Kegerreis, Sue and Wright, Deborah LS and Hall, Sarah and Horne, Medina and Langley, Jane and Norris, James and Quaile, Elaine and Shemesh, Rinat (2023) Becoming a researcher: psychotherapists’ experience of starting a professional doctorate. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 49 (3). pp. 474-489. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/0075417x.2023.2219719
Kegerreis, Sue and Wright, Deborah LS and Hall, Sarah and Horne, Medina and Langley, Jane and Norris, James and Quaile, Elaine and Shemesh, Rinat (2023) Becoming a researcher: psychotherapists’ experience of starting a professional doctorate. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 49 (3). pp. 474-489. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/0075417x.2023.2219719
Kegerreis, Sue and Wright, Deborah LS and Hall, Sarah and Horne, Medina and Langley, Jane and Norris, James and Quaile, Elaine and Shemesh, Rinat (2023) Becoming a researcher: psychotherapists’ experience of starting a professional doctorate. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 49 (3). pp. 474-489. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/0075417x.2023.2219719
Abstract
This paper explores the journey taken by experienced psychotherapists as they embark on doctoral research, highlighting the adjustments involved in moving from being a clinician to becoming a researcher. Having touched on the complex relationship between psychotherapy and research as a whole, including how badly this has affected the development of a robust evidence base for many approaches, the paper describes the development of a post-qualifying research programme for those grafting research skills onto their clinical roles. The paper then considers how the kind of research undertaken by psychodynamic psychotherapists has shifted from being primarily focussed on single case studies – so remaining closer to the clinical writing of the past – to including both more general social science research methodologies and more precise psychoanalytic methodologies, capable of exploring in depth the processes at work in the therapeutic encounter. The main focus of the paper is on the impact on the students of undertaking their first research project. At the beginning of this process nearly all students underestimated just how much of a shift in their thinking it would involve, and the paper captures some of the key issues and powerful moments reported after their first year. They speak of the humbling impact of conducting a structured literature review and of the complexity of finding a truly researchable question and viable design, as well as the appreciation of the difference between clinical illustration and evidence. They speak of the impact of thinking about the ethical issues involved in research, and of the need to interrogate their design in order to minimise bias. One of the interesting – and to them surprising – effects is that the shift to research-mindedness feeds back into their clinical identities, in a way that is both challenging and invigorating, overall boosting their confidence as practitioners.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | Research; research methodology; research ethics; professional doctorate; professional development |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 27 Sep 2023 12:22 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2024 21:59 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/36500 |
Available files
Filename: Becoming a researcher psychotherapists experience of starting a professional doctorate.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0