Parents' experiences in Child Protective Services: analysis of a dialogical group process

The authors qualitatively examine parent experiences in groups for persons seeking parental rights through Child Protective Services (CPS). The study focuses on 16 custody-seeking parent figures who participated in dialogical groups designed from a Collaborative Language Systems perspective. The grounded-theory analysis shows that parents initially described overwhelming emotions and conflictual relationships with CPS. It also identifies five therapeutic group processes that appeared to influence perceptions of hope and personal power and contribute to how parents position themselves relative to CPS: validation, sharing practical information and networking, highlighting strengths and resources, supportive confrontation, and sharing stories of change. The analysis provides insight into CPS parents' experiences, suggests that dialogical approaches may have potential to assist in reshaping experiences in CPS, and draws attention to the need for interventions at the structural and administrative levels.     

The role of personal development groups in counsellor training: understanding factors contributing to self-awareness in the personal development group

Personal development groups (PD groups) are widely employed in counsellor training with the aim of developing the self-awareness of trainee counsellors, and the intention of this paper is to open a discussion forum of the use of these groups and understand their use more fully. A quantitative and qualitative approach was employed in this study, using focus groups with a cross section of 88 trainees of counselling, at different points in their training, to establish those factors that were felt to contribute to developing self-awareness in the group. A questionnaire was used to measure both trainees' perceptions of their own self-awareness and the extent to which the contributory factors were felt to be both present and helpful in their current PD group (this is referred to as the 'comfort fit'). Statistical findings, from the full cohort of 88 trainees, indicated that they were more comfortable in the PD group at the start of their training and less comfortable at the end, although there was no clear relationship between there being a better 'comfort fit' and increased self-awareness. These findings are discussed in relation to alternative methods of facilitating the self-awareness of trainees of counselling (such as mandatory personal therapy) alongside the associated complexities of undertaking research of this kind.     

The role of personal practice in therapist skill development: a model to guide therapists,educators, supervisors and researchers

Prior to 2000, personal practice (PP) for therapists mostly meant personal therapy. Recently a new landscape of PPs has emerged, with meditation-based programs and therapy self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) programs playing an increasing role in training and personal/professional development. The challenge now for practitioners and researchers is to refocus on the role of PPs in training and professional development. Are PPs of value - or not? Do they have a role in therapist development? How might PPs enhance therapist skilfulness? Do different PPs act in similar or different ways? Currently, the PP literature lacks a theoretical framework to guide practitioners in their choice of PPs or researchers in their choice of research questions and measures. The purpose of this article is to provide such a framework, the Personal Practice (PP) model. The PP model proposes primary impacts of PPs in four domains: personal development/wellbeing, self-awareness, interpersonal beliefs/attitudes/skills and reflective skills. The model also suggests a secondary impact on therapists’ conceptual/technical skills when therapists use reflection to consider the implications of their PP for their “therapist self”. We offer some suggestions to enhance the quality of future research, and conclude that PPs may play an important and perhaps unique role in therapist training.     

Reorientation in the real world: the development of landmark use and integration in a natural environment

An influential series of studies have argued that young children are unable to use landmark information to reorient. However, these studies have used artificial experimental environments that may lead to an underestimation of the children’s ability. We tested whether young children could reorient using landmarks in an ecologically valid setting. Children aged between 3 and 7 years completed a reorientation task in open parkland, and the properties of the search array (size and distinctiveness) were manipulated in a within-subjects design. Responses were recorded using Global Positioning Systems technology. All age groups performed above chance level, demonstrating that young children can reorient using natural landmarks. This behaviour was modulated by the nature of the search array: children were more accurate when the locations were spaced in a large array, and when the search locations were distinctively coloured. This suggests that the integration between landmarks and search locations, at different spatial scales, is a key factor in characterising human reorientation in the real world.     

Infant Movement Motivation Questionnaire: Development of a measure evaluating infant characteristics relating to motor development in the first year of life

This paper highlights the development and testing of the Infant Movement Motivation Questionnaire (IMMQ), an instrument designed to evaluate qualities of infant characteristics that relate specifically to early motor development. The measurement development process included three phases: item generation, pilot testing and evaluation of acceptability and feasibility for parents and exploratory factor analysis. The resultant 27-item questionnaire is designed for completion by parents and contains four factors including Activity, Exploration, Motivation and Adaptability. Overall, the internal consistency of the IMMQ is 0.89 (Cronbach's alpha), with test–retest reliability measured at 0.92 (ICC, with 95% CI 0.83–0.96). Further work could be done to strengthen the individual factors; however it is adequate for use in its full form. The IMMQ can be used for clinical or research purposes, as well as an educational tool for parents.     

Effectiveness of the ‘Hold me Tight’ Relationship Enhancement Program in a Self‐referred and a Clinician‐referred Sample: An Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy‐Based Approach

While evidence‐based couple therapies are available, only a minority of troubled couples seek help and they often do this too late. To reach more couples earlier, the couple relationship education (CRE) group program “Hold me Tight” (HmT) based on Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) was developed. This study is the first to examine the effectiveness of HmT. Using a three‐wave (waiting period, treatment, and follow‐up) within‐subject design, HmT was delivered to 79 self‐referred couples and 50 clinician‐referred couples. We applied a comprehensive outcome measure battery. Our main findings were that (1) self‐referred couples significantly improved during HmT on all measures, that is relationship satisfaction, security of partner‐bond, forgiveness, daily coordination, maintenance behavior, and psychological complaints, with a moderate‐to‐large mean effect size (d = .63), which was maintained (d = .57) during the 3.5 month follow‐up; (2) in clinician‐referred couples, who were vulnerable in terms of insecure attachment status and psychopathology, the improvement during HmT was moderate (d = .42), but this was reduced during the 3.5‐month follow‐up to a small effect (d = .22); (3) emotional functioning (typical HmT target) as well as behavioral functioning (typical Behavioral Couples Therapy‐based CRE target) improved during HmT; and (4) individual psychological complaints, although not specifically targeted, were reduced during HmT. These findings suggest that HmT is a promising intervention for enhancement of relationship functioning. Clinical implications are discussed.