Informing supervision practice through research: A narrative inquiry

Intention: This study focused on questions of whether and how clients benefit from supervision. As practitioner research, the study was intended to shape the researchers’ own supervision practice. Method: The qualitative approach was based on interviews with a small number of experienced practitioners about their supervision experiences. The findings are presented in the form of reflexive stories, told by each researcher. Findings: In these stories the researchers tell how engagement with experienced practitioners’ accounts of their past supervision shaped the hopes and intentions the researchers hold for their future supervision. Implications forpractice: The stories suggest there are therapeutic benefits in an ethic of transparency that provides for practices that overtly carry stories in both directions between counselling and supervision.     

Ethical beginnings: Reflexive questioning in designing child sexuality research

Background: Counselling young children referred for sexualised behaviour can challenge therapists' ideas about childhood and sexuality. This area of practice is complex and sensitive, and calls upon collaboration with a range of significant adults in children's lives. Purpose: This paper examines a researcher's process of movement from counselling practice into qualitative research practice, and the use of reflexive questioning to explore ethical issues within the study. Design: Shaped by social constructionist ideas and discourse theory, ethical questions are outlined within the design stage of a doctoral research project on sexuality in children's lives in Aotearoa New Zealand. Limitations: This paper explores ethics in the design of a current study: there are no results or conclusions.     

Creating inclusive identity narratives through participatory action research

This paper describes the process and outcomes of Voices, a participatory action research project aimed to disrupt divisive ethnic identity narratives among youth living amidst protracted ethnic conflict. The project took place in the Garo Hills region of Northeast India, a site of protracted ethnic conflict. Moving away from crisis‐based approaches, this paper explores the conflict transformative potential of participatory action research, specifically its effectiveness in facilitating civic engagement across ethnic lines. The findings indicate that young people's involvement in the project afforded them an opportunity to engage with local community concerns outside of polarized ethnic identity narratives. This involvement facilitated three critical outcomes: engagement in social critique, reconfiguration of a more inclusive researcher identity, and adoption of a language of possibility. Based on these findings, it is argued that opportunities for critical community engagement could interrupt divisive ethnic identity narratives and provide turning points for youth to reimagine inclusive social identities.     

Developing therapist self‐understanding through research

This paper explores the application of reflexive action research in practice by examining a piece of the author's previously published work. A process of inquiry is described that involves reflexively engaging with original formulations in order to further continuing professional development. Guidelines for conducting this kind of research are described.     

Reflexive research and the grounding of analysis: Social psychology and the psy-complex

This paper is concerned with reflexivity in research, and the way research is grounded in the operations of the psy-complex in social psychology. A central argument is that qualitative research in general, and a focus on reflexivity in particular, requires theoretical grounding. Distinctions are drawn between ‘uncomplicated subjectivity’, ‘blank subjectivity’ and ‘complex subjectivity’; and the analytic device of the ‘discursive complex’ is described. It is argued that such theoretical grounding can usefully draw on developments in discourse analytic, deconstructionist, and psychoanalytic social research. The opposition between objectivity and subjectivity is deconstructed, and psychoanalytic conceptual reference points for an understanding of the discursive construction of complex subjectivity in the context of institutions are explored with particular reference to the location of the researcher in the psy-complex. The paper discusses the reflexive engagement of the researcher with data, and the construction of the identity of the researcher with reference to professional bodies. An analysis of a document produced by the British Psychological Society is presented to illustrate conceptual issues addressed in the first sections. This illustrative analysis is designed to show how the material is structured by a series of six discursive complexes, and that the institutional structure facilitates, and inhibits, certain forms of action and reflection.     

Ethics and practices of re‐presentation: Witnessing self and other

Context: The challenge of producing ethical representational practices is of critical interest to both practitioner‐researchers and research theorists. For practitioners becoming researchers a central ethical question may be how to manage a relational presence in writing their research, in ways that acknowledge participants, the research relationship, and a researcher's own subjectivity. Focus: The article offers examples from practitioner research to illustrate and theorise how researcher subjectivity is managed through the use of witnessing practices as a representational strategy. Witnessing practices – translated into counselling research from narrative therapy – offer researchers a strategy to take up a reflexive, relational presence in research reports. Discussion: Researcher witnessing honours the contributions of research participants as well as making visible the shaping effects of the research on a researcher's life. Through witnessing self and other, and thus declaring presence, privilege and partiality, re‐presentational ethics are made transparent.     

Participant Reflexivity in Community‐Based Participatory Research: Insights from Reflexive Interview,Dialogical Narrative Analysis,and Video Ethnography

Focusing on researchers, the predominant discourse on reflexivity has seldom considered the contribution that participants could make to research through their self‐reflections. To bring to light the significance of participants' self‐reflection in participatory inquiries, I develop the concept of participant reflexivity, referring to the process in which participants use insights gained through self‐reflection for data analysis and group discussion. My discussion is based on a community‐based participatory research project conducted with a group of adult learners on their educational experiences. I examined the accounts shared by one of the participants by using insights from the theories of reflexive interview, dialogical narrative analysis and video ethnography, and found that her accounts played a pivotal role in evoking group reflections and drawing the conclusion of the project. I argue that participant reflexivity is a useful construct that can do justice to what participants can uniquely offer in participatory inquiries. The concept can also contribute to advancing knowledge of reflexivity by complementing the researcher‐focused predominant discourse on reflexivity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing clinical effectiveness in psychotherapy training: Action research

This study is an evaluation of a new approach to clinical training in Transactional Analysis using the methodology of action research. The evaluation focuses on the second year of training and placement‐based clinical practice at the Metanoia Institute, UK. The design of the training year was research‐based and used the concept of an ‘internship’ year. The design aimed to close the gaps between clinical practice, supervision and formal training; facilitate translation of theory into practice; and integrate findings from the ‘common factors’ research into effectiveness of psychotherapy. Training and supervision methods were linked and focused on emerging issues in clinical practice and the development of students’ capacity for critical reflection and a research attitude to practice. The evaluation was a naturalistic study which used quantitative and qualitative methodology within the action research framework to reflect on the impact of the training on the participants, the organisation and the clinical practice. The quantitative outcomes show that the project developed the effectiveness of students’ clinical practice and reflexivity. Qualitative analysis gives insight into the experiences of the participants and the emotional impact of the research process.     

Implementing peer support in schools: using a theoretical framework in action research

The implementation of a peer support project in 13 schools from a disadvantaged background is discussed using the social ecological, systems and social construction theory as a theoretical guide in action research. The goal was to establish an alternative helping system in schools that was sustainable within the school system. In the implementation of peer support attention was given to the integration of the project into the existing context; encouraging participation on all levels, facilitating change and creating shared meanings, supporting the process of reorganizing and restructuring and providing feedback to facilitate further change. From a process evaluation of the programme implementation challenges in the implementation process were identified and recommendations made that could contribute to the optimal functioning and sustainability of the project to address the needs of learners and enhance well being in the school community. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Researching the reintegration of formerly abducted children in northern Uganda through action research: Experiences and reflections

This paper presents experiences and reflections on the use of a participatory research methodology under the difficult conditions of a war situation in northern Uganda. We draw from two complimentary approaches in action research to explain our methodology while doing research on the reintegration of formerly abducted children. First, the experience oriented approach, which emphasizes the need to articulate experience as a basis for learning and knowledge. Second, the exemplary participatory approach which highlights the importance of enhancing empowerment and the need to find solutions for social problems. We find these two approaches useful for doing action research in a conflict area because of their emphasis on experience and empowerment respectively. In our research, experience is important because of the children's encounter with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels that both needs to be understood and justifies reintegration. On the otherhand, empowerment is important for our assumption that the children's experience and encounter with the LRA has disempowering effects on them. We demonstrate the use of the approaches in our research by enhancing participation, balancing power relations and being aware of ethical issues while at the same time attempting to make the research valid inspite of the challenges. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

病例报告与临床科研思维

病例报告属于描述性研究方法,是通过记录非同寻常的临床现象,可能揭示新病种、特殊机制、新疗法等,为临床工作经验介绍、总结的初步形式。在医学科学探索的历程中,病例报告拥有特殊的地位和曾经的辉煌,目前仍是医学研究的一种重要体裁。"一个好的病例报告就是一个有教育意义的好故事",一个不同寻常的现象,可能是一个新的病种、一个特殊的机制或一种特殊的组织病变或生理功能紊乱所致。一篇好的病例报告为临床医生和科研工作者提供直接生动的第一手临床资料,能促进临床医生和医学生热爱临床工作,养成面对难题、独立思考、追根朔源、发现与解决问题的能力,值得重视。     

Embodied reflexivity: discerning ethical practice through the Six-Part Story Method

Early reflective practice drew on the work of John Dewey and the concept of learning-by-doing involving individual reflection on, and in, action. More recently the practice of reflection has also been taken into a more socially constructed, and emergent, sense of knowing where the individual ‘reflexes’ in, and through, experiences as felt ways of knowing. This concept forms the basis of this article. We will explore a process of learning called the Six-Part Story Method (6PSM). Originally created in the field of dramatherapy as a diagnostic tool to enable child victims of trauma to be supported, Elinor further developed it in 2017 to support education professionals and leaders to enhance their reflective practice and create new opportunities to develop greater self-awareness. Warren then utilized it in teaching a course on ethical practice in a graduate programme; the course’s epistemological underpinning is the concept of ‘ethical know-how’. We then include the work of Helen, a student in the programme, as she explores the story she developed through the 6PSM and then analyzes the effect of it on herself one year later.     

