by Mantra Books in 2012, 'Other than Mother: Choosing Childlessness with Life in Mind' published by Earth Books in 2016, 'Bodywise: Weaving somatic psychotherapy, Ecodharma and the Buddha in everyday life', published by Somatic Psychotherapy Today, 2017, and '#MeToo: Counsellors and Psychotherapists Speak About Sexual Violence and Abuse', co-edited by Dr. Deborah A. Lee and myself and published by PCCS Books in May 2020.
I've also listed below published articles and book reviews.
*A note about my name*. From 2005 to 2016 I was known as 'Kamalamani', a name I was given at my ordination as a Buddhist. During this time I published my first three books. From January 2018 I returned to using my former name, Emma Palmer.
My other published guest blogs, articles and journal articles:
Forthcoming:
Chapter author for a new book, ‘Mothers, Mothering, Nature & Land’, to be published by Demeter Press in 2025.
Article author for, 'Be-longing' in a themed edition (Ecotherapy, environment, dystopian futures) of 'Context' the magazine for family therapy and systemic practice, also to be published in 2025.
2023
'Earth Story' in Counselling Matters, December 2023 (the publication of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society).
'The Queen is dead - long live equanimity', an online article (subscription needed) adapted from my autumn 2022 article by the same name for One Earth Sangha for Svet Dharmy ('Dharma World' based in the Czech Republic), March 2023.
2022
10 minutes with.... Emma Palmer, Thresholds Online, October 2022 (needs a membership subscription to British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy).
'Reflections: Midlife rebirth' in Thresholds, October 2022 (needs a membership subscription to British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - BACP. Thresholds is the quarterly journal for BACP's spirituality section).
'The Queen is dead - long live equanimity', online article for One Earth Sangha, autumn 2022.
Freeing monopolies on love', an article for the International Childfree Day blog, summer 2022.
'Bowing to Wynn', an online article for One Earth Sangha, spring 2022.
Being interviewed about ecopsychology for Emma Winterschladen's ‘Force of Nature’ ecotherapy article, published in the March edition of Psychologies magazine (subscribe to read).
2021
'The menopause in therapy, a blog post for PESI-UK, 18th October 2021.
'Wild Therapy, Wild Bodies' a blog post for PESI-UK, 19th August 2021.
'Painting with plants, paying tribute to Gertrude Jekyll' an article for the International Childfree Day blog, summer 2021.
'Pilgrimages, Pandemics, and this Precious Planet' my latest online article for One Earth Sangha, spring 2021.
'Present Presence' a poem written for the first poetry anthology of the National Counselling Society, marking World Poetry Day, 21st March 2021.
2020
‘Like Victoria Pendleton, I know how hard it is to trust your instincts and choose not to have children’ an online newspaper article about childfreedom and the childfree choice for Telegraph Women online, December 2020.
An interview in 'Counselling Matters', the online magazine of the National Counselling Society, about our co-edited book (chosen as Counselling Matter's 'book of the month'): '#MeToo: Psychotherapists and counsellors speak about sexual violence and abuse', November edition.
'Unboxing Ourselves'. Online article for One Earth Sangha, November 2020.
Palmer, E (2020) 'Embracing the Breakages', Thresholds (the quarterly spiritual division journal of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)) October 2020.
Palmer, E (2020) Interviewed by editor Richard House in 'The Long Interview', Self & Society, Vol 48, No 2, Autumn (download available here by kind permission of Self & Society journal).
Palmer, E. (2020) 'Turning Point', Therapy Today, June 2020 edition.
'Be well, be happy' a 'Letter to the Earth' I wrote for Culture Declares Emergency's celebration of Earth Day 2020 (you can also hear it being read aloud during the Earth Day celebrations on You Tube.
Palmer, E (2020) 'A girl and a horse' an article I for the 'Other-than-human' edition of Unpsychology, co-edited by Steve Thorpe and Julia Macintosh, Issue 6, spring 2020.
Palmer, E. (2020) 'Reflections on the completion of #MeToo: Counsellors and psychotherapists speak about sexual violence and abuse' an article I wrote for Somatic Psychotherapy Today, Volume 10, Number 1, Spring 2020.
An interview with Wendy Padley, book lover and fellow therapist on her blog.
'No to airport expansion' - thoughts on the proposed expansion of Bristol International Airport on the Flight Free blog, March 2020.
2019
Palmer, E. (2019) 'In the bleak midwinter?' Somatic Psychotherapy Today, Vol 9, No 3, winter edition pp 8-15.
Palmer, E. (2019) 'The 'empty womb in the therapy room? The taboo and potency of the childfree/other than mother body'. Psychotherapy & Politics International, Vol 17, Issue 2.
'Celebrating the life and work of ecocide Lawyer Polly Higgins'. An article written for the International Childfree day website.
'Human baby, human being'. Transcript of an interview for Somatic Psychotherapy Today with psychotherapist, pre and peri-natal psychologist Matthew Appleton ahead of this landmark pre and peri-natal conference which was held in Bristol in June 2019.
2018
'Before the pause', an article in a feature entitled 'Let's talk about... the journey of menopause'. Aeva, Autumn 2018 edition.
'A child of all life’: creativity and re-imagining life without children'. A guest post for World Childless Week in response to the theme: 'finding acceptance and moving forward', September 2018.
'All you need is love'. A guest post for for World Childless Week in response to the theme of the day 'comments that hurt', September 2018.
Calling all allies' A guest post for Steph Phillips, founder of World Childless Week. View article.
Palmer, E. (2018) 'Bewildered, be-wildered', Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Winter. Vol 7, No. 3, pp 52-59. View article.
Palmer, E. (2018) 'Faltering'. A piece written for the 'Climate Minds' anthology of the Unpsychology Magazine, spring edition. Access article.
2017
Kamalamani (2017) ‘Body wise: dreaming bodies, dreaming the earth’, Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Online article dated 21st June 2017.
'Celebrating Women and the seasons of our lives: Stephanie Mills', She Who Knows magazine, Spring edition.
Kamalamani (2017) 'Calling the earth to witness: telling out earth stories', Thresholds (the quarterly spiritual division journal of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)), Spring edition.
Kamalamani (2017) 'Bodywise: All at sea', Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Online article dated 14th February 2017.
2016
Kamalamani (2016) 'Snapshots from the Embodying Social Justice conference', Transformations, Autumn edition.
Kamalamani (2016) 'Body wise', Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Fall. Vol 6, No. 3, pp 78-81. Diversity themed edition. Download here.
'Reconceiving', She Who Knows magazine, Autumn 2016 edition.
'Other than Mother', an autumn 2016 guest post on Lesley Pyne's blog.
Kamalamani (2016) 'Reflections on The Birth of Other Than Mother: Choosing Childless with Life in Mind', Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Summer. Vol 6, No. 2, pp73-76. Read here.
'Without Child, With Love', Soul Sister Wisdom Magazine, Issue 6 on Empowerment, May/June edition.
'Choosing Childlessness with Life in Mind: A Private Decision with Global Consequences', Spirit of Change Magazine: Holistic New England, 1st May edition. Read here.
Kamalamani (2016) 'Body wise: In Paris during the terrorist attacks'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Winter. Vol 6, No 1, pp 112-115. Embodiment and Disembodiment themed edition.
2015
Kamalamani (2015) 'Body Wise: The Burning House: Reflections on the trauma of everyday life in 2015'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Fall. Vol 5, No 4, pp74-77. Trauma themed edition.
Kamalamani (2015) 'Body Wise: Meditating with Character'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Spring. Vol 5, No 2, pp 64-68. Embodied spirituality themed edition.
Kamalamani (2015) 'Body Wise: Sheer Coincidences?' Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Winter. Vol 5, No 1, pp 78-80. Prenatal and perinatal psychology themed edition.
2014
Kamalamani (2014) 'Body Wise: Consuming Passions'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Fall. Vol 4, No 2, pp 56-58. Eating psychology themed edition.
Kamalamani (2014) 'Earth touching Buddha'. Self and Society, Journal of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, Vol 41, No 4. Read here.
Kamalamani (2014) 'Body Wise: The Body Politic'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Spring. Vol 4, No 1, pp 34-35. The Body in Relationship: Self-Other-Society themed edition.
Kamalamani (2014) 'Other than Mother?' Transformations, Summer edition. Read here.
2013
Kamalamani (2013) 'Body Wise: Reading the Body'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Winter. Vol 3, No 3, pp 32-35. Reading the body - looking to the body for diagnosis and treatment edition.
Kamalamani (2013) 'Body Wise: Holding to Nothing Whatever'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Fall, Vol 3, No 2, pp 26-29. Attachment themed edition.
Kamalamani (2013) 'Body Wise: Mammal Body'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Summer, Vol 3, No 1, pp 20-23. Self regulation themed edition.
Kamalamani (2013) 'Body Wise: Touched by the Past in the Present'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Spring, pp 16-17. Ancestral themed edition. Read here.
Kamalamani (2013) 'Taboo: Ancestral Baggage'. Transformations, Summer edition.
Kamalamani (2013) 'Body Wise: Touched by the Past'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Spring. pp 20-23. Touch in body psychotherapy themed edition.
2012
Kamalamani (2012) 'Body Wise: Wild Horses and Olympic Dreaming'. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Winter. pp 15-17. Working with different populations and beings themed edition.
Kamalamani (2012) 'Body Wise: Tara's Apprentice' Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Fall. pp 42-44. International voices themed edition.
Kamalamani (2012) 'The trapped lamb: A piece on Ecodharma'. Indra's Net, July.
Kamalamani (2012) 'Flying Free'. Transformations, Autumn/Winter edition. (Thoughts on no flying having heard 'Seize the Day' perform their song 'Flying' at the 'Meeting at the Edge of the Wild' ecopsychology event this summer. Read here.)
'Sustainability with metta in mind'. An unpublished workshop paper for the PCSR conference: 'Psychotherapy and Politics: Contributing to a Sustainable Society', May 2012.
Pre 2012 published writing
Kamalamani (2009) 'Choosing to be Childfree: the Implications for Therapy'. Therapy Today (journal of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - BACP), July. Read here.
Evison, I. (2008) 'Faith Communities Pulling Together: Case studies from the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund'. The Community Development Foundation. See chapter 4 'Improving opportunities for learning that build understanding between communities' discusses the work I did as co-ordinator or the Bristol Buddhist Centre's outreach work.
Book Reviews
2018 Review for Transformations (Autumn 2018, pp 21-23) of Brazier, C. (2017) Ecotherapy in Practice: A Buddhist Model. First edition. Routledge, UK.
2018 Review for Psychotherapy and Politics International (Volume 16, Issue 1) of Proctor, G. (2017) The Dynamics of Power in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Ethics, Politics and Practice. Second edition. Monmouth, UK: PCCS Books.
2017 Review for Psychotherapy and Politics International (autumn, 2017) of Akhtar, S. and Kanwal, G.S. (eds) (2017) Bereavement: Personal Experiences and Clinical Reflections. Karnac Books.
2016 Review for Somatic Psychotherapy Today (summer, 2016) of Haines, S. (2015) Trauma Is Really Strange. Singing Dragon: An imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publications.
2015 Review for the Spark Magazine of Franglen, N. (2013) Keepers of the Soul: The Five Guardian Elements of Acupuncture. Singing Dragon: An imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publications, London. Summer edition.
2014 Review for the Spark Magazine of Warner, F. (2013) The Soul Midwives Handbook: The Holistic And Spiritual Care Of The Dying. Hay House Publishing. Read here (page 53).
2013 Review on the WildMind blog of Carroll, M. (2013) Fearless at Work: Timeless Teachings for Awakening Confidence, Resilience, and Creativity in the Face of Life's Demands. Shambhala Publications. Read here.
2013 Review on the WildMind blog of (2012) Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food. New Harbinger Publications. Read here.
2012 Review in Earthlines Magazine (May 2012, Issue 1) of Rust, M.J. & Totton, N. (editors) (2012) Vital Signs: Psychological Responses to Ecological Crisis. Karnac Books.
2011 Review on thebuddhistcentre.com of Vajragupta (2011) Sailing the Worldly Winds: A Buddhist Way Through the Ups and Downs of Life. Windhorse Publication. Read here.
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