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Theses
This collection contains the Doctoral and Masters by Research theses produced within the department.
This collection is licenced under a Creative Commons licence. The collection may be reproduced for non-commercial use and without modification, providing that copyright is acknowledged.
Recent Submissions
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Hiding and being seen: An exploration of the value of, and challenge to, person-centred counselling when working with adult adoptees who have been adopted in infancyAdult adoptees comprise a relatively unexplored population (Melero et al., 2023). This may be due to their ability “to function and appear normal in society” (Sexton, 2013, p. 5). However, this does not mean they are not impacted by their adoption. Many adult adoptees go on to seek out support in the form of counselling, but what are the benefits of this form of support and is it useful for this client group? This research seeks to answer the following question: What is the value of, and challenge to, person-centred counselling when working with adult adoptees who have been adopted in infancy? The aims of this research are to gain insight into the experience of adult adoptees who were adopted in infancy, and to explore what adult adoptees, who were adopted in infancy, gained from, or struggled with in, accessing person-centred counselling to explore issues related to their adoption. Ten research participants, who self-identified as being adopted in infancy and having experience with person-centred counselling, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2022) was used to elicit the depth and richness of the experience of both phenomena. Participants were encouraged to describe their childhood experiences related to their adoption and the perceived impact of this, before relating their experience of person-centred counselling, paying attention to both the perceived values and challenges. Six group experiential themes emerged: 1) Self-Perceived Experience of Adoption, 2) Accessing Counselling – The Nuts and Bolts, 3) Experiencing the Qualities of Person-Centred Counselling, 4) Experiencing the Process of Person-Centred Counselling, 5) Self-Discovery and Perceived Outcomes, and 6) Observations and Advice. Whilst person-centred counselling was found to be largely beneficial for this group, a number of challenges to engagement were also identified. The importance of establishing psychological contact and providing an attuned, emotionally present therapeutic relationship, particularly in the early stages of person-centred counselling was highlighted. Psychoeducation, when offered sensitively, supported meaning-making and reduced shame. A new attachment style, insecure-dysregulated, is identified and proposed as a valuable area for future research. This aims to capture the relational and emotional presentation of some high-functioning adoptees who appear grounded yet experience internal dysregulation, self-suppression, and chronic shame. These findings point to the need for lifelong, adoption-competent support and affirm the value of responsive, flexible person-centred counselling that honours the adoptee’s lived experience.
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Does psychological type influence perception and memory of mental representations when exploring a virtual environment?Research has examined the impact of personality traits on the memory of environments. To date, the influence of psychological type on the memory of environments has not been examined. The aim of the research was to examine whether psychological type influences an individual’s attention and memory of landmarks when exploring a novel virtual environment. In addition, the study also investigates explanations for recall, whether this differs among psychological types and how these explanations provide further understanding of the free recall results and ranked reasons for recall. A self-selected volunteer sample of 93 individuals was recruited. Ethical approval was granted and is in adherence with the British Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics and Conduct. A mixed method quasi-experimental design was employed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the research question. The study consisted of multiple phases which included an exploration and eye-tracking phase within a virtual desktop environment, a free recall and recognition memory phase with ranked and open-ended questions, and a psychological type measure was administered. There were no statistically significant differences identified between each level of psychological type and the revisits to landmarks, or landmark gist, perceptual and conceptual detail recall measures. The ranked explanation results demonstrated similarities and differences in the factors that different types ranked as reasons for recall. Similarities and differences were also found within the qualitative findings between types. The findings contribute to psychological type literature and are discussed with regards to factors that influence memory and attention of landmark objects in relation to Psychological Type theory. In addition, the implications of the mixed methods quasi-experimental design are discussed, along with limitations and contribution to knowledge.
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An exploration of the experiences of women and non-binary counsellors in relation to Gendered Power Dynamics in the therapeutic relationship: A constructivist grounded theoryThe purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of women and non-binary counsellors in relation to gendered power dynamics (GPD) in the therapeutic relationship. This research aimed to understand counsellors’ experiences to establish a theoretical model for GPD in the therapeutic relationship from the perspective of women and non-binary counsellors. This research took a multi-disciplinary approach, exploring sociological and feminist literature on gender and power, alongside counselling literature on the therapeutic relationship. A co-operative inquiry group was established to research this area. Further theoretical sampling, in line with the principles of constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014), was done using one-to-one interviews and a group interview. Ethical approval for this study was granted by the University of Chester. A theoretical model was constructed made up of five core categories moving beyond a descriptive account. These core categories are: making sense of gender; experiencing gendered power and its influences; identifying factors which impact the therapist’s response; being impacted by the work; exploring the difference identity can make. The creation of the model, rooted in feminist epistemology, was developed through collective knowledge building, considered to be the heart of feminism (Ahmed, 2017). It transforms the issue of GPD from an individual problem to a structural issue, enabling the field to explore it through this lens. The model can be used by counsellors, trainers, and supervisors to bring to the surface something that may otherwise be left hidden. This research found that the experience of GPD begins before the client and counsellor meet and has the potential to continue after the relationship has ended. A great deal of training and research is focused on the power dynamics between the counsellor and client, encouraging an intersectional perspective based on reducing client harm. However, research exploring the counsellor’s experience, including potential counsellor harm due to the power held by the client, appears to be limited, although negative impacts in relation to practice have been noted (Ali et al., 2005; Porter et al., 2015; Wright & Murphy, 2024).
