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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dr. Kip Jones: Kip Jones is Leader of the Performative Social Science (PSS) Group at The Media School and HSC. PSS uses tools from the Arts & Humanities in researching and/or disseminating Social Science. He is also a published expert in the Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method. His use of the Method grew out of a love of watching, listening to and telling stories.

Jones has produced films, videos and audio productions, written many articles for academic journals and authored chapters in books on Performative Social Science, or the use of tools from the arts in social science research and dissemination.

The award-winning short film, "Rufus Stone" is the main output of a three-year New Dynam-ics of Ageing research project led by Jones that explored the biographies of older gay and lesbian citizens and their experiences of rural living in Britain. This professionally made film was created by means of a unique collaboration between the director, Josh Appignanesi ("The Infidel"), and Jones.

His work has been reported widely in the media, including: BBC Radio 4, BBC TV news, Times Higher Education, Sunday New York Times, International Herald-Tribune and The In-dependent.

Dr. Michael Larkin:

Michael Larkin writes: I studied English and Psychology at Keele as an undergraduate. After a detour in landscaping, I returned to academia and my PhD explored experiences of addiction and recovery in the 12-Step tradition. I have continued to conduct research in areas of clinical interest, and am particularly interested in how people make sense of their distressing anomalous experiences, and of their encounters with psychotherapeutic interventions and services. Quite a lot of the work that I get involved in is concerned with the context of such experiences - cultural, familial, relational, and recently, environmental. I am Senior Research Tutor for Clinical Psychology at the University of Birmingham, where I work on the Clinical Psychology doctoral training programme and run the MRes Clinical Psychology course. All of my research is collaborative. All of my collaborators have to be able to tolerate long digressions about the recent adventures of my children, and occasional blank looks while I try to remember which project is which.

Professor Michael Murray: Michael Murray is Professor of Social & Health Psychology and Head of the School of Psychology at Keele University. Prior to that, he worked at universities in England, Northern Ireland and Canada. He has written extensively on psychological approaches to our understanding of health and illness. His publications include Qualitative Health Psychology (with Chamberlain, 1999), Critical Health Psychology (2004), and Health Psychology: Theory, research, practice (with Marks, Evans and Estacio, 2010). He is currently working on projects to promote social inclusion among isolated older people using a range of creative activities. Some details can be found at www.keele.ac.uk/callme

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Professor Andrew Sparkes: Andrew is currently Professor of Sport, Physical Activity & Leisure in the Carnegie Faculty at Leeds Metropolitan University. His research interests are grounded in methodological diversity and inspired by a continuing fascination with the ways that people experience different forms of embodiment over time in a variety of contexts. Recent work has focused on interrupted body projects (e.g., catastrophic spinal cord injury) and the narrative reconstruction of self; ageing bodies in sport and physical activity contexts; sporting auto/biographies and body-self-culture relationships; and sensual ways of knowing and being in sport, physical activity and leisure. These interests are framed by a desire to develop interpretative forms of understanding via the use of life history, ethnography, autoethnography, and narrative approaches. Andrew's work is nomadic in nature, operating across disciplinary boundaries and flourishing in the fertile spaces between them. Whilst respecting traditions he seeks to trouble standard notions of method and aspires to represent lived experience using a variety of genres.

Andrew has published extensively on these topics in international peer reviewed journals and contributed numerous chapters to leading texts in the field. He is co-author of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health: From Process to Product (2014. London: Routledge), and is a co-editor of Advances in Biographical Methods: Creative Applications (London: Routledge) which is due out in 2014. Andrew is editor of the British Sociological Association Auto/Biography Yearbook and serves on the advisory/editorial boards of 10 international journals.

Professor Carla Willig: Carla Willig is Professor of Psychology and Research co-ordinator for the Counselling Psychology Programme at City University London. Professor Willig's research interests include qualitative research methodology and its application to health and counselling psychology research. She is interested in the relationship between discourse and health related practices. She is also interested in phenomenological research methods and the exploration of the meanings and quality of embodied experiences. This is linked to herinterest in existential approaches to psychotherapy and counselling.

A major theme in her work to date has been a concern with research methodology. She haspublished empirical and theoretical papers and book chapters concerned with epistemological and methodological questions. She is the editor of 'Applied Discourse Analysis. Social and Psychological Interventions' (1999) published by Open University Press and the author of the best- selling textbook 'Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology. Adventures in Theory and Method' (2001, 2008, Open University Press), a third edition of which is due to be published in 2013 (McGraw Hill/ Open University Press). She is the editor (with Wendy Stainton-Rogers) of the 'The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology' (2008).

Professor Willig's most recent book is concerned with the theoretical, practical and ethical challenges associated with the use of interpretation in qualitative research ('Qualitative Interpretation and Analysis in Psychology', 2012). Professor Willig is an associate editor of the Journal of Health Psychology. She is a member of the British Psychological Society including full membership of the Division of Health Psychology and the Division of Counselling Psychology. She is also registered with the Health Professions Council and is a member of the International Society of Critical Health Psychology.

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ABSTRACTS

Jo Alexander: “Witness” to violence? Agency and resistance in children’s accounts of domestic abuse. Authors: Jane Callaghan, Jo Alexander, Judith Sixsmith, Lisa Fellin

The review of academic literature on children in situations of domestic abuse clearly highlights their positioning as passive victims of adult violence. This literature positions children as damaged by violence, focusing very heavily on the pathological consequences of growing up with violence. While we acknowledge the negative impact that domestic abuse has on children’s lives, we believe that this dominant professional explanation tells only a partial story, and one that can have a negative and unintended consequence for work with children and families. In particular, we argue these accounts constrain the articulation of more agentic and resistant subjectivities in children living with domestic violence. In this paper we explore how young people themselves talk about their experiences and how they cope in situations of domestic abuse, articulating how they are able to find strategies of resistance, how they are able to be resilient, and how they actively cope with difficult family circumstances. The UNARS project involves individual interviews with 20 young people in 4 different European countries. Here we focus on interviews with participants in the UK, who have grown up with interpersonal violence. These interviews were analysed using Denzin’s (2008) Interpretive Interactionism. We explore the complex ways these young people have found to ‘cope’ with domestic abuse, finding both relational and personal strategies to manage domestic abuse, engaging in creative and intelligent tactics to maintain positive self-identities within a difficult and often painful family context. Findings from interviews will help inform training and therapeutic intervention programmes aimed at enhancing children’s capacity for resilience. Here we consider the potential impact of UNARS research on the health and social care provisions of the European regions we are working in.

Professional Background: Jo is a researcher based in the Centre for Children & Youth at the University of Northampton. She is currently working on a two-year European project led by Dr Jane Callaghan which explores children’s agency and resilience during and after living in situations of domestic abuse. Jo is also undertaking her PhD in the area of domestic abuse under the supervision of Dr Jane Callaghan and Dr Lisa Fellin.

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Mr. Turki Aziz Mohammed Al Osaimi Al Otaibi: Challenging Existing Views of the Role of School Counsellors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

There has been a sizeable amount of qualitative research that has been undertaken in relation to the roles, impacts, and perceptions of school or student counsellors in 'Western' countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. This type of research has often lauded the benefits of school counsellors, or positive attitudes of students and teachers towards school counselling and its conceptualisation. Yet there has been very little qualitative research of this type undertaken in developing countries, especially in countries with arguably more 'conservative', 'traditional', or 'closed' cultures such as Saudi Arabia. Consequently, this research study would aim to examine the role, effect, perceptions, and attitudes towards school counsellors in Saudi Arabia. The research employed a qualitative research method of semi-structured interviews of student counsellors employed in Saudi secondary schools located in the Saudi city of Afif, and bolstered by quantitative questionnaires completed by a sample of Saudi head teachers and student counsellors. The research found that Saudi student counsellors faced a number of difficulties preventing them from effectively carrying out student counselling duties. These included negative perspectives of student counsellors by head teachers, teachers, parents, students, and even student counsellors themselves. The research also found that there was a severe lack of understanding regarding the role of student counsellors, as well as a distinct lack of cooperation from teachers and parents influenced by Saudi cultural traditions. Other problems included student counsellors being unqualified, given insufficient training, or being given work beyond their expected roles. This research would therefore seek to propose new and dynamic initiatives which would dare to challenge existing negative personal and cultural views of school counsellors in Saudi schools, and positively influence their role in Saudi schools going forwards.

Professional Background: Mr. Turki Aziz Mohammed Al Osaimi Al Otaibi is the Director of the Student Counselling Programme at the Education Department Afif, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also has 17 years of professional experience in educational and school counselling roles, an M.Sc. degree in Educational Counselling and Psychology, Nottingham University (With Merit) and a B.Sc. degree in Social Sciences from Teachers' College Makah, Saudi Arabia (with Distinction and Honour).

Ros Annett: A mid- stage presentation of research based on an Art Therapy Case Study

This presentation is a visual record of a Case Study research paper currently in preparation. The Case Study explores the effectiveness of art therapy as an intervention with a ten year old child with Charge Syndrome. For a child with hearing impairment, visual impairment and no speech, art therapy would not usually seem a viable intervention. This is effectively an extreme case and this paper is a heuristic exploration of the art therapy relationship and experience

Professional background: Ros Annett is a practising Art Therapist and a Senior Lecturer on the MA Art Therapy programme at the University of Chester.

