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Exploring clinicians' views about their roles when working with young people presenting with gender identity issues: A qualitative enquiry
No full textObjectives: There has been a sharp increase of referrals to NHS child and adolescent mental services (CAMHS) in the UK for young people presenting with gender dysphoria. Little has been documented about how a range of clinicians understand their role when working with this clinical population. This study aimed to make an enquiry into how child and adolescent psychotherapists, clinical psychologists and family therapists understand their role when working with transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) young people. Method: I carried out semi-structured interviews with eight clinicians (three child and adolescent psychotherapists, three clinical psychologists, two family therapists) working routinely with TGNC young people. I transcribed the interviews verbatim and analysed them using Thematic Analysis. Results:Thorough analysis of the clinicians’ interview material produced the following five key themes: finding meaning; contextualising; containment; self-reflection; and practical support. Conclusions: All clinicians highlighted the importance of thinking, exploring, seeking meaning and deeper understanding in the face of the complex presentations of TGNC young people in their care. Key to this involved clinicians’ capacity to be able to contain anxieties within the young person, parents/carers and the wider professional networks. Child psychotherapists felt that close observation and monitoring of ones’ own response to clinical work with TGNC young people was key to their role. This was considered imperative to being able to manage personal prejudice/bias in a field of work that can provoke strong opinions, but also using it as a potential communication that might further our understanding of a TGNC young person’s state of mind. Confusion about role was an important finding that demonstrates that, for many clinicians, they still feel that they have a lot to learn about the most helpful ways in which they can support young people questioning their gender identity. This study highlights the pressing need for continued dialogue amongst professionals and academics in order for us to remain open and curious about the unique situation of each TGNC young person who comes into our care
Imprisoned and in prison: Organised defences working against black women and girls
No full textPrison staff work in a highly regimented and restrictive environment, tasked with controlling others, which can affect one’s capacity to think and feel. Often a consequence is the loss of experienced staff who can have a calming influence on new staff and those with chronic mental health difficulties or seasoned prisoners. One has to be mindful of staff who are burned out or apathetic and themselves in need of career opportunities to enliven their practice and reduce their vicarious traumatisation; both they and the prisoners can become institutionalised and depressed. The prisoner may identify with the perception of herself as a frightening and dangerous person, and respond accordingly, as she is faced with a distorted reflection of herself, and feels threatened and unseen. Going inside prison at 20 enabled her to come off drugs and, ironically, gave her the opportunity to engage in counselling that had never been offered to her in the community
Laverne Antrobus on Woman's Hour. Advice on how we can best deal with the coronavirus lockdown. 13 March 2020, BBC Radio 4 [Feature starts at 03:14 with interview at approximately 09:44]
No full textHow do you prepare your family in the event of a coronavirus lockdown? What plans should you make to keep your children entertained if the schools shut and they are stuck at home, how can you make home working work for you and how can you stop petty arguments with your partner or loved ones if you’re stuck in each other’s company for an indefinite period of time? Beverly Ramsey is living in Parma in Italy and tells us about the realities of coping with three children in a city in lockdown and Laverne Antrobus a Consultant Child and Educational Psychologist offers advice on we can best deal with this unusual situation
Doing remote systemic psychotherapy during a pandemic – learning from a speedy Quality Improvement Project
Get PDFThis paper describes some findings from a rapid quality improvement project exploring clinician views about the delivery of remote systemic psychotherapy since the Covid-19 induced UK lockdown. Remote systemic psychotherapy is a practice response based on the need to remain physically distant from people and involves “meeting” via video link rather than in person. Written responses were gathered from early-adopter clinicians in one UK NHS trust, reflecting on their experiences of convening remote systemic psychotherapy sessions during March and April 2020. Overall, findings suggest that that remote systemic psychotherapy has been acceptable, effective and indeed welcomed by clinicians, within the pandemic context. Using a diffractive thematic analysis, four themes were constructed from clinician responses: practical and boundary issues need careful attention; the conversational flow of remote systemic psychotherapy sessions is different to that during in-person sessions; it is necessary to do things differently with words and bodies; the practice of creating meaningful dialogical communication when separated by screens is hard. Tentative practice recommendations are provided
