Research digest
Therapy Today, April 2023

News and resources from the BACP research team

Dr Wayne Full, Senior Research Fellow

‘As a Senior Research Fellow at BACP, my work involves developing high-profile research projects and collaborations across the counselling and psychotherapy professions. With a PhD in psychoanalysis, I have always been passionate about and committed to the role of research in enhancing the scientific standing of psychotherapy, shaping therapeutic practice, influencing policy and informing interdisciplinary debate. I enjoy contributing to the evidence base of the field and derive pleasure from knowing I am making a contribution to knowledge.

‘I have particular responsibility for research projects relating to equality, diversity and inclusion. This involves conducting research with and for marginalised and underrepresented communities, including those who are racially minoritised, disabled, live in rural areas, are seeking asylum and/or identify as LGBTQIA+.

‘My research in this area is about identifying the barriers these groups face in accessing therapy services that are culturally sensitive and tailored to their needs, as well as identifying the educational and employment disparities facing counselling trainees and qualified therapists from these backgrounds. It is hugely satisfying to know that the research I do informs a range of therapy interventions and training opportunities for those who face inequalities in our field.’

We’ll be hearing from other members of the BACP research team in upcoming issues.

Research bites

A selection of papers from BACP’s Counselling and Psychotherapy Research journal focusing on global issues in counselling and psychotherapy research, policy and practice

Therapists and climate anxiety

For this qualitative study, eight therapists were interviewed about their experiences of climate change and its implications for professional practice. Overall, therapists’ personal experiences and their perceived client experiences of climate change were complex and they felt ill equipped to support their clients in the climate crisis. It is important for professional bodies and training institutions to provide leadership and guidance to therapists that enables them to support clients and themselves. Participants felt there was an ethical obligation for them to consciously face their own thoughts around the climate crisis and work with clients surrounding their conscious and unconscious processes on this topic. There is a need for clients and therapy itself to be conceptualised within social, economic and political contexts.

Read more: Silva JF, Coburn J. Therapists’ experience of climate change: a dialectic between personal and professional.

Vulnerable young people in lockdown

This investigation used focus groups with 12 digital mental health service professionals to understand the experiences of vulnerable young people (VYP) during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown. The focus groups identified four main themes, two of which, ‘Experience and consequence of loss’ and ‘Feeling separate and isolated’, captured VYP’s loss of connection, autonomy and freedom. The theme of ‘Escalation of risk’ captured VYP’s resulting maladaptive coping mechanisms such as self-harm and suicidal thinking. The final theme of ‘Feeling supported and empowered’ described the positive outcomes of lockdown, including the increase in online therapy provision. Recommendations include increased support for VYP, with both offline and online therapy provision.

Read more: Mindel C, et al. Alienated and unsafe: experiences of the first national UK COVID-19 lockdown for vulnerable young people (aged 11–24 years) as revealed in web-based therapeutic sessions with mental health professionals.

Don’t miss the 29th annual BACP Research Conference, co-hosted with Leeds Beckett University, taking place in person and online on 19 and 20 May 2023. The theme is ‘Global issues in counselling and psychotherapy research, policy and practice’, and we are delighted to have two wonderful keynote speakers. Dr Nahid Nasrat from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and a visiting lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, will present ‘The psychological wellbeing of refugees’. Our second keynote, Caroline Hickman from the University of Bath, will present ‘How can research into eco-anxiety and eco-emotions translate into counselling and psychotherapy practice?’ There will also be a range of presentations including research papers, symposia, posters and lightning talks with up-to-date research to support your practice. www.bacp.co.uk/eventsandresources/
research/conference

BACP’s research team will be presenting at the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR) international conference in Dublin and online from 21-24 June. Dr Clare Symons will present on BACP’s approach to influencing UK public mental health policy and how we use data to determine research priorities and strategy. Dr Wayne Full will discuss work conducted with The Open University on therapists’ experiences of offering online therapy during the pandemic. Jenny O’Donnell will talk about perceptions of school pastoral staff of the impact of counselling in schools. Robert Scruggs, Dr George Salaminios, Dr Andrea Anastassiou and Charlie Duncan will also be presenting on a number of topics including student counselling outcomes, ethical research with children and young people and using routine outcome monitoring across different settings. www.psychotherapyresearch.org/page/spr2023

In the spotlight

‘It's important to open discussions on how interventions can be linguistically sensitive’

Laura Serrani MBACP is an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist managing a school-based counselling service in London. She has a background in philosophy, learning psychopathology and Gestalt therapy. In 2018 she undertook her master’s research at the University of Roehampton on the role of multilingual dynamics in therapy with children and adolescents.

Tell us about your research

It’s aimed at interpreting possible meanings connected to multilingual dynamics in therapy with children and young people and how these meanings might influence the therapeutic relationship. (Serrani, L. A journey through languages: A systematic literature review on the multilingual experience in counselling and psychotherapy with children and adolescents.

What motivated you to undertake research in student counselling?

What motivated you to undertake research on multilingual dynamics? I have been driven by my personal experience of attending therapy in English, my second language, and the enormous value that it has brought to my personal growth. I also wanted to address the gap in the existing literature on bilingualism/multilingualism in therapy with children and young people.

What are some of the implications of your research?

This research shows that it is important to open discussions on how interventions can be linguistically sensitive and adapted to bilingual/multilingual clients’ needs in order to avoid discrimination and unconscious power dynamics that might have an impact on clients’ therapy journeys. The results highlight the need for further research to inform standards and training courses. I would encourage fellow therapists working with multilingualism/bilingualism to get involved with case studies and auto-ethnographies.

• In each issue a practitioner, postgraduate student or academic will tell us about how their research may inform therapeutic practice.