Research at UKCP

Gender diverse identities are largely underrepresented within counselling and clinical psychology courses in the UK. With a history of harmful practices and pathologisation, I feel that counselling and clinical psychologists have a social responsibility to promote inclusivity and to depathologise the field. As part of this, universities are social institutions with the capacity to perpetuate societal stigmas or promote diversity and inclusivity. My research will focus on the ways in which systemic mechanisms may perpetuate inequalities and focus on the voices which may go less heard within this.

Research will involve an online interview expected to last around 30 minutes to 1 hour. This will be a chance for participants to talk about their experiences on counselling or clinical psychology doctoral programs within the UK. To be eligible to take part in this study you must:

1. Have completed or be currently training on a counselling or clinical psychology doctoral course within the UK.
2. Identify as gender diverse in some way.

For more information, please contact Sophie Starbuck (she/her), counselling psychology trainee at 05507@metanoia.ac.uk.

Mentalisation or reflective function (RF/M) describes the capacity to hold in awareness how mental states underlie thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Developed by Peter Fonagy, RF/M was initially devised to support patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Mentalisation based therapy (MBT), the therapy which developed out of their research has since achieved significantly positive outcomes for this patient group. More recently, research into RF/M has widened and RF/M cultivation has been linked with development of empathy, increasing therapeutic resilience, bolstering attachment insecurity and achieving positive therapy outcomes generally. At the same time, there is little qualitative research considering the therapist experience of working with RF/M to understand how it manifests or might be cultivated to be used in client work.

I am looking to work with qualified Level 7 psychotherapists who describe themselves as integrative, work from a relational/developmental basis, have had substantial personal therapy and have an interest in RF/M. Participation involves a semi-structured interview lasting approximately 75 minutes to explore questions around this research and an optional questionnaire to complete.

For more information, please contact Tim Mitchell, master's student at Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute on tim.mitchell@spti.net.

Schmid & Mearns’ (2006) theory of being-with and being-counter describes relational positions person-centred therapists may take when responding to clients. They suggest both positions are necessary to foster a co-created relationship through mutual encounter. The research will examine how therapists experience the process of navigating between being-with and counter responses, the influence of gender and power dynamics within the relationships, and how this experience compares when receiving the counter response as a client. The research hopes to bridge the gap between theory and practice by understanding therapists’ lived experiences.

Participation is open to trainee and qualified person-centred and experiential therapists, from all gender identities, with experience of being-with and being-counter in their clinical practice and personal therapy, currently engaging in personal therapy (trainees), supervision or other appropriate support (if qualified). Participation involves an online 60-minute semi-structured interview with the researcher which will be audio recorded. The interview focuses on lived experience and meaning without disclosing clinical practice examples of confidential client information. The interview questions are:

• Can you tell me about your experience of being-with and being-counter as a therapist?
• What informs your approach to being-counter?
• How does gender influence this process for you?
• How does your experience of your own therapist being-counter to you, inform your approach?

For more information, please contact Becca Gentry on becca.gentry@spti.net.