Waiting with Parents: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experience of Psychoanalytically-informed Parent Work

Background & Aims: Psychoanalytically-informed parent work is central to the success of a child’s psychotherapy. Although well-documented in literature, there is a dearth of research which is reflected in the limited attention parent work receives on clinical training programmes and resource-stretched NHS CAMHS. This study primarily examined the lived experience of parents in parent work. The secondary research aim, guided by the interdisciplinary research project, Waiting Times, was to investigate experiences of waiting and time in parent work. In line with project theory, parent work was conceptualised as a form of temporal care: waiting with. During data analysis the aims converged: waiting with provided a framework through which to explore parent experience. Methodology: IPA methodology was employed to examine the semi-structured interviews of five parents. The analysis comprised two sequential stages: a classical IPA followed by a dialogical exchange between the results of the first analysis and the extant Waiting Times theoretical notion, waiting with. Findings: A first-order IPA generated themes pertaining to experiences of ambivalence, containment and temporality. Building on these findings, a second-order analysis generated an idiographic theoretical model based on three statements: 1. The offer of parent work is linked with ambivalent feelings 2. The prolonged experience of being waited with creates new time, and parents feel: a sense of relief; understood and less alone 3. Parents’ experiences of time and waiting are linked to their capacity to wait with their child. Conclusions: This study highlighted the potential of parent work to engage parents in a transformative process, a shift in their experience of time and capacity to wait which is linked to an improved capacity to support their child. Whilst not claiming to be generalisable, the findings support literature that champions parent work in child psychotherapy interventions. Clinical implications and ideas for future research are also considered.