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“Played like a deck of cards” Youth workers’ accounts of Adverse Childhood Experiences and engaging in Trauma Informed Practice. Analysing discourse and its impact on professional identityThrough engagement in in critical and social constructionist research this thesis demonstrates prevailing discourses about youth work, its identity as a profession, and the way Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have come to be understood within, and to inform, contemporary youth work practice. Initially the historical, theoretical, and practical underpinnings of youth work in England and Wales is considered and its evolution is situated within broader socio-political and economic contexts. Competing paradigms framing youth work are noted. The tensions between those paradigms, one focussed on empowerment and social justice, the other on personal development within existing structures, are explored. Historical shifts in youth work are analysed, from its philanthropic beginnings and the "golden age" following the Albemarle Report to its neo-liberal reframing under austerity policies. Particular attention is given to how ACEs have recently emerged as a construct shaping youth work discourse, often pathologising young people while obscuring structural inequalities. The methodology for the thesis is then explained. It is noted that the thesis draws on insights from critical and constructivist research and that a critical discourse analysis approach, examining youth workers’ account of contemporary practice, is undertaken. The choice of methodological framework is justified on the basis that it facilitates a critical understanding of how a concern for ACEs is applied when youth workers engage with young people. Also, on the basis that it facilitates an exploration of how power, knowledge, and identity are constructed and contested as youth workers give account of their profession and work. The findings address issues of fragmentation in youth work's professional identity, exacerbated by competing definitions and models of practice. While ACEs is presented as providing a lens for understanding individual trauma, its uncritical adoption is shown to depoliticise youth work, steering it away from structural critiques towards individualised and therapeutic interventions. Youth workers are shown to articulate a desire for greater clarity and coherence in professional standards, emphasising the importance of voluntary engagement, relational work, and empowerment. However, medicalised and neo-liberal discourses are shown to 5 constrain these ideals, leading to prioritisation of targeted interventions over universal provision. The findings, however, also address the potential for a reinvigorated form of youth working focussed on transformative conversations. Transformative conversations are relational, dialogic exchanges that can foster critical reflection, empowerment, and subject re-positioning. Spaces for such conversations, which have the potential to challenge dominant discourses, are identified to enable youth workers to question societal norms and their positioning within power structures. An interface between transformative conversations and the discourse analytic approach to the research is noted. This is because both are founded on deconstructing language and power dynamics to reveal how meanings, albeit shaped by broader societal discourses, are also co-constructed. Accordingly, it is shown how insights from discourse analysis can be used to inform transformative conversations to potentially resist oppressive narratives, aligning with a youth work agenda focused on social justice and empowerment. The discussion situates the findings within the broader context of social justice, arguing for a reinvigoration of youth work’s emancipatory ethos through transformative conversations and dialogue. The need for a renewed commitment to addressing systemic inequalities through collective, rights-based approaches is emphasised. The thesis concludes with a call for a reimagining of youth work as a radical, transformative practice that resists neo-liberal commodification. The thesis contributes to the academic and practical understanding of youth work by offering a critical lens through which contemporary and future challenges may be viewed.
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An IPA Study Exploring the Lived Experiences of Young People and their Perceptions of High School Bullying, and Societal ViolenceBackground and Context: the motivation of this thesis was to conduct a qualitative exploration on the lived experiences of bullying of high school students, and whether they considered this a factor in future societal violence. Methods: the methodology was Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), with data gathered using semi structured interviews, later transcribed and analysed to find emerging themes. Participants were recruited using academic posters (see appendix M). Two participant information sheets were provided for young people and guardians, offering details about the project. Participants: the participants were (n=6) with ages ranging from 13-16 years, selected from three separate high schools in the United Kingdom. Three of the participants were cis boys, and the other three participants were cis girls. Findings: bullying is an individual experience, which can occur in primary and high schools, and is repetitive. Consequently, the participants reported being subjected to name calling and hitting, which has implications for mental health. Verbal and physical bullying can affect future verbal and physical violence, with grudges influencing violence towards bullies. Rational thinking can become impacted, with potential violence used in relationships. Violence may be used to prevent bullying from reoccurring, and to regain power and control. Future measures which may prevent future societal violence, including greater interventions and awareness in academic institutions, bullying to be considered within criminalisation, with institutions erected specifically to help victims. Conclusions: cybercrime and cyberbullying should be considered by practitioners, and researchers. Interventions should be used to effectively by school staff to gain justice for pure-victims and bully-victims, with training in mental health and bullying needed. Schools should reintegrate pure-bullies into the school system, with bullying prevention and intervention programmes encouraged. Grudges require attention from researchers and practitioners working with pure-victims and bully-victims. A lack of empathy from future intimate partners may lead to verbal violence in intimate relationships. Practitioners should consider emasculation and racial abuse from bias-based bullying as possible precursors to societal violence. Societal violence may be enacted through self-righteous reasoning, and bullying may require criminalisation. Posttraumatic growth should be considered, with school bullying viewed as a social justice issue.
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The lived experience of inter-parental conflict and its developmental impacts on young adultsThe purpose of this thesis was to investigate the developmental impacts of destructive inter-parental conflict (IPC) on young adults. This was a phenomenologically-based, qualitative study. Seven participants, between the ages of 18 and 27 years old, who had experienced IPC between their parents, were interviewed, utilising semi-structured interviews. During the interviews, participants were also invited to draw a representation of themselves during the conflict and then invited to talk about the drawings; the drawings were not analysed, but were there to help elicit content during the interviews. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysis resulted in five Group Experiential Themes (GETs): ‘Feelings About the Family Home’ (subthemes: home as unsafe and unpredictable environment, a lack of emotional support in the family, and conflict hidden from the outside world), ‘Memories of Conflict’ (subthemes: physical conflict between parents, regular arguing and threatening behaviour, and co-dependency between parents), ‘Position of Participant During the Conflict’ (subthemes: caught in-between the conflict, feeling confused, feeling fear, involved with siblings for support, and used various coping mechanisms), ‘Impacts of Parental Conflict’ (subthemes: conflict as a traumatic event, parentification, emotional awareness, friendships and relationships, mental health and longing for security, current conflict resolution, education and career, comparison to sibling(s), and changing relationship with parents), and ‘Current Thoughts and Feelings About Conflict’ (subthemes: feelings about discussing conflict, and changing perspective on parental conflict). The findings from this research showcase that the developmental impacts of IPC can be long-lasting and wide-ranging, highlighting the need for further awareness to be given to the possible impacts of destructive IPC. It also highlights a connection between IPC and trauma, something which is greatly missing in the current literature in this field. This research has implications for those working in counselling and mental health, demonstrating the broad range of impacts that clients may face if they have been exposed to IPC during their childhoods and young adulthoods. The use of qualitative research methods has allowed for a child-centred understanding of the experiences of IPC, with the hope that their needs may be better understood and met by professionals.
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“Just keep on going”: An exploration of the childhood experiences of young men whose parents were imprisoned in Singapore and the perspective of professionals involved in care and supportThis study explores into the childhood experiences of young men whose parents were imprisoned in Singapore, and the perspectives of professionals involved in the care of these young people. Using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) research method the research delved into the lived experiences of three young people and five professionals, using semi-structured interviews to understand their retrospective worldview. The findings showed shared negative impacts which permeates various facets of a young person’s life across the young participants. The professionals shared the same perceptive as the young people of parental imprisonment. Professionals highlighted systemic issues, emphasizing the lack of synergy between systems, while unanimous consent existed among young participants and professionals regarding the insufficiency of financial support for families with imprisoned members. Although this research aligns with existing literature at a broader level, it introduces nuanced experiences influenced by culture and ethnicity, often overlooked in Western-centric literature. The research also identifies the importance of prioritizing the voices of young people in shaping effective practices, especially within the Southeast Asian context. The research recommends the establishment of a dedicated agency to oversee the well-being and support of children with imprisoned parents, coordinating assistance from the point of parental arrest. It’s also recommends training for caregivers, focusing on parenting skills, enhancing connections with children, and offering guidance on communication. Emphasizing schools as vital social support for children of imprisoned parents, the study suggests enhanced training for professionals to guide the young people. Furthermore, the research underscores the importance of soliciting input directly from young people themselves to identify their needs and support needed while under the care of guardians.
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‘Marked Out’: An exploration of the role of stigma in the marginalisation and racialisation of young peopleStigma and the labelling process have been conceptualised and debated for decades (Link & Phelan, 1999). Stigma was first examined by Goffman (1963), whose work was valuable in explaining and drawing attention to stigmatisation and individual strategies of stigma management. This thesis moves beyond this individualising definition to consider stigma as a mechanism of power, examining the role of stigmatisers in conveying and (re)producing labels and stereotypes (Link & Phelan, 2001) through exploring the potential influences of institutional structures on stigmatisation. Through an examination of the lived realities of young people, this thesis seeks to understand the role and reproduction of stigma in their lives, tied to the determining contexts of race, gender and class, and created within constructs of power. This study provides an empirical example of stigma power in the lives of young people living in two Manchester neighbourhoods. Working with 28 young people aged 16-19 in two stigmatised areas of Manchester, this research was grounded in ethnographic principles, serving as a foundation for a participatory-informed research design developed to discover, interpret, and apply knowledge. In addition to conducting over 300 hours of participant observation of the young people’s lives, the research involved the use of participatory-informed, creative methods. In consultation with young people, this was facilitated through various creative approaches, including geographical mapping, creative writing, flashcards, and a blog. Based upon its findings, this thesis will argue that the lives of young people are layered through pre-existing faultlines that can be understood and determined within the structures of society. By revealing the experiences of young people through the institutional structures of public and media narratives, and police and educational encounters, this thesis illustrates how institutionalised narratives may contribute to the (re)production of stigmatised identities. By understanding how the lives of young people can become structured within the determining contexts of society, directly from the individuals to whom this applies, this thesis offers the potential to explore how the lives of some young people are (re)produced through cycles of stigma.
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An Exploration of Whether Searching for Birth Origins Can Lead to Post-Traumatic Growth in Adult AdopteesAdoption is a lifelong process in which adoptees have to incorporate their adoptive status into their sense of identity throughout their lives. It is a developmental trauma which impacts adoptees on many levels. This study uses poetic inquiry to consider whether adult adoptees from the closed adoption system in England and Wales have experienced post traumatic growth following a search for their birth origins. Following semi-structured interviews with the participants, found poems were created of their experiences of being adopted and searching for their birth origins. As an adoptee who has searched, I provide a reflexive response to the poems and have used the heuristic processes of indwelling and focusing to provide greater insight into the meaning of my own creative writing undertaken throughout my own search and this research. The aims of this research are firstly to establish whether searching for birth origins can lead to post traumatic growth in adoptees, and if this is the case, then secondly, how does the search lead to post traumatic growth. I have taken an interpretivist approach in order to understand the subjective experience of adoptees, together with how historical and cultural influences have impacted their experience. In creating the found poetry, I considered the whole life experience of the participants as adoptee, from growing up adopted, deciding to search, the search process and after the search. This provides a narrative poetic approach and has allowed an exploration of adoption narratives and how these change and adapt during and following the search in order to provide a more coherent sense of self. There are four overarching themes that arose from the poems, and these provide an overview of the whole experience of adoptees. The themes are anger/rage; connections/roots; identity; and authenticity. The research demonstrates that adoptees are given incoherent and illogical adoption narratives that they have to incorporate into their sense of self. Social and cultural narratives around adoption make it difficult for adoptees to challenge these. In searching for birth origins, adoptees can challenge the narratives given to them both by their adoptive families and by wider society and reframe them to provide a more coherent sense of self. This in turn leads to a greater sense of well-being and allows them to find meaning in their experience.
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Gandhi and post-development: re-enchanting emancipationAbstract available in hard copy
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The social representations of disability: fears, fantasies and factsAbstract available in hard copy
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Characterisation, antioxidant properties and cytoprotective investigation of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides root-bark in oxidative stressed promyelocytic leukaemia cellsThere is great interest in traditional or folk medicines in order to help with the discovery and development of potentially new pharmaceutics which have clinical benefits to man. Many of these traditional medicines are derived from medicinal plants which have been shown to contain a multitude of chemicals that have potent natural antioxidant properties. The chemical composition (metabolites), characterisation, antioxidant properties and cytoprotective effects to oxidative stress of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (ZZ) root-bark extract obtained from different seasonal conditions, namely: winter, spring, summer and autumn bought from an African store and during one annual collection, were investigated in this thesis. ZZ root-bark was prepared in in two solvents (ethanol and water) and three methods of extraction (Aq decoction and maceration as well as ethanolic maceration). The extracts were investigated using different methods such as moisture content analysis, percentage insoluble fraction, spectrocolorimetric measurements, ash content analysis, analysis of carbon, sulphur, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen analysis, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), ultra-violet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses. Its antioxidative effects was investigated by assessing the plant extract’s ability to scavenge or react with a range of different free radicals such as: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), hydroxyl radical (●OH), singlet oxygen radical (1O2), nitric oxide radical (NO●), 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS●+), metal ion, ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and reducing power assay. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and H2O2 were used to induce oxidative stress in human leukemic cells (U937 and HL60), and the ZZ extract was used to determine any potential cytoprotective effects to these oxidative insults. The result presented in this thesis showed that the moisture content of ZZ root-bark extract for winter, summer, spring and autumn was between 6.75 – 8.07% and this is within the acceptable moisture content percentage (5 – 8%). A statistically significant difference of *P<0.5 (winter vs spring), ***P<0.001 (spring vs summer) and ****P<0.0001 (winter vs summer) was observed among these seasons. The percentage insoluble fraction of this extract, in both solvents, was about 90% for these seasonal conditions with no statistically significant difference among them. The percentage ash content was between 6.9 – 8.3% for these harvest seasons, with statistically significant difference of *P<0.5 (winter vs spring) and **P<0.01 (winter vs summer), and this is within the acceptable range (5 – 40%). ICP-MS analysis of this extract confirms the presence of calcium, manganese, gallium, strontium, barium, lanthanum and cerium for all extracts from different seasons. GC-MS analysis of ZZ confirms the presence of many metabolites such as alkyl amide, lipids, coumarin, alkaloids, phenolics and triterpenes from all seasons. UV-VIS spectroscopy analysis further confirmed the presence of flavonoids for all seasons. Physico-chemical quantification analyses also confirmed the presence of many of these constituents in the extract. Percentage CHNS-O was between 43 – 52 % for carbon, 0 – 0.21 % for nitrogen, 4 – 12 % for hydrogen and 35 – 41 % for oxygen. However, sulphur was not present in all seasons. The ZZ extract also showed a great ability to scavenge free radicals such as DPPH● (IC50 = 30 μg/ml), ●OH (IC50 = 0.08 mg/ml), H2O2 (IC50 = 0.08 mg/ml), NO● (IC50 = 0.20 mg/ml) 1O2 (IC50 = 0.16 mg/ml) ABTS●+ (IC50 = 0.23 mg/ml) and metal ion (IC50 = 0.11 mg/ml) by accepting hydrogen or electron but showed a weak FRAP and reducing power ability. Finally, the extract showed it had cytoprotective effect against lipopolysaccharide and hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress leading to cell death in U937 and HL60 leukemic cells. A more detailed characterisation showed that the ZZ extract was able to statistically protect against oxidative stress-induced cell death caused by either apoptosis or necrosis. In conclusion, ZZ extract possesses many phytochemical compounds, many of which have antioxidants properties regardless of their harvest seasons. Findings from this thesis confirmed the potential health benefits of ZZ root-bark and could be valuable for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries in using it to reveal new sources of natural antioxidant for therapeutic drugs.
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A longitudinal study of an embodied-self-concept and its potential impact upon adjustment and acceptance in chronic non-specific lower back pain in female adultsAim: Analgesia and surgical interventions have little impact in reducing the unpleasantness and intensity of chronic non-specific low(er) back pain (CLBP) and access to Pain Management Programmes is limited with inconsistent results. Individuals need to learn to live with their pain and this study explores how one's self-concept (in relationship with/to their body i.e., an embodied-self-concept) and pain might influence an individual’s perceived ability to accept/adjust to their CLBP and if this changes over time. Receiving support may influence adjustment/acceptance of CLBP, and this study seeks understanding of what those with CLBP want/need when their pain is self-managed outside of specialist pain services as these are currently unknown. Acceptance of CLBP is associated with improved life quality and a new dynamic model of change in CP which can accommodate the changing embodied-self and allow for movement between CP-acceptance/adjustment, non-acceptance/non-adjustment and anti-acceptance/non-adjustment over time is required to inform psychological practice. Methodology: A longitudinal multiple-case-series over 19 months using mixed-methods triangulation convergence/corroboration of three female participants explored the (potentially) changing embodied-self, from the pre-pain self to the present. Each meeting at approximately 9-monthly intervals consisted of semi-structured interviews and two measures: one explored CP-acceptance (Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire: CPAQ) the other, dissonance between self-aspects (Possible Selves Measure in Chronic Pain: PSM-CP). Findings: Changes in the embodied-self-concept and related behaviours (e.g., task-persistence) were motivated by participants’ self-concept goals in growthfull and not-for-growth directions, thus self-acceptance and CP-acceptance are inextricably linked. The participants’ painful body part was placed ‘outside’ of the self as a separate entity demanding care and attention. The participants were often fearful and experienced shame, blame and two experienced suicidal ideation. However, counselling was not advocated by GPs and was not a consideration by participants. Conclusion: Counsellors in private practice and primary care with the necessary skills and knowledge are well placed to work with CP. Cultural and societal shifts in a non-dualistic understanding of CP and its treatment/management may make counselling a more acceptable adjunct. A new model of change in CP has been developed highlighting the role of psychological agility, choice junctions and self-re-evaluation as key components to/in change in both growthfull and non-growthfull directions. The wholesale adoption of the Buddhist-informed definition of CP-acceptance has been challenged.
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Negotiating recovery following sudden bereavements: An autoethnographic approach to making sense of historical personal cumulative grief in the context of Covid-19We are all likely to experience bereavement during our lifetime. The impact of the loss is determined by many variables including age, intensity of relationship to the deceased, and social support systems. Traumatic sudden bereavement features additional causative factors of unfinished business, being unable to say goodbye, and sense of an incomplete life. The trauma of repeated sudden unexpected bereavement results in a potentially long-lasting disintegration of self that may lead to prolonged or complicated grief. The purpose of this qualitative study is to contribute to understanding of the lived experience of sudden bereavement and cumulative grief, what is meant by recovery and how it might manifest. It explores the impact of multiple losses, how sudden death can leave a traumatic imprint, and how each may be mitigated through life choices. This study aims to inform professionals and the bereaved in their understanding of sudden, unexpected bereavement in the context of widespread Covid-19 grief. An autoethnographical approach was used to explore the researcher’s lived experience as a young adult of sudden bereavement of three primary family members within a relatively short time span of seven years. All were traumatic losses, with one bereavement especially so. The resulting cumulative grief is investigated along with the researcher’s perception of progress and relapse in terms of recovery and sense-making of historical personal grief. The concept of posttraumatic recovery is explored in the context of the researcher’s personal experiences and linked to current sociological collective encounters with unprepared for, sudden death experienced by many during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data collection and analysis is a constantly changing interplay of interpretation and discovery. Continuous reflection of memories and emotional responses to the autoethnographic and personal journal writing, poems, and image-making provided data through which unexpected themes emerged, expanded, and evolved, leading to an increased level of sense-making that had been previously absent. This thesis adds to the limited extant literature on sibling and parental bereavement experienced by young adults aged 19-26 years, particularly that of multiple, sudden bereavement and cumulative grief. An individual’s experience of grief is profoundly personal and there is no definitive period of recovery that can be applied. The researcher’s isolating journey of historic traumatic bereavements is viewed within a culture where traumatic loss became an everyday occurrence during the Covid-19 pandemic. This proliferation changed the rhetoric from an individual to a shared experience, permitting the previously silenced to become heard, assisting readers to navigate their own experiences of grief, loss, and recovery through the lens of a more grief-informed society, and to inform professionals and affected others in their understanding and support of sudden ‘unprepared for’ bereavement during Covid related deaths and beyond.
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An exploration of the emotional support needs of grandparents whose grandchild has had a childhood cancer diagnosisLittle research has been conducted relating to the psychological impact on grandparents of grandchildren with cancer despite evidence to suggest that this can be challenging (Wakefield et al., 2014). This research explores the lived experiences of grandparents whose grandchild has had a childhood cancer diagnosis, taking specific interest in narrative relating to symptoms of distress, coping mechanisms, perceived emotional support needs, potential barriers to support and signs of post-traumatic growth. The impact of COVID-19 is also examined. Twelve grandparents were interviewed using semi-structured questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, an approach that is understood via examination of meanings people impress upon their experience. Five Group Experiential Themes are presented: role; impact; coping strategies and support needs; barriers to emotional support and lastly, hope, followed by their respective Personal Experiential Themes. Grandparents, without question, resume their parental role as their adult children retreat towards their childhood ‘nest’ to be protected and cared for. They also change their ‘hat’ to that of ‘parent’ to siblings of their poorly grandchild. This becomes a dominant role, often without warning, impacting greatly on their normal routine. Their own suffering is intentionally suppressed to give full attention to their child and family. Grandparents struggle to articulate their own needs as they automatically place themselves second. However, when pushed, there is a sense of wishing to be acknowledged as taking an active, primary care-giving role within their family, together with permission to process their own emotions in a way that suits their needs. A grandchild’s childhood cancer diagnosis can lead to signs of traumatic stress for grandparents. Yet they suppress their emotional support needs as their ‘parental nest’ is temporarily filled again. It is suggested that cancer support services work with parents to ensure that grandparents are also included in support-offers as a matter of course.
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Delivering Public Services at a Time of Political Turmoil: The Impact of Risk and Austerity on the Charitable sectorThe private and charitable sectors have become firmly embedded within the criminal justice system, where they are increasingly involved and accountable for delivering public services (Ismail, 2021). The distinctiveness of the charitable sector enables it to provide services and meet needs in ways that the statutory and private sectors cannot (Clinks, 2013; Corcoran & Hucklesby, 2013; Dayson et al., 2022). Consecutive governments have acknowledged the charitable sector’s essential role in criminal justice and recognised its unique ability to meet the complex needs of individuals who have contact with the criminal justice system. However, legislation, government policy and actions have caused greater reliance on the charitable sector. Utilising Foucault’s (1991) governmentality perspective, neoliberal ideologies have disadvantaged charitable sector organisations. Government actions based on privatisation, monetarism, and austerity have hindered the charitable sector’s capacity to deliver public services (Heydar-Cardwell, 2012; Marmot et al., 2020). The Transforming Rehabilitation programme implemented in practice in 2013 questions the government’s support for the charitable sector and its involvement in public service provision (Dacombe & Morrow, 2016). Legislation and government policy have had equally damaging effects on charitable sector service users. Criminality and mental health disorders are associated with highly derogatory labels. Stigma theories outline the grave consequences caused by stigmatisation. Individuals attached to these labels are stigmatised, socially excluded, and disproportionately impacted by multiple laws and policies (Goffman, 1963; Link et al., 1989; Pinel, 1999; Scheff, 1966; Tremlin & Beazley, 2022). Link and Phelan’s (2001, 2004) and Corrigan et al.’s (2004) notion of structural power shows how stigmatising labels justify punitive policy and action. During the 1970s, there was a growing political movement of conservative ideologies where liberal approaches were deemed ‘soft on crime’ and replaced with ideas around control and punitive punishments (Hardisty, 2004; Loader & Sparks, 2016; Spicker, 2022). The government’s political decision to enforce neoliberal policies and inflict austerity has caused extensive harm to the most vulnerable, stigmatised groups in society (Lavalette, 2017; Marazziti, 2021; Tremlin & Beazley, 2022). The social injustices and government failings to minority and vulnerable groups within society are a vital area for analysis and social change. This research aimed to critically explore the distinctiveness of the charitable sector and the impact and effectiveness of legislation, government policy and actions on the charitable sector. More specifically and uniquely, the study explored the distinctiveness, impact, and effectiveness of charitable sector practitioners’ perspectives. This research sought to provide a platform for the voices of charitable sector practitioners. The research’s timing adds to the study’s originality and its contribution to knowledge. The research critically explored practitioners’ perspectives post-implementation of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme. Data was collected in 2016, three years after implementation, to explore perspectives of policy in practice in detail. This study sought to provide a profound understanding of how the charitable sector continues to provide support services through a time of political turmoil and substantial probationary reform from the perspectives of those working in the sector. The researcher conducted 24 qualitative, semi-structured interviews with practitioners from 8 different charitable sector organisations. All practitioners, either in paid or voluntary roles, delivered mental health and well-being support services to offenders or individuals whom the criminal justice system deems at risk of offending. Thematic analysis was then conducted to interpret the data and identify emergent codes and themes. The findings revolved around two core themes: the distinctiveness of the charitable sector and the detrimental impact of the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms on charitable sector organisations. Charitable sector practitioners expressed their invaluable and distinct role in meeting the needs of offenders and individuals whom the criminal justice system deem at risk of offending. Charitable sector distinctiveness lies in providing innovative, individualised, and holistic services that meet its service users’ multiple, complex needs. Yet, legislation and public policy, along with the government’s principal priority to cut public expenditure, have caused numerous complexities for charitable sector organisations. The perspectives shared about Transforming Rehabilitation are based on concerns and anxieties over the future of their services and how they will navigate through the continuing state of flux. Practitioners communicated how they feel exploited and believe the government has prioritised financial savings and perceived political support over meeting offender needs and protecting the charitable sector’s role. The thesis uses a combination of distinctive theories and first-hand accounts of delivering services in the charitable sector to deepen understanding of the complexities of providing public services in the charitable sector. Specifically, and uniquely, perspectives gathered at a time of radical change in the probation service provide a foundation for how the charitable sector has adapted during the early stages of the Transforming Rehabilitation initiative.
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Exploring psychological growth in adult offspring following perceived parental rejection in childhoodMuch of the research around the experience of perceived parental rejection (PPR) in childhood focuses on the predicted outcomes and negative impact on the adult throughout the lifespan. This study is mindful of the body of PPR research and offers originality in focusing on the literature pertaining to the enabling factors that facilitate psychological growth, in a small-scale phenomenological study. The research question was, ‘What are the enabling factors which lead to psychological growth in adult offspring who have experienced perceived parental rejection in childhood?’ The aims of the research are to add to the literature base that explores post-traumatic growth, in offering data and debate specifically linked to the phenomenon of PPR, and to make suggestions for practice and further research in this domain. In addition, there is a consideration of coping subtheory pertaining to Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection theory (IPARTheory). Nine research participants, who self-identified as having experience of PPR in childhood, and who self-reported psychological growth in adulthood, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2022) was used to elicit the depth and richness of the experience of both phenomena. Participants were encouraged to describe their childhood experiences with parental figures and the impact this had, before relating their experience of psychological growth. The process of IPA yielded four Group Experiential Themes (GETs): Experience of Rejection; Concept of Self; Conditions of Change and Experience of Psychological Growth. The Findings suggest that the inner resource of grit is instrumental to psychological growth and that the condition of safety in the social environment supports the development of greater resilience. The Findings are conceptualised in a salutogenic model. The Findings relate directly to counselling and psychotherapy practice and the wider spectrum of health and social care and service users, in that they enable greater understanding of the phenomenon of psychological growth following PPR, and the therapeutic conditions that may mitigate for the acute and chronic consequences predicted in the existent literature.
