Dealing with Impasses and Hesitations in Therapy and Supervision.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Dealing with impasses and hesitations in family therapy and supervision - reflexive inquiry into collaborative and dialogical practice.
IRAS ID
157517
Contact name
Tania Gomes Pombeiro
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bedfordshire
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
16/WM/0116, West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Dealing with impasses and hesitations in family therapy and supervision - reflexive inquiry into collaborative and dialogical practice.
Uncertainty and stuckness are difficulties that family therapists face daily. These situations often make people feel that they are not being listened to, lose confidence in positive change and in the usefulness of therapy. It can also prompt therapists to try new ways of using the feedback from conversations and of the relationships they have with people. This research aims to study what happens between therapists and families when, sensing indecisions or when feeling ‘stuck’, they try to make sense of and cope with such experiences.
During 18 months, this qualitative research will get clinicians thinking together, learning about:
1) what happens between people and what are the qualities of the conversations during hesitations and impasses.
2) the activities and the criteria used to recognize and create difference.
3) the research itself, and what learning might there be for clinicians as they try different ways of working with stuck conversations.Through taking part in different types of activities (i.e. reviewing therapy sessions, taking part in group discussions, exploring feedback from families) clinicians will learn more about the interactions and the strategies that guide them through impasses, and how they can be of help in their work with families.
The participant group will include: a) the researcher and a maximum of six other clinicians who join in family therapy teams or work with patients and families; and b) up to six clients/families who have attended systemic or family therapy sessions in a mental health clinic. Exclusion criteria: clients who are in a cognitively or emotionally compromised state affecting their capacity to give consent; families who withdraw their consent; patients who are re-referred for services and would not benefit from taking part in the research.REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0111
Date of REC Opinion
16 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion