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What can be learnt from observing a 5-week baby massage group in a Parent Infant Mental Health Service?
Get PDFThe thesis presented below is the account of a qualitative research project conducted in a Parent Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS) by a Child Psychotherapist. The project explores the learning experience of setting up and conducting a small research study about an early intervention, a baby massage group delivered in PIMHS within a large NHS trust. The thesis consists of literature review of the cultural and historical context of baby massage, baby massage research and relevant psychoanalytic concepts such as containment and holding; a methodology section comprises of the research methods section, ethics and grounded theory and observational methods are also described; the grounded theory analysis and findings are also presented and a discussion of the findings and psychoanalytic concepts is given. The findings are grouped in four thematic categories: Roles of the Facilitators, Group Dynamics, Changes and Developments and Touch and Bodily Communication. The conclusion explores learnings for practice
Working in complex contexts; mother social workers and the mothers they meet
No full textDrawing on findings from a psycho-social qualitative doctoral study, this paper considers the intimate and extraordinary emotional intensity, ambivalence and pain associated with the experience of mother social workers engaging with mothers and their infants in the context of child protection work. In this yearlong study undertaken with a group of female Irish child protection social workers, their role as mothers was an unanticipated emergent theme and was found to be inextricably linked to their work and their capacity for realistic decision-making. We consider the wider contexts of societal ambivalence about motherhood, mothering and social work itself, as a way of locating these experiences as fully psycho-social. The work discussion seminars offered as part of the research study afforded a rare opportunity for workers to talk about predicaments, failures and worries, in conditions of containment for anxiety, support for their learning, and a confidential reflective setting
"When I nod my head, you hit it": Leading and following even when it hurts
No full textWhat can we learn about organisational life from the work and craft of the orchestral musician, and the complex management of authority over the instrument, over others, and in response to the authority of the score and the conductor? Mick Doran will talk with Lydia Hartland-Rowe about experiences of leading and following from the heart of the orchestra
From trauma to harming others: Therapeutic work with delinquent, violent and sexually harmful children and young people
No full textFrom Trauma to Harming Others shows the approach of professionals from the world-renowned Portman Clinic, which specializes in work with violence, delinquency and sexual acting out.
This book focuses on the intricacies of working with young people who display such worrying behaviours. Written by experienced and eminent authors, the chapters unpack central theories and open up original ideas describing a range of work with sexual offenders, compulsive pornography users and violent young people. The central theme of the book is trauma and how acting out can be understood as a way of managing the psychic pain of such trauma. The chapters are ingrained with understandings from the classical psychoanalytic traditions of the Portman and Tavistock Clinics, together with more recent thinking about trauma, rooted in neurobiological, developmentally and trauma informed theories. They emphasize the need for awareness of both the victim of trauma and the perpetrator within the same person presenting for help, while panning treatment.
With insights and examples from experienced clinicians, this book will be of value to all those working with traumatized, acting out young people
Motiveless malignity: Problems in the psychotherapy of patients with psychopathic features
No full textThis chapter explores the difficult issue of how to understand and meet the very particular nature of the destructiveness of the psychopathic child. Psychoanalysts and psychiatrists have described the lack of conscience in psychopaths, the lack of guilt and remorse for their deeds, their indifference to their victims’ cries for mercy. Hyatt Williams has pointed out that if one worked very carefully with murderers with an adequate theory of splitting, displacement and projection, it was possible to discover that they were not without conscience: they did have a conscience but only in regard to particular split-off objects. Premature interpretations regarding hidden vulnerability or dependence, which the patient has not yet owned, may produce dangerous eruptions, or, at the very least, earn the patient’s appropriate contempt. It is important, instead, to save his dignity and respect his courage in going on in the face of the dead world he inhabits
Exploring the creation of holding environments at work through a Business & Executive Coach Training Programme in a university setting in the context of organisational transition, development and change
Get PDFThis action research project lays the groundwork for a living theory of practice related to the
creation of holding environments at work in the context of organisational transition,
development and change. I understand holding environments at work to be interpersonal or
group based relationships that help individuals to manage situations that trigger potentially
debilitating anxiety, loss or excitement in the workplace.
The action research project was carried out over an eight month period in a university setting.
There were two projects co-existing in parallel. There was the project on which I was
working within the university, which was a business and executive coach training programme
for seven senior leaders, and there was the doctorate thesis action research project which
inquired into the creation of holding environments at work. Inquiring in the present tense
with triple attentiveness to the outer data of sense, the inner data of consciousness, and the
intellectual data of my understanding, I show how I created a holding environment, and how,
the seven senior leaders began to learn how to create holding environments for their own
organisational clients. The university was going through major organisational change at the
time of the project.
The results show that seven key elements emerged in relation to the creation of holding
environments. These include negotiating with key parental figures within the organisation,
creating psychological safety in the group, the use of dreaming and reverie, communicating
with group participants including attuning, mirroring and marking, affect regulation and
mentalization. In addition, holding environment-in-the-mind also impacted on how holding
environments were created in the university setting.
The application of this research to a broader context is discussed as well as how this research
might be useful for organisational consultants and leaders in attempting to create holding
environments at work
Learning during lockdown: Did prior attendance at a Forest School programme alter children’s home learning experiences, during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Get PDFForest School is a child-centred, regular, outdoor learning programme, that was developed in Scandinavia. The Forest School movement is being increasingly adopted by United Kingdom (UK) education settings, however at present there is limited rigorous evidence that has shown the efficacy of the approach. This research captured parent and child views on what they felt children learn from Forest School and whether they felt this learning generalised to the home learning environment, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It then explored whether there was a difference in children’s’ home learning behaviours, between those who had and hadn’t participated in Forest School. A cross-sectional mixed methods research design was adopted and associations between Forest School and the presence of skills related to learning was explored. An online survey that investigated lockdown learning experiences was completed, comparing 44 parents whose children had participated in Forest School and 47 parents whose children had not. No significant differences were found between groups for any of the parental responses regarding learning behaviours. However, when the Forest School group was limited to those who had participated in Forest School for 6 months or more, a significant difference between groups was found, with the Forest School group spending more time learning independently. Interview data was also collected from five parents and five children, regarding children’s home learning and Forest School experiences. Parents interviewed reported that Forest School brought a number of benefits to their child that they couldn’t get in the classroom. Children interviewed reported Forest School brought them enjoyment and opportunities for learning. Children and parents interviewed reported largely positive home learning experiences, drawing some parallels with Forest School experiences, such as the importance of learning being outdoors and practical. Differences between the survey and interview findings were discussed along with implications for future Educational Psychology research and practice
‘You have to go on a journey’. Looked After Children’s experiences of primary to secondary school transition
Get PDFStarting secondary school is a significant time for all pupils. It can be particularly challenging for vulnerable groups such as looked after children (LAC), many of whom have already experienced challenges, instability, and other significant transitions in their lives. Previous research concerning LAC and education has mainly focused on the academic outcomes of LAC, which has been found to be consistently low compared to their non-looked after peers. Previous studies have also focused on educational interventions for LAC, although evidence of impact is lacking. Research focusing on the perspectives of LAC themselves regarding their educational experiences is scarce, particularly regarding secondary school transition. This study explored the lived experiences of two young people who are looked after and who have transitioned from primary school to secondary school. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four overarching themes emerged which summarised the LAC’s experiences: 1) A journey of risk and reward 2) social network 3) fantasy and reality 4) coping with change. Key findings and implications for Educational Psychology practice are discussed