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What is it like to stay at home to save lives and protect the NHS?On the 23rd of March 2020, the citizens of the United Kingdom were instructed by the government to stay at home, to save lives and protect the NHS to manage the impact of Coronavirus. This thesis aims to contribute to understanding the personal impact of this instruction, particularly on those most vulnerable to the virus and instructed to shield themselves by avoiding face-to-face contact. A Narrative Inquiry methodology was used to understand the experience of six participants who had been living alone for twelve months. The government instructed each participant to shield in their home to avoid human contact due to the risk of serious harm or death that may result from catching COVID due to existing health conditions. Their stories were captured during a sixty-minute unstructured interview held over video or telephone. Participants' stories fell into three broad categories: stories about the impact of staying at home, their interactions with other people, and stories concerning broader social issues. Fear was central to many of the participants’ stories due to uncertainties at the time; the fear of how they will survive being alone, fear of others when they come close, and fear of an untrustworthy government and the impact of evolving social injustices. Each participant demonstrated great fear during this period, with the unquestioned narrative that they would die if they caught the virus. To manage this fear, participants used different strategies, including following the rules very strictly, keeping themselves distracted by filling their days, showing concern and helping less fortunate people, and associating themselves with a strong social network. Most significantly, all participants followed the rules as they wanted to protect their own lives, which is contrary to the dominant discourse that rules should be followed to save others’ lives and the NHS. This thesis tells the story of six individuals as they endured a terrifying period of uncertainty and demonstrated that when experiencing extreme circumstances, how adaptable and resourceful they were. Opening the door to six individuals and asking them what it was like for them illuminates how personality, history and circumstances impacted the experience of being faced with the possibility of death. Furthermore, this research provides an opportunity to get close to and empathise with six individuals that had a more extreme experience of the lockdown than most due to their existing health conditions, opening up alternative meanings to the pandemic. Although the pandemic was a period that caused great terror, it was also a time for these six individuals to pause and reflect on personal and social values, to notice what they were grateful for, and a desire to make things better for those who are less fortunate.
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Surfing the Waves of Accountable Compassion: A qualitative study of the emerging trauma-informed culture within North Wales Youth Justice ServiceThe thesis describes a qualitative study of trauma-informed practice which draws on accounts of a sample of justice involved children and service providers in North Wales, in order to explore the practicalities of working within a trauma-informed paradigm and how it fits with key principles which exist within the Youth Justice Service (YJS). The study, which was theoretically informed by symbolic interactionism and hermeneutic phenomenology, used qualitative methods comprising semi-structured interviews with justice involved children as well as interviews and focus groups with service providers. The study findings indicate that there is a shift to moving towards working via a trauma-informed lens, and aims to embed trauma-informed practice into the fabric of the YJS. Certain elements within the YJS, namely the child-practitioner relationship, are more advanced with regard to being trauma-informed in comparison to other areas, some of which are external to the YJS. The thesis argues that in order to weave trauma-informed approaches and a culture of understanding into the identity of the YJS, consideration is required with regards to cultural hang-overs, stemming from previous practice, vicarious trauma and the position of relational practice. In conclusion, the thesis suggests that a trauma-informed cultural shift has many benefits for justice-involved children, not only in addressing their behaviour and the emotions potentially lurking behind it, but also in healing and helping to process past experiences. The experiences and contributions from participants in this study collectively advocate utilising a trauma-informed lens across the YJS. However, a cultural change requires careful management and consideration in order to protect staff, particularly from the imprint of trauma narratives and support children holistically. Where this is neglected, the path to trauma-informed could divert to trauma-organised.
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What are the aetiology, drives and experiences of the non-sexual adult baby?Adult Babies (ABs) are predominantly categorised as paraphiliacs, kink practitioners or fetishists. However, whilst this may be true for some within the Adult Baby/Diaper Lover (ABDL) community, this stance does not consider a subgroup of the community whose practice is devoid of sexual or adult gratifications. A Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) methodology was employed to capture the lived experience, historic and current, of a sample of the UK ABDL community by answering the question “what are the aetiology, drives and experiences of the non-sexual adult baby?” 10 participants were interviewed and the data analysed by single coder analysis. The key themes identified within the data were: a non-sexual process; a history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs); early onset; the juvenile process is not limited to an infantile process; the juvenile configuration is not bound to gender; the process is experienced as intractable (until apposite therapeutic intervention); the juvenile process is inherently about affect management. From these findings a theoretical framework, Trauma Induced Age Regressive Process (TIARP), was developed. It is a finding of this study that, for this specific subgroup of the UK ABDL community, the aetiology of said behaviours lies in developmental trauma, itself a distinguishing feature demarcating this specific subgroup from the broader ABDL community. The data from this sample confirmed the presence of a discrete subgroup of the UK ABDL community whose experiences and drives are unconnected to paraphilic infantilism or fetishistic and kink practices. Additionally, as this thesis will evidence, this subgroup is vulnerable in the wider social milieu, their practice being erroneously conflated with paedophilic intent and being subject to sexual predation. The TIARP framework is introduced and discussed, as too are the implications and limitations of this research.