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Dr. Jan Bailey: Participatory research and the social engagement of older people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

This paper focuses on participatory action research (PAR), drawing examples from a Keele University project, Community Action in Later Life – Manchester Engagement (CALL-ME), to illustrate how the approach operates in practice. CALL-ME explored the role community engagement and different types of community action - arts, exercise and gardening - have in promoting active ageing. CALL-Me was funded by the New Dynamics of Ageing programme, which is a pan research council initiative.

PAR is not a research method per se, rather it is an approach to research rooted in activism and the work of Kurt Lewin and Paulo Friere. Hence, it is more concerned with empowering marginalised people than generating traditional academic outputs. The overarching aims are to produce change or an improvement to the issue being researched and to up skill people to ensure that change is sustainable and they are able to address future issues. PAR accommodates myriad research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, and is driven by people who are stakeholders in what is being researched and who will be affected by the outcome. It is a joint process, thus every stage is collaborative with participants being viewed as co-researchers.

The examples used in the presentation to illustrate PAR relate to community gardening projects undertaken with older people living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood of Manchester. The presentation explores the development of the gardening projects from the first meetings between the researchers and the community through to when the researchers left the field. There was evidence that the older people involved in the gardening projects had increased levels of socialisation, confidence and wellbeing, and became more actively involved in other activities. What went well and the challenges faced by the research team and the local people are explored.

Professional Background: Jan has a PhD in Sociology from Keele University, an MSc in Health Psychology and a BSc in Psychology. Her areas of interest include quality of life, especially that of older people, the self over the life course, cross-cultural research and health inequality. Jan currently works as a researcher at the University of Chester in the Faculty of Health and Social Care.

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Dr. Ruth Basten: Interlinking the circles: using narratives in research as both a storyteller and a story analyst.

This paper looks at the making of my recently completed PhD thesis entitled The Circle of Life: Narrative, performativity and ageing in Peter Cheeseman’s documentary dramas Fight for Shelton Bar! and Nice Girls.

The paper will discuss how I engage an interdisciplinary way of working using a complex bricolage style of analysis to explore what narratives of the life-course reveal about ageing and intergenerational relations in two documentaries as well as discovering what impacts being involved with the Vic/New Vic documentaries have on individuals’ lives and their engagement with their community. The research uses different types of narrative: narratives taken from a study of the documentaries themselves; narratives as seen through the archive, which include alternative stories and discourses to those which shaped the finished documentaries; and contemporary narratives gathered from performers and original participants from both documentaries. The paper will discuss how my research innovates methodologically by presenting the contemporary narratives in the form of dramatic scripts, with analytical commentaries, with source analyses taken from an in-depth exploration of the Victoria theatre archive.

The paper will also discuss how presenting the narratives as dramatic scripts enabled me to use both narrative analysis and analysis of narrative (Polkinghorne 1995) and to become both a storyteller and a story analyst (Smith and Sparkes 2008). This way of working is purposely designed to be evocative, to engage both emotionally and intellectually at each stage of the journey and in the sense making process (Rambo-Ronai 1995). In using dramatic scripts to present the narratives of my participants I link their experiences, highlighting ambiguities and complexities and acknowledge art’s ability to express meaning rather than to state meaning allowing the audience/reader to come to their own conclusions and find their own resonances with the narratives

Professional Background: Ruth Basten initially trained in theatre (stage management and lighting design) gaining an MA in theatre studies in 1990. She then went on to work as a stage manager, production manager and lecturer. In 2007 Ruth embarked on the counselling certificate at Keele and completed an MSc in Counselling Psychology at Keele University in 2009 gaining a distinction. She was then awarded an ESRC funded studentship to work alongside the Keele interdisciplinary project: Ages and Stages: The place of theatre in representations and recollections of ageing, which ran from 2009 – 2011. Ruth successfully defended her thesis at her Viva in January 2014 and is currently making minor corrections before being awarded her PhD. She works as a Counsellor in South Cheshire, running a small private practise.

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Ann Beynon and David Schaller: Structured Time for Reflection in Education Developing a Narrative based model of Evaluation.

Taking time to process and reflect on the experience of creating effective learning relationships does not come easily or automatically to teachers or leaders in education. Crossing the boundary between focusing on directed and targeted goals and responding to the creative potential in the development of students’ learning can be challenging on all fronts.

Structured Time for Reflection, STR, creates a space to bridge this boundary, offering staff the opportunity to reflect on their school based experience, on their own terms and their own agenda.

In an age of evidence based practice we are now exploring ways of evaluating Structured Time for Reflection, STR, a model of supervision in educational settings. How do we capture and assess the essence of the reflective process which we believe can make a difference to teachers’ well- being and their creative and developmental practice?

In two current pilot projects in a Primary and Secondary School, we are basing our evaluation on a narrative research model. We hope to maximise the opportunity for the teachers to create and maintain a narrative of their experience, using this as a basis for an open and shared discussion with the head teachers.

In this workshop we will consider the proposed model of research through a parallel scenario; creating the opportunity for participants to experience and evaluate the teachers’ role in a STR session, within the overall purpose of this initiative.

Professional Backgrounds:

Ann Beynon developed the concept, model and practice of non- management supervision in education during her work with teachers and teaching assistants in a local authority Teacher Advisory Service. In 2003 she completed a master’s degree in Counselling, Training and Supervision, focusing her narrative research on an evaluation of a model of therapeutic supervision offered to groups of counsellors and teachers. Her current initiative, as Director of Communication Now, is focusing on ways of evaluating the delivery of Structured Time for Reflection, STR, in a County Primary and Secondary School.

Dave Schaller recently retired as head teacher at Cotmanhay Junior School Derbyshire after 17years. His previous teaching and head teaching experience was in six primary schools in both London and Derbyshire, plus two years teaching in the Middle East. Cotmanhay is a medium size school and had the highest statistical deprivation in Derbyshire, providing over 50 % of the pupils with free school meals.

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Angela Blanchard: A Labour of Love: the lived experience of a heuristic MSc dissertation

This study was prompted by an awareness that there was something within me that didn’t fit; a vague thought that had been filed away for further consideration at a later date. I value integrity, so it bothered me that there was an aspect of myself that I wasn’t fully aware of. The gap in existing knowledge that I sought to fill then, was a chink in my own self-knowledge.

I chose the heuristic approach because that seemed best suited to my desire to plumb my own depths, to ‘get to the bottom of’ my uneasiness about the mis-match between something I felt and what I showed the world.

I approached the research project as a cognitive academic exercise, yet quickly found myself in the grip of something much more organic and feelings-driven, and in this presentation I aim to convey something of that phenomenon by relating it to the experience of pregnancy, labour and birth.

Professional Background: After 17 years of using person-centred counselling skills for a major UK pregnancy and childbirth charity while my children were growing up, I decided it was time to develop my counselling career further and chose the full-time route to the Counselling Psychology MSc at Keele University. This enabled me to add working with children (play therapy) and male offenders, as well as general GP-referral counselling clients, to my previous experience of working with predominantly mothers-to-be and new mothers. It also introduced me to research, which is my new Best Thing, and has inspired me to start a PhD here at Keele.

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Jeanne Broadbent and Dr. Rita Mitz: ‘The space between: exploring the complex relational dynamics existing between participant, researcher and supervisor in a qualitative research study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis’.

The participant-researcher relationship in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis is central to the analytic process of interpretation and sense-making that aims to reveal the essence of the phenomenon studied as exemplified by participants’ individual experiences. As a qualitative research methodology IPA is theoretically underpinned by phenomenology, hermeneutics and idiography. The idiographic, case-by-case approach adopted by IPA involves the researcher in an iterative and dynamic process of engagement with, and immersion in the participant’s experience. It is an interpretative process fundamental to which is the employment of the ‘hermeneutic circle’ which involves the researcher in a constant moving between part and whole in order to illuminate aspects of the participant’s experiencing. Smith, Flowers & Larkin (2009) suggest that this process represents a ‘double hermeneutic’ in which the researcher is attempting to make sense of the participant’s sense-making of their own experience.

Intersecting with this relationship is the interaction between researcher and academic supervisor in which the participant could be described as being ‘present in absence’. This presentation aims to explore the dynamics of the ‘space between’ each of these actors on the stage of a research study, and will consider how the supervisory relationship provides a forum for discussion, understanding and illumination that enables the researcher to move forward with the analysis. To illustrate this dynamic, extracts from a case study from the researcher’s PhD on the impact of traumatic bereavement on therapists’ personal and professional identity will be used as an example. This will demonstrate how the interaction between researcher and supervisor, combined with IPA’s idiographic approach, provided a key moment of insight into the analytic process and freed the researcher from an analytic ‘impasse’. Wider implications of the triadic relationship will also be explored, with the aim of enabling reflection on how the creative tension in the ‘space between’ can contribute to the research process.

Professional Backgrounds:

Jeanne Broadbent is a [qualified] humanistic counsellor.  She is a volunteer member of a hospice Bereavement Services Team and also has a small private practice. She is currently in the final year of a full time PhD in the Department of Social Studies and Counselling at the University of Chester.  Her doctoral study combines Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Narrative Analysis to explore the experiences of personal traumatic bereavement on therapists' professional development and practice.

Dr. Rita Mintz is a Senior Lecturer in Counselling in the Department of Social Studies and Counselling at the University of Chester. She is the Programme Leader for the M.A. in Counselling Studies, dissertation supervisor and Chair of the department’s Ethics Committee. She has a strong interest in the complex dynamics of the research supervisory process and is aware of the many challenges facing novice researchers. Rita, who originates from New York, has wide ranging experience as a counsellor, trainer, researcher and supervisor. She has a particular interest in Phenomenological methodology.

