Clients perspectives around Psychologist/therapist self disclosure 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Client's perspectives on therapist/psychologist self-disclosure of lived experiences of mental health difficulties:A qualitative study
IRAS ID
157031
Contact name
Cheryl Bullion
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Plymouth
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 11 days
Research summary
Clinician/therapist self -disclosure is a therapeutic intervention that is increasingly encouraged in a variety of therapy approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural therapy Humanistic therapy and Systemic therapy. However little is known about the impact of this, when a therapist discloses a lived experience of mental health difficulties especially for people that we are disclosing too; the service users. This Study is looking to fill this gap by exploring what client's perceptions and views are around therapist self- disclosure.
The study will ask participants to attend a focus group lasting between 30-40 minutes, where they will be asked to talk amongst themselves about the views and perspective on therapist self- disclosure of personal experience of a mental health difficulty. The participants will then be given two examples of what a disclosure might consist of, one consists of an un-detailed disclosure and the second will consist of a more detailed disclosure. The focus groups will be recorded using a Dictaphone. If however participants prefer, they will have the option to have an individual semi-structured interview lasting 30-40 min instead of attending the focus group.
Participants will be client's attending a Community Mental Health Service (CMHT) and must have completed therapy in one of the following approaches: Family therapy (systemic therapy), Psychoanalytic therapy or Cognitive Behavioural therapy. participant's ages will range from 18-65. client's meeting the diagnosis criteria in the DSM-5 of Personality disorder will be excluded, due to the behaviours associated with the condition, as this might influence the findings.
The data collected from the focus groups/interviews will then be transcribed and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). This will enable the participant's perceptions and views to be captured in a meaningful synthesised way.
The project will run until September 2015
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0756
Date of REC Opinion
1 May 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion