Roxburgh, E. C. (2016) “They daren’t tell people”: therapists’ experiences of working with clients who report anomalous experiences. Paper presented to: 6th Qualitative Research in Mental Health Conference (QRMH6), Chania, Crete, Greece, 25-27 May 2016. (Unpublished)
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Abstract:
Objectives. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of therapists who have worked with clients reporting anomalous experiences (AEs) to consider how they addressed such experiences in therapy sessions and the implications for therapeutic practice and training.
Method. Semi-structured face to face interviews were conducted with eight therapists who had worked with at least one client who had reported an AE.
Results. Four themes were derived from a thematic analysis of participants’ transcripts, which were labelled using short participant extracts: “Testing the waters”, “Exploration not explanation”, “It’s special but it’s not unique”, and “Forewarned and forearmed”.
Conclusions. Participants felt that clients were apprehensive about disclosure of AEs and that this stemmed from stigma attached to mental health issues as well as client fears about how AEs might be interpreted by wider society. Findings highlight the importance of therapists exploring the meaning of AEs with clients rather than imposing an explanation or making a judgement as to the authenticity of such experiences. Participants said that they would work with AEs in the same way as other issues but would benefit from having access to accurate and reliable information about AEs.
Subjects:
Creators:
Roxburgh, E. C.
Funders or Sponsors:
Bial Foundation
Grant Reference Number:
108/12
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Institute of Health and Wellbeing > Centre for Applied Mental Health Research
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
Research Centres > Centre for Psychology and Social Sciences
Research Centres > Centre for Health Sciences and Services
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Institute of Health and Wellbeing > Centre for Applied Mental Health Research
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology
Research Centres > Centre for Psychology and Social Sciences
Research Centres > Centre for Health Sciences and Services
Date:
27 May 2016
Date Type:
Publication
Event Title:
6th Qualitative Research in Mental Health Conference (QRMH6)
Event Dates:
25-27 May 2016
Event Location:
Chania, Crete, Greece
Event Type:
Conference
Language:
English
Status:
Unpublished
Refereed:
Yes
Related URLs:
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