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Dr. Kirsty Budds: “It was all about your age and nothing else”: women negotiating the ‘risks’ of ‘delayed’ motherhood

Over the past few decades, the number of women having their first babies over the age of 35 in most developed societies has steadily increased. Concerns about what has been termed ‘delayed motherhood’ have been raised by health professionals who warn that health risks to both mother and baby increase with advancing maternal age. As such, women having their first babies over 35 are positioned as ‘at risk’ of a variety of different complications. Using semi-structured interviews with eleven ‘older mothers’ and through applying a critical discursive approach to discourse analysis, this paper explores how women managed and negotiated the subject position of being ‘at risk’.

The findings demonstrate that the notion that the risks to mother and baby increase with advancing maternal age was well understood by the women, who were also aware of their positioning as ‘at risk’. The women could be seen to resist this positioning by drawing upon two interpretative repertoires. A contingent repertoire was employed to present risk as something dependent on the individual as opposed to being a fait accomplis for ‘older’ mothers, whilst a normality repertoire enabled women to construct their pregnancies as ‘normal’, as ‘nothing out of the ordinary’ and, as such, to construct any concerns about risk as unnecessary. Given the risks associated with ‘older’ mothers, these findings enable an understanding of how risk is understood, negotiated and resisted by this growing group of women

Professional background: Kirsty Budds is currently a Lecturer in Psychology at Keele Uni-versity, UK. Her broad research interests are in gender, health and parenting. Most recently she has been interested in understanding discourses and ideologies of motherhood and how they may impact upon women's experiences as new mothers.

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Sharon Corbett: Picture this….

We all have stories that make up who we are today; they validate our existence and bring us to this point in time. But where will your story take you now?

WORKSHOP

Activity based workshop. Max 20 people

If you are attending this workshop please bring a photograph of something that inspires you.

OUTLINE

Developed by Sharon Corbett and now in its fourth year PICTURE THIS... is a combined arts project integrating photography and creative life writing to empower young people to consider how they might achieve their ambitions in the future. Using disposable cameras to represent life and story to validate and authenticate their sense of self, pupils participated in a series of activity based workshops based around the themes of aspiration, inspiration and motivation.

This workshop will involve participants in some of the activities from the PICTURE THIS... project, providing the chance for them to think about their own aspirations and the opportunity to write their story.

Professional Background: Sharon Corbett, a former graduate of Keele University and a previous social worker, has been working at PINGOART since 2005. She delivers motivational workshops to local community groups such as Cheshire Carers and to staff development days, as well as working with schools, colleges and universities on projects to boost self- confidence, self- worth and self- belief.

Sharon would welcome additional work opportunities to further her research.

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Jane Darougar: Can we make a difference to the educational outcomes of looked-after young people by understanding their experiences of, and possible participation in, exclusion from groups?

Looked-after children are between eight and nine times more likely to be excluded from school than all children. It is generally accepted that the impact of school exclusion on a child is significant both in terms of their relationships with peers and teachers and their educational attainment. An example of the differential in educational attainment is provided in government statistics showing that only 12% of looked-after children achieve five GCSE grades A-C compared to 59% of all children.

Using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis I am exploring looked-after young people’s experiences of belonging to groups: family, in education, peer and work groups. I am particularly interested in whether the participants experience being taken into care as an exclusion from their family group and how this impacts upon their membership of subsequent groups: if there is a reluctance to attach and a tendency to position them where exclusion is likely. I am curious as to whether the young people identify a pattern and if there is a compulsive re-enactment of the earlier traumatic exclusion.

My hope is that if such a pattern exists, that raising awareness of the patterns amongst both the young people themselves and also their teachers may make a difference. Knowledge of group processes is not part of teacher training even though their working careers are almost exclusively conducted in groups. If young people who compulsively position themselves in the excluded role could be identified and supported to explore alternative ways of relating it may result in different outcomes.

I am interested in what else may emerge through the interviews. It is clear that continuous attendance in schools and colleges represents a significant protective factor in their lives. Difficulty in maintaining membership of some groups such as learning or social groups may increase the likelihood of membership of dysfunctional groups such as gangs.

Professional Background: I have been a counsellor in Further Education and Sixth Form in London for 13 years. As well as counselling I have taught on a variety of counselling courses and workshops. I have had one publication: Tackling Anger Across an Institution, in the Association of University and College Counsellors Journal, May 2010. I am deeply committed to widening participation in education as a means of challenging social exclusion. I have a particular interest in the emotional barriers to learning. I am currently exploring the experiences of looked after young people in a sixth form environment as part of my MA in Working with Groups at the Tavistock. My initial training was in Gestalt, although I have subsequently trained in Person-Centred Art Therapy Skills and Understanding the Dynamics of Attachment for Professional Care-Givers with Dr Una McCluskey.

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Lois de Cruz: Reaching for the moon: a reflection on my PhD journey

Reaching for the MoonThe moon and you appear to beSo near and yet so far from meAnd here am I on a night in JuneReaching for the moon and you.

I wonder if we'll ever meetMy song of love is incompleteI'm just the words, looking for the tuneReaching for the moon and you.

I'm just the words, looking for the tuneReaching for the moon and you.Irvine Berlin

In the spirit of a dynamic qualitative research conference I want to explore in this paper some creative ways of presenting my research on women’s experience of miscarriage and my own research journey. The initial idea for this paper came after I took part in a workshop on the use of the Six Part Story (Ayalon & Lahad, 1992). I found myself drawing a small black cat who had to undertake a long and hazardous expedition in search of the moon and I saw in this an analogy for the experience of miscarriage and my own research journey.

My focus here is to describe the way I have used stories, music, images and poetry to support my reflexive process throughout my research journey. I will look at my use of bracketing interviews, particularly the first interview (Tufford & Newman, 2012), my data analysis using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 2009) and the presentation of my results and consider the personal impact of undertaking this type of sensitive research.

Professional Background: Lois was recently appointed as a Lecturer in Counselling Psychology at Keele University. For the past four years she has been working part-time on her PhD researching into women’s perceptions of their experience of miscarriage many decades after the event. Her supervisor is Dr Maggie Robson.

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Dr. Helena Enright: Theatre of Testimony: turning Qualitative Inquiry Into Theatre

Since the ‘performative turn’ in the seventies there has been an increased interest in the use of theatre as an effective tool for disseminating and transferring knowledge in the social sciences. Over the last decade award winning playwright, Dr Helena Enright, has been writing, directing and performing theatre created from the words of real people. Her plays have dealt with subjects such as cancer, death, domestic violence, road fatalities and war and in 2011 she co-founded Viva Voce with Dr Jessica Beck, a company dedicated to creating artistic experiences from the words of real people.  In this workshop, she invites you to explore various ways of turning interview transcripts into theatre and consider some of the challenges, both ethical and theatrical, that this type of work presents. As part of the workshop you will consider the value of the testimony and explore ways in which it can be attended to while simultaneously harnessing the communicative and evocative nature of theatre. You will consider the interview as a site of meaning making and production and how this can be reflected in your dramaturgical choices.  This workshop is particularly suitable for social scientists, researchers and ethnographers wishing to gain an insight into the practicalities and benefits of translating the data gathered through their fieldwork into theatre.

Professional Background: Dr Helena Enright is a freelance theatre practitioner with over fifteen years’ experience working in theatre. Co-artistic director of the recently founded Viva Voce, a company which aims to create artistic experiences through the words and memories of real people, she is also a founder member of Irish-based theatre company Amalgamotion. She currently works as a part-time tutor at the University of Exeter and also as a writer, director and actor in theatre. She has also taught and facilitated a wide variety of outreach, community and school projects in Ireland and more recently the United Kingdom.

Dr Emee Vida Estacio: Qualitative research and social impact: what can we learn from action research?

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Qualitative research has the potential to contribute to positive social change by providing rich, in-depth and context-specific information on a particular issue. However, for qualitative research to make meaningful and sustainable impact, we need to move beyond the confines of academia and to engage more in dialogue and action with relevant stakeholders. This paper aims to explore what qualitative researchers could learn from action researchers to strengthen the social impact of their work. It draws upon the author’s experiences as a qualitative, community-based action researcher over the past 12 years. It will highlight some of the skills and characteristics qualitative researchers already have and how these can be utilised to promote impact. It will also discuss examples of creative methods to actively engage participants (e.g., World Café and Photovoice) and the importance of involving partners and relevant stakeholders in the research and dissemination process. Opportunities and barriers to impact will also be discussed and some ideas on how to address these.

Professional Background: Dr Emee Vida Estacio is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Keele University.  She is a community and health psychologist who specialises in health literacy, action research and community development.  

Stephen Paul Ferris: ‘From a cage of fear to a field of freedom and gold’: a heuristic inquiry into the human phenomenon of perfectionism

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This heuristic investigation explores my own experience of perfectionism using the heuristic methodology as espoused by Moustakas (1990). The focus of this internal qualitative study is to address the following four research questions: (1) What is my perception of perfectionism? (2) What does perfectionism look like to me? (3) Where do I perceive perfectionism to come from? (4) Is it a friend or a foe to me? To help inform my investigation, three participants agreed to share in this inquiry based on his/her individual experience of the phenomenon. The data was collected using the same general interview approach with each participant. As lead researcher, I participated in two bracketing interviews to explore my own experience of perfectionism. The data was analysed following the phases of the heuristic process, including focussing, indwelling and the internal frame of reference. This generated several rich and original depictions of perfectionism using words, themes, images and metaphors, which were then examined in light of the research literature on the phenomenon. In respect of the four research questions, I found that I perceived perfectionism as both a defence and a coping mechanism. The images of a cage and a cloak represent perfectionism for me, a phenomenon which has restricted my freedom and growth. Perfectionism came from my sense of shame. Initially, I had considered perfectionism to be a friend but I now believe perfectionism to be a foe. I also experienced personal growth and healing from this heuristic investigation into perfectionism. Furthermore, I believe that this inquiry has a social significance and implications for those involved in the counselling profession, for parents, teachers, educationalists and healthcare workers, as to the force perfectionism can become in a person’s life.