Creating a research agenda in career counselling: the place of action theory

After identifying historical and current problems in career counselling research, we propose a research agenda based on contextual action theory. This theory has been used as a framework for research in the career field and for general counselling practice. It is advantageous for several reasons including its conceptual basis, its detailed qualitative and quantitative research method, and the significant link it provides between research and practice. It is supported by the action-project method, an integrated set of procedures developed for conducting research. Contextual action theory and the action-project method can address major emerging issues in career counselling, for example the place of emotion and the use of narrative, and advance the research agenda in this field.     

Participatory action research: The distress of (not) making a difference

Participatory action research (PAR) is alluring for researchers investigating traumatic and sensitive topics. While it is distressing for interviewees to recount these stories – and for researchers to hear them – PAR promises to make the pain worthwhile. Something good will come of it. In this paper, I reflect on a PAR project conducted with Tanzanian child domestic workers. Research vignettes are used to highlight moments of emotional complexity unique to PAR projects. First, the emotional burdens of PAR are distributed across a research team. Researchers need to think carefully about the appropriate ‘level’ of participation to pursue. Second, there is no guarantee that the impacts of PAR projects will be unambiguously positive. The risk of doing more harm than good can weigh heavily on the minds of the research team. Third, when PAR projects are conceived with the intent of producing long-lasting structural changes that benefit marginalised people, ‘failure’ can become a source of great distress. Those attempting PAR need to be prepared for the emotional pitfalls of research endeavours that seek to tangibly intervene in traumatised people's lives.     

A pluralistic framework for counselling and psychotherapy: Implications for research

Historically, training, research and practice in counselling and psychotherapy have been dominated by unitary theoretical models. Although integrative and eclectic positions have been developed as alternatives, these have not been successful in generating research and have resulted in a further proliferation of competing models. In this paper we introduce a ‘pluralistic’ framework for counselling and psychotherapy and discuss the implications of this framework for research. The basic principle of this pluralistic framework is that psychological difficulties may have multiple causes and that there is unlikely to be one, ‘right’ therapeutic method that will be appropriate in all situations—different people are helped by different processes at different times. This pluralistic framework operates as a meta‐theory within which it is possible to utilise concepts, strategies and specific interventions from a range of therapeutic orientations. The framework is structured around three domains—goals, task and methods—by which therapeutic processes can be conceptualised, critically examined and empirically investigated. These domains, and the relationships between them, are outlined and the collaborative relationship at the heart of the pluralistic framework is discussed. The pluralistic framework provides a means for empirical research directly to inform practice and potential lines of empirical inquiry are outlined, along with findings from a recent study of counselling in schools.     

Reflexivity in quantitative research: A rationale and beginner's guide

Reflexivity is the act of examining one's own assumption, belief, and judgement systems, and thinking carefully and critically about how these influence the research process. The practice of reflexivity confronts and questions who we are as researchers and how this guides our work. It is central in debates on objectivity, subjectivity, and the very foundations of social science research and generated knowledge. Incorporating reflexivity in the research process is traditionally recognized as one of the most notable differences between qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Qualitative research centres and celebrates the participants' personal and unique lived experience. Therefore, qualitative researchers are readily encouraged to consider how their own unique positionalities inform the research process and this forms an important part of training within this paradigm. Quantitative methodologies in social and personality psychology, and more generally, on the other hand, have remained seemingly detached from this level of reflexivity and general reflective practice. In this commentary, we, three quantitative researchers who have grappled with the compatibility of reflexivity within our own research, argue that reflexivity has much to offer quantitative methodologists. The act of reflexivity prompts researchers to acknowledge and centre their own positionalities, encourages a more thoughtful engagement with every step of the research process, and thus, as we argue, contributes to the ongoing reappraisal of openness and transparency in psychology. In this paper, we make the case for integrating reflexivity across all research approaches, before providing a ‘beginner's guide’ for quantitative researchers wishing to engage reflexively with their own work, providing concrete recommendations, worked examples, and reflexive prompts.     

Counselling with a profoundly deaf client and the impact of a therapist's dream: A case study

This case study explores the experience of one client participating in a project evaluating the use of dreams in short‐term counselling within the National Health Service. The client received 24 sessions of counselling and completed a post‐counselling semi‐structured questionnaire. This was followed by a semi‐structured interview, which confirmed the internal coherence within the participant's narrative and allowed a more detailed exploration of her experiences, supported by process notes. Supervision challenged the therapist's preconceptions and held her in her uncertainty until the work was aided by a dream that the therapist had of the client.     

Working together: Editing a book as narrative research methodology

This paper is a multi‐layered account that begins with an overview of narrative inquiry and narrative analysis methodologies, and then leads into an examination of how the process of editing a book can represent an example of narrative research. The author describes how she came to create two books that provide an insider's view of counsellors' role development within the fields of health and rehabilitation. Taking the task of editor a step further, she gathered additional reflexive data from chapter authors once the books were published: these data provide insight into the challenges created by undertaking a project of this kind, in particular the adoption of a reflexive voice. The paper concludes with a discussion of how both projects meet the criteria for narrative inquiry.