Professional Background: Educational background - primarily schools (primary & secondary sector) in both a pastoral and a teaching role; Part-time tutor at QUB, Belfast – focus of delivery, ‘The Psychology of Loss’; Currently, working as a Psychological Well-Being Practitioner at EWISS in Stafford; Currently, a full-time PhD student (Heuristic Research) at Keele University.

Dr. Julie Green: Nurse-patient consultations in leg ulcer care – do patients disclose their concerns?

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Aim: This research project explored the lived experiences of patients with chronic venous leg ulceration using qualitative approaches to ascertain the factors that impacted on their quality of life (QoL) and assessed the extent to which these areas were covered during current consultations.

Methods: The patients of two District Nursing teams were sampled. Unstructured interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and simultaneously analysed. Themes raised as significant were incorporated into an observation checklist which was used to assess the extent and depth of exploration of these areas during the current consultations for the same participants.

Results: A number of key themes were identified including the dominance of pain; the distressing nature of exudate and odour; impaired mobility; difficulties maintaining personal hygiene and limited choices of attire. Missed opportunities dominated interviews; participants were embarrassed, ashamed and depressed due to their ulceration. Observations revealed that important themes were not raised or were overlooked during their consultations. Analysis revealed that the checklist items, although emphasised as important to participants, were not raised by either the patient or their nurse on 38% of occasions.

Conclusions / Discussion: The results revealed that participants had concerns far beyond their actual wound care. The observations demonstrated that these themes were not raised by the participant during their consultation or, when they were raised, were not dealt with effectively by the consulting nurse. The reasons for this lack of attention can only be postulated but the development and pilot of a ‘model consultation template’ aims to improve patient centredness of future consultations.

Professional Background: Julie Green has been a Lecturer in Nursing here at Keele since 2003 and prior to this she was a District Nursing Sister in the local area for a number of years. Julie has just completed her PhD with funding from the local Health Authority which has focussed on exploring patient centredness within clinical consultations for patients with chronic venous leg ulceration. Julie plans to continue to focus her research on engaging patients in the self- management of their conditions utilising a partnership approach to consultations between patients and clinicians. Julie was nominated for the British Journal of Nursing Tissue Inability Nurse Award 2014, presented in London on the evening of 21st March.

Dr Valerie Hall: Using peer observations as a platform for developing expert students and enabling student voice

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From the perspective of the student, the teaching staff and the organisation, how do you make an ‘expert’ student and in doing so, how might this make for a ‘better’ teacher and learning experience? The session will begin with an introduction to the research, which involved students as partners in the peer observation process; this will include exploration of the methodological approach chosen and relevant policy drivers: this was a qualitative study using an action research approach and primarily used semi-structured interviews as a basis for phenomenological inquiry.

The session will move on to an initial discussion of current practice amongst delegates at an individual participant/organisational level. Activities will then develop around the four key research questions: Why do we ask our students to tell us what they think? For whose benefit and to what purpose? How do students’ self-perceptions influence their involvement with student voice initiatives? What are the issues around language, locus of power, tensions and conflict? What are the implications for practice?

The research considered these questions against two main theoretical frameworks - communities of practice and ecological learning systems: as a result of the research a new ‘continuum of practice’ was devised to inform the data analysis. In addition, theoretical concepts around self-perceptions and self-concept, and the potential for these to impact on a student’s perceived trajectory/ies were also used to add depth to the research and recommendations for practice.

Participants will be challenged to consider the implications of these theoretical frameworks and concepts in relation to their own teaching and learning contexts, their students and their organisations: this will enable reflection across micro, meso, exo and macro levels and to pose the question: “What can I do to involve my students in knowledge partnerships?”

Professional Background:  Dr Valerie Hall, Professional Development Manager, Staffordshire University.

With over twenty years in a variety of post-compulsory teaching and learning environments, I have always been interested in how identities are created and influenced by an individual’s social and personal contexts.  My research was part of an Ed.D. completed at the end of 2012 and focused on how such identities impact on, and are impacted by, an individual’s perceived trajectory as a learner and how this has the potential to influence capacity to engage with learning and development opportunities.  My current post provides opportunities to engage with a wide range of individuals, including delivery of a post-graduate certificate in higher and professional education to academic staff.  Currently, I am working with colleagues in the University who are participating in a pilot peer observation programme based around the original research.  A forthcoming publication will be available in May of this year as part of SAGE’s Research Methods Cases collection.

Holly Hamer: Service transformation in children’s services: daring to go where no research has gone before

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This paper reports on the qualitative elements of an evaluation of the Midlands and East Mental Health and Wellbeing project, a service transformation project focused on embedding principles of evidence based practice, routine outcomes monitoring and young people’s involvement in Children’s Mental Health Services across the region.

NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) across the UK are – like many other welfare services- being hard-hit by the pressures faced by the NHS’s continuing efforts to deal with increasing demand and stretched resources. With this belt being stretched even tighter with the “Nicholson Challenge”, healthcare services are looking to transform the way they operate to maximise efficiency savings and improve patient outcomes. This has significant implications for the delivery of mental health, counselling and psychotherapeutic services for children and young people.

The national Children and Young People Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP IAPT) programme began in the UK in 2011, with the aim of transforming CYP’s mental health services by implementing session by session outcome monitoring, embedding and further developing evidence led practice, focusing on broadening access to young people and improving the participation of children and young people in service planning, development and implementation. 

This study explores 14 projects across the Midlands and East of England which are seeking to implement the principles of CYP IAPT into their services. This study has particular focus on three case study projects: Service Transformation; Workforce development through collaboration with voluntary sector organisations Service Transformation; Developing a single point of entry to CAMHS Working with Service Users to implement routine outcome monitoring

This paper reports on a series of focus groups conducted with both NHS and voluntary sector staff involved in the project. These focus groups were analysed thematically (Braun and Clarke, 2004) to explore the experience of service transformation for staff taking part in the project. This analysis highlights the challenges and successes, impact on roles and professional identities, changing structures, and the experience of transformation for those within the system.

This study is the first to explore CYP IAPT principles in service transformation, meaning this study is providing new insights into the impact of service change on the staff working within this system. This enables us to reflect on the way that staff experience and respond to pressures of transformation, and the challenges and opportunities that arise in this process.

Professional Backgrounds: Holly Hamer, BA (hons), MRes. Researcher, The University of Northampton: Holly has been a researcher at the University of Northampton since August 2013 working on the Midlands and East Mental Health and Wellbeing Project. Previous roles include Co-ordinator for the NIHR CLAHRC for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, working in partnership with the University of Leicester to promote the translation of research evidence into practice and engagement of NHS staff in research activity.Dr Jane Callaghan, C Psychol, BA, BA(Hons), PG Dip, MSoc Sci, PhD Associate Professor, Psychology, The University of Northampton: Jane's academic interests are broad ranging, but her work covers issues relating to mental health, professional identities, race, gender, class and ethnicity, migration, and violence. Her main current research project

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is the European Commission funded Daphne project "Understanding Agency and Resistance: Children in Situations of Domestic Violence". She is also leading the evaluation of the Midlands and East Mental Health and Wellbeing Project. In addition, she is developing evaluation mechanisms for local charity Norpip, and for a project focused on developing a counsellor network in CAMHS. Smaller projects include a focus on online interactions and subjectivities in online spaces, family and friendship relationships, and the discursive analysis of health and social policy, and political speeches. Jane has led the MSc in Child and Adolescent Mental Health for more than a decade, and works closely with local CAMHS to support service development and delivery.

Jasmine Hearn: The biopsychosocial experience of chronic pain in spinal cord injured outpatients: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Objectives: Chronic neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition, present in the majority of the SCI population, often worsening upon discharge. This

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experience may be mediated by its meaning to the sufferer. Due to deficits in the literature base, the aim of this study was to explore the SCI outpatient experience of chronic neuropathic pain.

Design: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed in an in-depth study of a small sample of SCI outpatients, in order to explore the patient experience. This approach is also recommended to complement the existing quantitative literature.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight SCI outpatients with chronic neuropathic pain. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to IPA.

Results: Three themes emerged from the data: the chasm between biomedical perspectives and patient beliefs and needs, the battle for ultimate agency in life, and the coexistence of social cohesion and social isolation.

Conclusions: In relation to ‘the chasm’, participants voiced concerns regarding the excessive reliance upon insufficient medication, a loss of faith in healthcare professionals, and a lack of input into their own care. ‘The battle’, mediated by acceptance, involved participants winning or losing a battle for life control. With regard to ‘the coexistence’, participants voiced feeling united with other SCI patients, but isolated from the non-understanding able-bodied population. They also considered their pain as an affliction upon friends and family, choosing not to talk about their pain, or withdrawing from social situations. Each is discussed in relation to relevant constructs and literature

Professional Background: I am a current PhD student, in my second year of study, at The University of Buckingham. My specialist area of study is chronic neuropathic pain (nerve pain) after spinal cord injury (SCI). I have recently finished my first Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study, exploring the experiences of chronic neuropathic pain outpatients with SCI, and I am currently replicating this study with an inpatient population, after which I plan to compare experiences. This research is intended to supplement current SCI pain management and inform multidisciplinary pain management programmes. The research will also be published.

Dr John R Hegarty and Mrs Janet Heath: Nature as co-therapist: nature-guided therapy for counsellors and therapists

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This workshop shares experiences from 5 years of our development work on the idea that “Nature” can have a dynamic role in the personal growth we aim to encourage in our therapy-participants.

We were inspired by published accounts of using Nature in therapy, by the writings of poets such as Wordsworth, by personal accounts of transcendental moments in natural places, and by our own research findings; so much so, that we felt counsellors and therapists would welcome the opportunity to learn ways to incorporate Nature ethically and safely in their work. And thus, a three-day continuing and professional development (CPD) course, endorsed by BACP, was born.

In the workshop we give a taste of the idea of “nature as co-therapist” with some tasty “nature-connecting” exercises and we share highlights of the work of over 60 people who have taken our course.

Professional Backgrounds:

John is a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Keele University. John’s research is in people’s experiences of nature-connectedness and its role in self-healing, and he runs the charitable project “Green Age” at his farm in Market Drayton, which aims to develop people’s health and wellbeing through contact with Nature.

Janet has her own private practice in the Macclesfield area (Janet Heath Counselling and Environmental Therapy) and uses Nature as an element in her work in cancer support. She also has a long-standing interest in dowsing, and is a keen artist.

Dr. John Hegarty (Jasha Tylman, Katie Wright-Bevans and Michael Murray): “I want a man”: older people as life-story volunteers with university students

“Life story work” has an established pedigree in research and therapy with many client groups. However, little has been published on its potentially valuable role in professional education. This article describes a narrative appraisal of a new undergraduate module for year 1 and 2 psychology students at Keele University, UK.

Called “Psychology and Community Action”, the module gives students a supported and structured opportunity to work with a care/support organisation in a community setting. Tenants in a supported living complex for older people near the university are invited “to volunteer to help students with their psychology studies”. This entails allowing the students, over several meetings, to record parts of their life story and compile them into a book, and a poster. These are for the volunteer to keep, and the posters are additionally displayed at a festive coffee morning for other tenants to share in the project. The students additionally keep a logbook of visits, and write an essay on the supporting literature for life-story work which are submitted in a portfolio for the module assessment.

Using a narrative methodology framework, four perspectives on the project were gathered from participants in the first module cohort when four students and their older volunteers produced life stories from the older volunteers, the students, the module tutors, and the

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liaison support staff at the residence. The rationale for taking these four viewpoints was that the potential benefits of the project differed slightly for each of the “stakeholder” groups.

The evaluation shows a powerfully positive reception of the project by all stakeholders. Students valued the opportunity to work professionally with older people in a community setting. Volunteers enjoyed sharing significant moments of their lives and greatly valued their books and posters. The tutors felt that the educational objectives of the module were fulfilled, and the residence saw tremendous value in the “inter-generational” visits by younger people. Of course, these are generalisations and there were lovely individual moments during the project: for example, a lady in her 90s wanted to volunteer and had a special request for “her” student: “I want a man”, she said.

Opportunities for psychology students to learn professional skills in a supportive way early in their university career are difficult to implement. The present project suggests a way to implement professional learning in a way that is valued equally by all the stakeholder groups.

Acknowledgements. The module was initiated and designed by John Hegarty and Michael Murray. Jasha Tylman carried out the narrative evaluation. Katie Wright-Bevans facilitated the student visits and contributed background literature.

Professional Background: John is a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Keele University. John’s research is in people’s experiences of nature-connectedness and its role in self-healing, and he runs the charitable project “Green Age” at his farm in Market Drayton, which aims to develop people’s health and wellbeing through contact with Nature.

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Dr. Jane Hunt: Transgender clients’ experiences of counselling: what do counsellors need to know?

Aim/Purpose: There is a significant gap in the literature regarding transgender people’s experiences of seeking and receiving counselling or psychotherapy within the UK outside of gender identity clinics. A recent systematic review identified that, excluding research relating to gender identity clinics or successful gender transition, there were only two papers relating to transgender clients’ experiences of counselling, both of which report research conducted in America which is not directly transferable to the UK (King et al. 2007). We therefore know little about when transgender clients seek therapeutic help, whom they seek help from, and what their experiences of counselling or psychotherapy are.

This paper will present findings from a research project investigating transgender people’s experiences of seeking and receiving counselling in the UK. The research has been funded by a BACP Seedcorn grant.

Design/Methodology: Data was collated via an online survey circulated to transgender support organisations and through six semi-structured follow up interviews. Survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006).

Results/Findings: The majority of participants sought counselling on two or more occasions and received from 2 to 12 sessions. Counselling was sought prior to transition or whilst coming out. The NHS or the private sector were the main source of counselling support. Participants sought counselling for a variety of reasons, but anxiety and depression, gender confusion, suicidal ideations, low self-worth, and isolation were significant factors. There are a range of issues participants perceive to have helped or hindered their experience of seeking and receiving counselling, but a therapeutic relationship in which they felt cared for and respected was key to a good therapeutic experience.

Conclusions/Implications: This research provides empirical evidence regarding transgender clients’ experiences of seeking and receiving counselling or psychotherapy within the UK. It should be of significant value to counselling practitioners working with this client population, and those involved in counselling training.

Professional background: Dr.Jane Hunt is the Director of Counselling Studies at Keele University. She has experience of working in a variety of counselling settings including Education, the NHS, Relate and in private practice. Jane received a BACP Seedcorn grant to carry out this research project.

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Alison Humphreys: Unleash your creativity: exploring creativity in research and counselling

An interactive, experiential workshop based on my qualitative research - “An Exploration of Resilience”.Using heuristic methods, I took risks to explore greater depths by using experiential and creative methods.This workshop will include opportunities to explore ways of facilitating deeper research through using creative methods such as artistic illustration, modelling, body positioning, writing and drawing with non-dominant hand and sensory experience. Ideas are drawn from personal experience of the potential of creativity to facilitate deeper understanding.I would like to share these methods with others and encourage the use of creativity in re -search (as well as in the counselling room) to challenge people to be courageous and al -low their imaginations to push the boundaries of their research enabling much deeper rev-elations. During my heuristic exploration of a personal experience of resilience, I made connections with my inner child through writing with my non-dominant hand. I experienced moments of illumination through creating salt dough models of her enabling the realisation that my un-conscious had been reaching out to me through poems written years ago. Drawings done with my non dominant hand connected me with “her” pain. I believe, had I not used such models, art, visual images and representations, I would not have explored as deeply. In fact, up to that point my research had felt somewhat empty. By using tangible, sensory manifestations of my reflections this took me to greater and more meaningful depths.It was always my intention to write a dissertation that could be shared. Having experienced the illuminating power of the use of creativity, I feel compelled to share with you and invite you to dare!

Workshop number: Maximum of 15 people. You are invited to bring something you would like to explore more deeply (e.g. A dream, research data, something that you are struggling with)

Professional Background: Alison Humphreys, MSc Counselling Psychology - studied at Keele University 2010-2013. I have many years of experience as a Health Professional in NHS. I am currently working with people with dementia and their carers for The Alzheimer’s Society and I also work independently as a Counsellor.

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Dr. Stephanie Hutton: IPA & the internet: the experience of accessing written accounts of recovery remotely

This paper will focus on the experience of accessing written accounts of recovery from traumatic childbirth using the internet (Hutton & Larkin, In prep.). The decision-making around utilisation of this method will be presented, along with the advantages and limitations it brought. Some examples of the different types of data that were submitted will be shared, along with reflections of what impact this had on the research outcome. Analysis of the stories of recovery using interpretative phenomenological analysis will be summarised, with a particular focus on how accessing the data via the internet may have impacted on the content of the stories. The shift from IPA being typically used for face-to-face interviews to analysing written content sent directly to the researcher will be discussed. Finally, a personal view on when this method may be appropriate will be described

Professional Background: Dr Hutton is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist in practice and Clinical Tutor / Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology on the Staffordshire & Keele Clinical Psychology Doctorate. Her main area of interest is parental mental health.

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Rowan Poppy Imolc: ‘Clients’ experiences of relational depth during counselling sessions; and how these experiences have influenced life outside the therapeutic relationship’

It has been found that on occasion the therapeutic relationship between counsellor and client can enter into identifiable moments of ‘relational depth’. Relational depth has been defined by Mearns and Cooper (2005, p.36) as,

“A state of profound contact and engagement between two people, in which each person is fully real with the Other, and able to understand and value the Other’s experiences at a high level.”

In my study, I used semi-structured interviews to collect clients’ descriptions of relational depth experiences. I also asked clients to explain if/how they thought the experience of relational depth had influenced their lives afterwards.

I used qualitative research methods to encourage a deep, thorough investigation into qualities and meanings of client experiences. I chose the method IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) to analyse experiences of relational depth because I found it particularly useful to engage with what often was interpreted as a major life experience. IPA also allowed me to focus on both the detail of individual experiences as well as to discover themes across the research. The participants were students from the Certificate, Diploma or Masters course at Keele University, who had undergone therapy at some time during their lives.

I mainly focussed on themes which had not yet been explored in other research papers on the subject. One major theme I found showed that one of two things happened in an experience of Relational Depth. Either the client would plunge into an insular experience of deep connection to aspects of ‘self’, the counsellor seeming to drift into the background; or the client would fall into a similar experience but instead, the counsellor would also be in the relational depth ‘bubble’, the client experiencing high levels of connection with both the counsellor as well as with aspects of their own being.

Professional Background: After living in Paris and working for the British Embassy on Social Policy issues, I decided that a more hands-on approach to supporting people would suit me best. I completed a Masters in Counselling Psychology at Keele in 2010/2011. After qualifying, I worked as a counsellor at Place2Be working with children, and at the Well Women Centre in Wakefield working with women. Last year, I started up a Private Practice as well as working part-time as a ‘Schools’ Therapist’ in Leeds. I also facilitate therapeutic groups in Wakefield for the Well Women Centre.

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Dr David Jackson: Living in the margins, researching the margins: an exploration of the war veteran’s narrative using auto-ethnographical multi-modal representations.

Witnessing is never a solitary act and implies relationships within the act. In the case of witnessing War, the relationship obligations can be as follows: ...to engage with constructions of truths; to engage in partial meaning-making; to be open to change; to tell others of the experience of witnessing; to explore any issues of ethics and care (Ropers-Huilman, 1999).

“The Living in the Margins” workshop will give the audience an opportunity to experience the act of witnessing three War Veteran Narratives, as well as opportunities to reflect upon, and discuss this intimate, ethical and evocative research with War Veterans.

The workshop will use life stories in its many forms, to help participants to negotiate and make sense of the social and cultural interactions of War Veterans. Accomplishment will be through the exploration of the personal and lived history of Tommy, a War Veteran, via an unstructured interview about his experiences of being a War Veteran in society. Participants will witness a War Veteran’s testimony, allowing reflection on the participants’ own representations of the War Veteran’s experience. The second part of the workshop will involve the witnessing of two War Veteran’s stories which will explore the social, cultural and individual expressions of War. The stories will explore memories, emotions and embodiments of combat and loss in a War, leading to insights into reconnections to loss, sacrifice and the psychological consequences of Combat. The performances are offered as alternative representations of the culturally identified scripts that have governed War Veterans’ identities.

The first narrative is called Feeling the Flatness and explores the narrative of a War Veterans’ manages PTSD. The second, Three Days Down South: A Story of Loss, is an auto-ethnographical multi-modal narrative in the medium of film, exploring the experience of returning to “War”, 25 years after, using remembrance and loss as a vehicle for this heartfelt, evocative narrative. Both narratives will challenge current thinking on how to best represent the voice of the war veteran.

Professional Backgrounds: Dr David Jackson is a former Royal Marine and during this time he served in Northern Ireland and the Falklands War. He was diagnosed with combat related PTSD, and after a medical discharge from the Royal Marines in 1995, David trained as a counsellor and a life coach and has, for 14 years, run a successful private practice. In 2010 David graduated from the University of Bristol completing his EdD. His dissertation was called Seven days Down South: A War Story and uses film, photos, poetic representation, song and artefacts, along with the narratives of war veterans. David is an expert in the social and cultural aspects of war veterans living within society. David is the Co-Director of Veteran to Veteran (Turning It Around) a Community Interest Company, which aims to better the lives of War Veterans, and their families, nationally. One of the many objectives is to further the understanding of the cultural and social difficulties for War Veterans within society. This is accomplished through a unique series of workshops, seminars, conferences, and research and publications.

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Mr Kevin Spruce. BA (Hons) Psych; MSc Couns. Psych; BACP (Reg Accred)’ BACP (CYP); MBPsS. Kevin is a former British Soldier and served in Northern Ireland (1976) and the Falkland Islands’ War (1982). He has suffered with the symptoms of combat stress. After a medical discharge from the Army in 1988, Kevin ran drop in centres for War Veterans, and eventually attended Keele University graduating in 1995 (Psychology and Black and Native American History and Literature). Kevin trained as a life and business coach in 2001, attending to Veterans. In 2010 he attended Keele University for his Counselling Masters Degree. Kevin’s dissertation was titled ‘Once a Soldier Always a Soldier’ a heuristic enquiry. Kevin also runs a successful local counselling practice, and works part time as a Prison Law Consultant. Kevin is carrying out research at Edinburgh Napier University into Identity Transition of Reservists War Veterans and vicarious trauma of family members. Kevin is the Co-Director of Veteran to Veteran (Turning It Around) a Community Interest Company.

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Dr. Sophia Kariotaki: Under the Shadow of Recession. A narrative exploration of young Greek graduates’ experience of recession

Since the recession has hit Greece, individuals have not only experienced financial loss but they have seen their whole life overhauled by the crisis. The purpose of this study is to explore how young Greeks who have recently graduated, or who are about to graduate, perceive their lives and futures at this time of severe economic crisis. More particularly, I tried to focus on their feelings about how the recession has impacted their lives and their feelings regarding their futures. Research has shown that during periods of recession, young individuals are affected the most and for that reason I chose this population as the target group of my research. Coming from the perspective of developmental and life-span theories, that in order to achieve healthy psychological development, individuals need to go through particular tasks during their life span, I was particularly interested to see how the recession has psychologically affected young individuals who, even though they have recently ended two of the main markers that identify their transition to adulthood (education and gaining a professional qualification) due to the recession they were unable to move to the stages which are employment and financial in-dependence. I wanted to listen to these individuals’ stories and see how they perceive their lives and futures and what their feelings are during the period of recession. The main themes that were identified from the stories are: ‘Their career choice and their hopes for employment prospects’, ‘Broken dreams and collecting the pieces’, ‘Impact of recession on the individual’, ‘Impact of recession on other aspects of their life’ and ‘Participants’ feelings about their future’. Presenting and exploring the participants’ stories I attempted to gain a better understanding and awareness of how the recession has impacted them psychologically, investigating their psychological needs and finding ways to support them. The realisation of the significant losses that were described by the participants drove the researcher to turn to bereavement counselling theory trying to identify ways to psychologically support individuals who experience similar losses and clinical interventions were suggested.

Professional Background: Dr. Sophia Kariotaki, DCounsPsych, MSc. I am a chartered counselling psychologist. I got my Master degree in Counselling Psychology from Keele University and I recently graduated from the University of Manchester with a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. I work as a family therapist in a charity organisation, supporting families that are facing a serious illness and bereavement and I have an independent private practice in South Manchester.

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Sara Llewellyn: Integration with Imagination; an exploration of relaxation and guided visualization in Person-Centred Counselling.

Aim /Purpose: To explore the value and feasibility of offering a directive therapy, hypnosis, within a non-directive person centred counselling relationship and to explore the viability of teaching clients a skill they may autonomously use to help themselves in everyday life.

This paper will present findings from a research project investigating the integration of directive and non-directive therapies and the viability of this as a basis for private practice.

Design/Methodology: Five participants received up to 6 sessions of Guided Visualisation. Data was collected from interviews, personal journals and questionnaires, from both participant and researcher/therapist experience. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and questionnaires.

Results/Findings: Most of the participants reported autonomous use of visualisation in times of stress for insomnia and when in pain with beneficial results. All participants experienced beneficial effects which extended into daily life. The therapist experience was generally positive.

Conclusions/Implications: This research provides evidence regarding the integration of directive and non-directive therapies and the usefulness of teaching a client a skill to promote autonomy. The therapist experience was positive and further training and research needs were identified. This research should be of value to counselling practitioners and those involved in counselling training.

Professional Background: Sara is a Person Centred Counsellor and Clinical hypnotist. She runs her private practise 'Love 2 Live Therapies' from her home in Barlaston, Staffordshire. Sara values the inclusion of creative therapy and nature therapy within both her counselling practice and daily life. She is currently undertaking training in creative therapies which she finds 'valuable, exciting and therapeutic'.

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Jonathan Lloyd: In a heuristic study of the experiences of therapists using metaphor in therapy.

Aim/Purpose: To explore heuristic methodology as applied to psychotherapy qualitative research.

Design/Methodology: In-depth face to face interviews were conducted with 7 therapists (counsellors and psychotherapists) in the UK for this Heuristic study. Ethical approval was obtained from The University of Manchester.

Results/Findings: In this workshop Jonathan Lloyd a year 5 professional doctorate student in counselling at The University of Manchester will discuss the heuristic methodology he used for his study into the use of therapeutic metaphor. Moustakas's model will be reviewed and contrasted with Sellla-Smith's Heuristic Self Inquiry model. The person centred and phenomenological aspects of this creative methodology will be reviewed along with recent neuroscience research which links intuition to periods of incubation and non-focusing. Polanyi's stance on tacit knowing will also be reviewed.

Professional Background: Jonathan Lloyd is a lecturer and counsellor and hypnotherapist in private practice. He is also completing his 6 year professional doctorate in counselling at The University of Manchester. He is researching the use of metaphors in therapy utilising a heuristic methodology. He is interested in creative aspects of therapy and research.

Professional Role: Professional Doctorate in Counselling student (Y5)Institution: The University of ManchesterContact details: Counselling Studies, The School of Education, Environment & Design, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester.

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Rachel Mallen: Empowering autoethnographic research: breaking through the barriers of bereavement.I dare to make an impact by challenging the conventional third person researcher stance with what continues to be a sensitive topic: bereavement. I propose a workshop exploring my experience of heuristic autoethnography during and post-research, exploring the impact of this professionally. I will use personal art images, representing my ‘immersion’ (Moustakas 1990) in my grief as follows:

‘Grief not allowed’ Black and white drawingGrief and spiritual experiences denied in personal therapy (c.f. Taylor 2005).

‘Fragmentation’ Self-portrait and The Painting of Death depicting a mind/body split throughout my grief.

‘Permission to grieve’ Walking Heart Showing vulnerability and grief. Challenging the academic guidelines, and restructuring them to reflect the reality of my grief experience; defying pre-determined categories (Worden 2009).

‘Integration post-dissertation’ The unveiling of the swanAcceptance; learning to live with loss.

Findings: I will discuss ‘autoethnographic life review’ (Ellis 2013) enabling a ‘coming to terms with the past’ for me, a researcher practitioner, resulting in increased depth of presence and empathy with grieving clients. I will consider self-reflexive research as an ethical responsibility and self-therapy for practitioners to minimise blocks when working with grieving clients.

I will explore the empowering impact of autoethnography facilitating the sharing of my story (Frank 1995; Wheeler 2007), thus giving a voice to grief and working towards acceptance and integration, challenging a ‘tick box mentality’ and ‘one size fits all’ approach to grief. This is reflected by my findings which emerged retrospectively in a cyclical process (c.f. Bhalla 2008).

I will consider death entailing gain as well as loss by incorporating personal and professional experiences of the continued presence of deceased loved ones in lives of the bereaved (Speedy 2013; Graves 2009). Furthermore, I aim to contribute to the wider discourse on mental attitudes towards grief and spirituality.

Professional Background: I studied a MA in Counselling & Psychotherapy at The University of Leeds, submitting my dissertation in July 2013. The methodology I used was heuristic autoethnography and I explored my personal and professional experiences of bereavement and associated spiritual phenomena. I currently work as a Counsellor/Psychotherapist at the Dove Bereavement Counselling Service in Hanley. I'm also an Associate Counsellor at Keele University Counselling and Emotional Wellbeing.

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Presenter: Ms. Abigail Methley,Authors: Professor Stephen Campbell, University of Manchester, Dr Sudeh Cheraghi-Sohi, University of Manchester, Professor Carolyn Chew- Graham, Keele University and University of Manchester: Living with Multiple Sclerosis: experiences of health care and symptom management

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological condition. People with MS require long-term contact with health care services, for management of both symptom exacerbations (relapses) and residual daily symptoms (which may be physical or psychological). People with MS’ experiences of health care services are currently under-researched, despite the increased NHS focus on using patient experiences to improve care.

Aims: The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of people with MS of managing MS symptoms and experiences of health care services.

Methods: 26 people with MS were recruited from the community (by posters and networking with MS support groups) and primary care settings to participate in a semi-structured interview. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a group varying by age, gender, ethnicity, and level of disability. The topic guide covered management of MS symptoms and experiences of health care. Interviews lasted about one hour and were digitally-recorded with consent. Transcripts formed the data which were analysed by the authors, using constant comparative analysis.

Results: There were many individual differences in how people experienced living with MS and coping with symptoms on a daily basis. Participants reported difficulties in the disclosure of MS to employers and maintaining a positive identity whilst living with labels of disability. Several participants considered themselves “expert patients” through living with the condition for many years. Themes of importance for experiences of health care comprised access, continuity of care and knowledge of available services.

Conclusions: Managing symptoms of MS involves many psycho-social factors. Participants’ use of formal health services is varied, due to personal preferences, perceived need and potential difficulties navigating and accessing joined-up care services. Further research will investigate health care professionals’ perceptions of services for MS and their attitudes to patients’ coping strategies for symptom management.

Professional Background: I am completing my PhD at the Centre for Primary Care at the University of Manchester. I designed my PhD investigating health care and lived experiences for people with MS whilst working in an MS respite care facility. My work investigates how people use health care services for symptom management of both physical and emotional symptoms. Prior to this I completed a BSc and MRes in Psychology at Bangor University, investigating wellbeing in families with children with autism.

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Rebecca Mouyi. MSc: Representing the nation, excluding the immigrants, denying racism: a discursive analysis of Greek citizens’ reactions towards citizenship legislation in Greece

The purpose of this paper was to examine how Greek citizens construct concepts related to nationality, national belonging and history in relation to immigration by using a qualitative methodology approach. Particularly, the framework of discourse analysis (van Dijk, 1984; Potter & Wetherell, 1987) was adopted as it permits the researcher to examine how individuals construct and give meaning to their discourse and which strategies used to achieve their conversational goals. The data analysis is based on the online comments posted by Greek citizens on the Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs website, following the announcement of new citizenship legislation for first and second generation immigrants in 2010. For this study, 70 comments by Greek citizens were sampled and analysed thematically. However, 4 comments and a small citation of another comment were chosen to be presented particularly, as they illustrate well the phenomena under examination. The analysis examines how the nation is represented and related with immigration and migrants and the discourse’s strategies that participants adopt to achieve their goals. The findings show that Greek citizens construct concepts related to nationality and national belonging in ways that exclude immigrants and argue against their right to citizenship. Specifically, the Greek nation was presented as superior to other nations, particularly to those of where immigrants originated. Citizenship was predominantly represented as an essence transferred through blood, based on ancestry and descent. Moreover, national identity was presented as a stable essence running unaltered throughout the centuries, linking modern and ancient Greeks. In doing so, however, they use diverse strategies that help them maintain their positive identity and disclaim racism (Van Dijk, 1984), such as the strategy of conservation and justification (Tsakiris, 2006) and the strategy of undermining the motive (Gillespie, 2008) of the Greeks’ government.

Professional Background: Rebecca Mouyi was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. She is currently a PhD student on the Clinical Psychology programme at the University of Cyprus, under the supervision of Dr. Irini Kadianaki. In 2008, she graduated from the University of Cyprus with a BA in Psychology. During her BA studies, she participated in the student exchange programme Erasmus, where for six months she studied at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. In 2014, Rebecca graduated from Keele University with a Masters in Counselling Psychology Studies. During her studies at Keele, she was supervised by Dr. Mark Trueman and accomplished a dissertation exploring the phenomenon of ‘Romantic relationship satisfaction: An association with Love styles, Attachment styles and Self-esteem’. Her research interests include the social-psychological dimensions of immigration and particularly the resources for coping with racism and social exclusion. She is also interested in studying mental health and mental illness portrayals in printed media, based on the theoretical perspective of social representations, and exploring stigma and discrimination issues among individuals with mental illnesses. Rebecca endeavours to gradually develop her clinical skills in order to be able to contribute to the professional community and improve individuals’ well-being. You can contact her via email at mouyi.rebecca@ucy.ac.cy.

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Dr. Jackie Reynolds: And the Doctor said….A creative approach to researching healthcare in North Staffordshire.

And the Doctor Said….’ is a creative research project that has involved community members in and around Stoke-on-Trent taking part in workshops led by actors, writers and storytellers, in order to explore their experiences of healthcare in North Staffordshire through creative writing.

The project is a partnership between Staffordshire and Keele Universities, and is funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council Research Networking Grant. It is also a ‘Connected Communities’ project – a cross-council programme that aims to help us to understand the changing nature and role of communities and how they can impact on quality of life.

In this presentation, I will be sharing the story of the project, and highlighting key aspects of the research design. I will discuss the methodological and ethical challenges that were involved, and the ways in which they were addressed. I will show some of the film that was made as part of the workshops, and also part of an audio-documentary that was created by a group of older women and teenage Mums, who worked with actor and playwright Deborah McAndrew to share their experiences and to develop and record the script. The presentation will conclude with some reflections on the lessons learned and on the possibilities to further develop this work.

Professional Background: Senior Researcher Faculty of Arts and Creative TechnologiesStaffordshire University

I am a Senior Researcher working across the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies at Staffordshire University. I contribute to the on-going development of the Faculty's two Applied Research Centres: the Institute for Applied Creative Thinking (I-ACT) and the Centre for Media, Arts and Technology (C-MAT). My work therefore has a strong inter-disciplinary focus, and I specialize in qualitative methodologies. I have a PhD in Social Gerontology, and I am an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Gerontology at Keele. My key research interests include arts and ageing, community and social capital.

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Dr Maggie Robson: All over the world? Is children’s play different in different countries? Play is a fundamental right of all children and is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is necessary for the healthy development of children and forms the basis of therapeutic work with young children.The theoretical basis of the development of play (e.g. Piaget) tend to be based on observations of European children and little research has been done in other areas of the word to see if the development of children’s play is universal or culturally specific. With a grant from the Nuffield Foundation, I conducted a small, qualitative study of childrens’ play in Kenya and devised a method for observing itA team of research assistants were trained to observe children’s play using a specially designed schedule and to take notes. These observations and notes were then collected and rich descriptions of the children’s play were extracted and thematised. Observers also reported back on the strengths and challenges of observing children playing and the observation tool was evaluatedInitial findings showed a rich variety of play in both rural and urban locations in Kenya and the significance of these will be discussed in this presentation.

Professional Background: Maggie is an experienced therapist and counsellor educator. As well as counselling in a GP practice she has been involved with a local CRUSE Branch in a project to offer play therapy to bereaved children. She has taught Counsellors, Supervisors and Play Therapists in the UK and Kenya and has research interests in the role of counselling in other cultures and the process of bereavement in childhood. She enjoys sailing and spending time with her family and friends.

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Laura Stokes: Understanding the dementia diagnosis: the impact on the caregiving experience. 

Objectives: There is a paucity of research surrounding disclosure from the perspective of caring partners, therefore this research explores how caring partners understand and make sense of diagnostic information.Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 spouses of people with dementia. Interviews aimed to elicit participants’ understanding of dementia and the way that information was used to make sense of dementia. Interviewee accounts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.Results: Four main themes emerged: lack of information; personal understanding and implications for adjustment; societal understanding and persistent stigma; and lack of partnership working.Conclusions: The analysis indicated a lack of information and continued support following diagnosis. In the absence of information and support, caring partners described difficulty understanding and adjusting to behavioural, physical and psychological changes in their partner. A greater understanding of the condition was beneficial in terms of adjustment and emotional responses to a partner.

Professional Background: Clinical Teaching Fellow in Psychology at Keele University. My research interests include working therapeutically with looked after and adopted children and young people. I am interested in ‘Life Story Work’ that is often completed by Social Care agencies, with children and young people who have been looked after by the Local Authority. I am particularly interested in people’s experiences of engaging in or facilitating life story work and about ideas around whether this is a therapeutic process.

I am interested in public understanding of different clinical presentations and the way in which this affects attitudes and behaviour, in particular how understanding of the dementia dia-gnosis affects caring roles. I am also interested in the impact of parental grief and loss on family contact for children and young people who are living in foster care.

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Dr Clare Symons: “Acknowledging the dirty little secret”. Daring to explore why clients don’t complain about poor or harmful therapy

This project aimed to investigate the reasons why people who have experienced poor or harmful counselling or psychotherapy therapy might not bring a formal complaint to a professional body in the UK. The research comprised two stages: an online questionnaire to analyse the reasons that people do not complain; and face-to-face interviews to explore in depth people's experiences of not complaining. This paper will present only findings from the interviews.

A total of 110 people volunteered via the online questionnaire to participate in individual, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed to select a manageable number of participants and a total of 18 individual interviews were conducted. Consideration of ethical issues informed every stage of the research design, with particular concern for the safety of interviewees in terms of the scope of the interviews and the nature of the interview setting. Recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and yielded 13 categories organised into four domains as follows: Silenced within the therapy; Silenced by complaints procedures; Silenced by the therapist; Reclaiming power. A central theme of a need for clients’ experiences of poor or harmful therapy to be acknowledged runs through the domains. Implications for practice, training and professional bodies will be discussed and areas of future research highlighted.

The project has been part-funded by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Professional Background: Dr Clare Symons Course Director, MA in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Leicester. Editor, Counselling and Psychotherapy Research journal.

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Dr Louise Taylor: Learning in later life: using life biography to investigate the inter-relationship of learning and life course capital

Current demographics within the United Kingdom present a challenging picture, with older people forming a considerable proportion of the population. In particular, older people are spending a longer period outside paid work at a point in the life course constructed as retirement. Increasingly, some older adults are returning to learning as a means of remaining socially connected, keeping active and purely for pleasure. Research which seeks to understand the relevance and importance of learning in later life remains quite disparate and, in addition, there is a lack of longitudinal or biographical research which seeks to explore this phenomenon.

This research paper provides new insights into later-life learning by exploring how retired older people narrate their experiences of learning, and the interrelationship this experience to life course capital. Data were collected from eight participants aged between 63 and 73. An experience-centred narrative method was employed to explore participant biography with a particular emphasis upon learning. Data were analysed thematically to ascertain the relationship of learning to life course capital and the interrelationship to later-life learning. The narrative data revealed that each participant had accumulated capital over their life course: at the point of retirement they were able to successfully deploy this capital as a means to gain new social connections through their return to learning. Learning for pleasure in later life is a mechanism to enhance retirement through the promotion of activity and engagement and consequently improve physical and mental health and well-being.

Professional Background: Dr Louise Taylor. I am currently employed as an academic group lead by Staffordshire University. My research interests involve employing qualitative methodologies across a range of differing areas of inquiry.

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Quynh Vu BSc, MSc. The “Forgotten Family”- the neglect of the adult family of alcoholics.

Aims: The research looked at the adult experiences of those with an alcoholic family member.

Background: Previous studies have found adult children and spouses of alcoholics are greatly affected by the alcoholic behaviour of their parents and partners respectively, with these family members reporting feelings of depression and isolation. However little is known of the effects of a family member’s alcoholism on parents of adult alcoholics and a sibling of an adult alcoholic, and this research intended to look at these experiences in particular, as well as exploring the experiences of adult children and spouses of alcoholics.

Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 counselling psychology trainees (three females and one male) who had experience of alcoholism in their family. A bracketing interview was also conducted to explore the researcher’s experiences of alcoholism, and a journal containing details of some of the researcher’s experiences was examined too. The results were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. (IPA)

Findings: The eight main themes which emerged from the research were: Harm, Destruction, Isolation, Family Breakdown, Alcohol Dominated Environment, Trust, Protection, and Acceptance.

Research Limitations: Lack of participants; Unable to explore the experiences of a parent who has an alcoholic child and a male with a female alcoholic partner/spouse.

Conclusions: There was an overriding theme of ‘Loss’ which encompassed at least three of the eight themes identified from the data. The research supported some of the current literature on alcoholism within the family, as well as adding to the literature, especially with regards to sibling’s experiences of alcoholism and the implications of a previous family history of alcoholism on the current adult family

Professional Background: Quynh started her counselling journey in 2002 with a Psychology and Counselling Studies degree at Derby University. After completing an additional Certificate in Counselling Psychology at City University, she has just finished her Masters in the same field at Keele last year. In her spare time, Quynh is an avid walker, loves to travel and enjoys trying new things. Her passion for the future is to complete a PhD, and create a lifestyle where each day is an adventure full of new experiences and surprises. She is really excited about what the future holds for her!

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Sarah Watson: The Dislocated Counsellor Researcher

This paper draws upon the spiritual and emotional reflections when I conducted my dissertation (of the same name) for my MSc Counselling Psychology, following the death of my father a few years earlier. The dissertation used an IPA methodology to explore the experiences of 3 Christians who had suffered the loss and bereavement of a significant other. Using IPA enabled the mapping of my own experience in this world whilst being able to engage with the experience and understanding of the participant’s world. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 3 Christians and resulted in collated themes of; Experience of Bereavement, Experience of Loss, Constructions of Self, Spiritual and Physical Connections, The Grief Experience,  Relationships and Insider/Outsider. These then formed the master themes of Loss, Grief and Spirituality, which ultimately produced the super ordinate theme of Transition. It was not until the submission of the dissertation that I become aware of how the nature of the double hermeneutic within IPA brought to the fore the experience of my own forbidden grief in my transition from counsellor to researcher.  I underestimated this heuristic element within IPA and observed a gap within existing literature concerning this and the safeguarding of researchers when using IPA to explore such sensitive issues. In addition, this paper explores the dislocation and relocation during the transition between counsellor to researcher.

Professional Background: Volunteer qualified counsellor at the Dove Service, Stoke on Trent. Currently working as a Community Organiser and helping develop an online support network for PhD students / Early Career Researchers with the British Association for the Study of Spirituality (BASS).

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Dr. Helle Winther: The language of the body in professional practice: how can elements from movement communication develop embodied leadership competences?

At first glance, dance and movement can seem like fish out of water in educational settings. Upon closer inspection, it may be about time to work with Embodiment in Education. The language of the body is the first, last and most essential language of the human being. The flow of words can be stopped, but the body is always in movement – always communicating. In all human relationships the language of the body is a culturally, socially and personally toned mother tongue, which follows us throughout our lives. Thus, the language of the body is of great importance for authenticity, healthy authority, empathy, presence, communication reading and crisis management in leadership and professional practice. Nevertheless, the body and movement in particular are often neglected in leadership and professional training in many areas.

This workshop builds on the practice-interventions, the methods and the results from several research projects about The Language of the Body in Professional Practice.These examined how movement and the senses may be used when training embodied leadership competences. The projects have a movement psychological, narrative and phenomenological approach and have been carried out in various educational settings in Copenhagen: nurse education, teacher education, university education, as well as leadership courses and various postgraduate contexts with different types of professionals. This workshop will be an explorative and moving journey into the multilayered research field, the workshop participants own embodied experiences, theoretical core concepts and the poetically inspired data developed from the projects.

Programme: 1. Paradoxes and important reflections about the language of the body are presented. 2. The workshop’s participants are invited onto the floor and into the core of the movement practice from the research projects. We will explore how simple elements from movement communication can train the language of the body, body awareness, presence, contact, communication reading, leadership, followership and energetic power-positions.3. The participants get a taste of the research methods used in order to create thick multilayered embodied moment descriptions, which allow the possibility of getting in touch with pre-reflective sensual embodied experiences.4. The experiences form the participants are mirrored, creatively reflected and discussed shortly in relation to essential themes, key-concepts, results and embodied narratives from the projects. Everybody is welcome. The workshop is open to anyone!

Implicit dualism and the new challenges in educational systems: The inattention to the body may be due to the thus far dominant dualistic view of the body and of humanity which has characterized Western society, including the development of education (Andersen Kjær, 2012b: Engelsrud, 2006).

Professional Background: Helle Winther, Associate Professor and PhD in Movement Psychology. University of Copenhagen. Trained as body and dance psychotherapist in Dansergia®. Research and teaching in embodied leadership, movement psychology, the language of the body and personal development through dance.

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