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Against the backdrop of the COVID‐19 pandemic, workplace wellbeing is a key priority for employers. Severe market and health conditions continue to bring inevitable problems that could be reduced with the application of psychological interventions to prevent mental and physical health issues, making this study a highly pertinent and valuable contribution to the field. This paper reports the effects of a rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) programme on the irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity of 56 office‐based sales professionals located in the northwest region of the UK. A pre‐test, post‐test experimental design was utilised, and a mixed model ANOVA (repeated measures) was adopted to assess changes in mean differences concerning irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity at pre and post‐test stages for the intervention group, in comparison to a control group. Results indicate that those in the REBT group reported significant reductions in irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity, whilst those in the control group reported no such changes. It is recommended that future research studies consider utilizing a mixed methods design and focus on a strategic collaboration of organisational and individual level interventions for improving the psychological wellbeing and performance of sales personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people's (CYP) life chances depend heavily on family resources. This paper reports a rapid review of qualitative/mixed method studies about Universal Credit undertaken with CYP in the UK; subsequently expanded to include additional descriptors of economic disadvantage. Sixteen studies were reviewed; narrative synthesis was used to explore themes. Most recruited CYP with experience of economic disadvantage; none explicitly reported perspectives of CYP experiencing disability or rurality. Findings show growing up in poverty has significant, negative impacts on health and well‐being, causing feelings of exclusion, shame and unfairness; raising important questions about the adequacy of welfare support in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non‐violent resistance (NVR) is a systemic approach to working with young people presenting with aggression and other harmful behaviours. The work draws on the use of personal presence in resistance movements of the twentieth century, focusing on the role of the caregiver to increase their presence through acts of resistance and care. This paper investigates the experiences of professionals using NVR in one UK residential care home. Eight participants took part in semi‐structured interviews, which were analysed thematically. Analysis identified four overarching themes: NVR is both a set of processes and a way of being, NVR and transformation, NVR and the personal–professional divide and NVR and organisational support. The findings suggest that NVR offers an effective and acceptable alternative to behavioural approaches. Further research is required to investigate the liminal role of the professional/parent and the challenge of managing reluctance both within and around the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a strong evidence base that demonstrates the beneficial impact of engaging in therapeutic writing tasks, often with reference to the successful emotional processing of traumatic life events. This paper looks to explore the experiences and impact of a community‐based therapeutic expressive writing group, which embraced a direct psychoeducational model to enhance emotional well‐being in a group of women. From an experiential qualitative position that embraces a "hermeneutics of empathy", this study uses a thematic analysis (TA) methodology (informed by the work of Braun & Clarke (2013) to explore the group members' narratives obtained through semistructured interviews. The study reveals the significance of a number of key factors, including the importance of the group setting, the identification of core therapeutic writing activities, the beneficial impact of skilled and supportive therapist facilitation, and the emotional value in "letting go" of unhelpful thoughts and feelings in order to strengthen psychological well‐being and resilience. The findings have important implications for service commissioning and the proactive delivery of effective time‐limited, low‐cost mental health interventions within primary settings across society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study aims to contribute to our understanding of how second‐generation immigrants negotiate their multiple identities, and construct their feelings of belonging. We focus on second‐generation ethnic Kurds, a stateless ethnic group with a complex political and social history, who have seldom been investigated in a UK context. Drawing on data from interviews with 14 Kurds living in the UK, this paper outlines the tensions in Kurds' lived experiences of Kurdish and British identity; in particular, experiences of feeling "othered" and how this manifests in relation to their identities. We found that Kurds most commonly dealt with some of the tensions they experienced from not belonging or feeling like an "other" by constructing new identities with more permeable boundaries of belonging; in this study, this was achieved through a "place‐based" identity. In sum, this paper offers a novel contribution to discourses of belonging, by demonstrating how the nuances of belonging and its lived complexities manifest in the experiences of UK‐based second‐generation Kurds, and the resultant strategies that they adopt to navigate tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Developmental language disorder (DLD) has clear functional ramifications in the areas of social competency, emotion recognition, emotional well‐being and literacy skill, which have been found to persist from childhood to adolescence. These domains are important factors during the transition from primary to secondary school in typical development (TD). Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on the transition from primary to secondary school for adolescents with DLD and low language (LL) ability. Aims: To investigate the association between psychosocial domains, literacy skill and concerns about school during the transition to secondary school for adolescents with DLD, LL and their TD peers. The first research question examined whether levels of social competency, emotion recognition, emotional well‐being and literacy skill predicted school concern for the three groups. The second research question explored the longitudinal relationship between school concern and psychosocial and literacy indicators over the transition. Methods & Procedures: Participants (aged 10–11 years) with DLD (n = 30), LL ((n = 29) and TD (n = 42) were recruited for this longitudinal study from eight UK primary schools. Standardized language and psychosocial assessments were administered in the spring and summer terms of the final year of primary school, and the autumn and summer terms of the first year in secondary school. Outcomes & Results: Regression analyses showed pre‐transition school concern to be predicted by emotion recognition for the DLD group, by social competence and emotional well‐being for the LL group, and by social competence for the TD group. Post‐transition concern was predicted by emotional well‐being for the LL group; with no significant predictors for the DLD/TD groups. Path analyses revealed an association between literacy skill and emotion recognition for the DLD group. A developmental cascade illustrated a relationship between social competence and emotional well‐being for the TD group. Conclusions & Implications: This study concludes that transition interventions must be differentiated according to language ability; support for DLD adolescents should focus on emotion recognition skill, provision for LL adolescents should centre on emotional well‐being, and TD participants should be particularly supported in the domain of social competence in advance of the move to secondary school. Additionally, this study emphasizes the importance of the inclusion of a LL group, as their outcomes cannot be predicted using DLD/TD research. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: There is limited research exploring the transition from primary school to secondary for adolescents with DLD or LL ability. Research on TD has highlighted vulnerable domains at this time. As these key areas are evidenced spheres of difficulty in DLD and LL, there was a strong impetus for this study. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study reveals differences between language ability groups in the predictors of school concern both pre‐ and post‐transition. Concerns of adolescents with DLD were predicted by emotion recognition, those of adolescents with LL were predicted by emotional well‐being, and a longitudinal link between social competence and emotional well‐being was evidenced for TD adolescents. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This study has implications for researchers and clinicians, as a need has been identified for a new clinical group. It also has practical implications for transition support planning for educational practitioners, families and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on women's experiences of infant feeding and related moral discourse suggests that self‐conscious emotions may be highly relevant to breastfeeding support interactions. However, the emotional impact of receiving support has not been fully explored. The aim of this review is to re‐examine qualitative UK research on receiving breastfeeding support, in order to explore the role of self‐conscious emotions and related appraisals in interactions with professional and peer supporters. From 2007 to 2020, 34 studies met criteria for inclusion. Using template analysis to identify findings relevant to self‐conscious emotions, we focused on shame, guilt, embarrassment, humiliation and pride. Because of cultural aversion to direct discussion of self‐conscious emotions, the template also identified thoughts about self‐evaluation, perceptions of judgement and sense of exposure. Self‐conscious emotions were explicitly mentioned in 25 papers, and related concerns were noted in all papers. Through thematic synthesis, three themes were identified, which suggested that (i) breastfeeding 'support' could present challenges to mothering identity and hence to emotional well‐being; (ii) many women managed interactions in order to avoid or minimise uncomfortable self‐conscious emotions; and (iii) those providing support for breastfeeding could facilitate women's emotion work by validating their mothering, or undermine this by invalidation, contributing to feelings of embarrassment, guilt or humiliation. Those supporting breastfeeding need good emotional 'antennae' if they are to ensure they also support transition to motherhood. This is the first study explicitly examining self‐conscious emotions in breastfeeding support, and further research is needed to explore the emotional nuances of women's interactions with supporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence demonstrates the deleterious impact of ongoing and poorly resolved parental conflict on children's wellbeing. 'No Kids in the Middle' (NKM) is a multi‐family programme that aims to help high‐conflict separated parents find new ways of communicating. The aim of this study was to adapt, deliver and evaluate NKM in three UK pilot sites. This paper reports findings from interviews exploring families' experiences of this intervention, and questionnaires which measured change for families over the course of the programme. Parents reported reductions in hostility and conflict when discussing parenting issues. Children reported improved wellbeing with respect to family life, and a reduction in 'avoidance' with respect to talking or thinking about parental conflict. Parents reported reduced internalising symptoms in children. The findings indicate that NKM could be a promising intervention for high‐conflict separated parents and their children, deliverable by frontline practitioners. Practitioner pointsInter‐parental conflict can negatively impact children's wellbeingMulti‐family therapy may be a promising approach for separated parents experiencing co‐parenting conflictAfter the NKM multi‐family programme, parents reported reduced levels of hostility and conflict when discussing parenting issuesAt the end of the NKM programme, children reported improved wellbeing with respect to family life, and a reduction in 'avoidance' with respect to talking or thinking about family conflict. Relatedly, parents reported reduced internalising symptoms in children [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A person‐centred model of care, developed in the early days of the HIV epidemic when there were no effective treatments for HIV, led to relatively close relationships between carers and people living with HIV (PLWH). Our study examines the experiences of carers using a relational framework, exploring the traumas and challenges involved, coping practices instigated by carers and the emergence of 'relational traumatic growth' opportunities. Methods: Twenty‐two UK healthcare workers and charity volunteers working with PLWH from the early years of the epidemic were recruited. Semistructured interviews were used to elicit participants' own stories of working with PLWH, from their initial involvement to the present time, and their reflections on the personal impact of working in the field of HIV. Data were analysed using a thematic approach employing relational categories. Results: The impact of care was related to the formation of close relationships, identification with PLWH, high numbers of deaths and the difficulties and challenges encountered relationally. Participants described attempts to cope through informal and formal support, as well as endeavours to manage professional boundaries. Various ways of making sense of experiences were described, ranging from denial to abandoning the HIV field, to intense commitment. For some, traumatic experiences lead to validation, a search for personal meaning and managing the sense of loss with an exploration of further ventures, contributing to the achievement of relational traumatic growth. Conclusion: The intensity of relationships in HIV work, developed through the emotional and practical work of caring for PLWH, led healthcare workers and volunteers to experience a range of psychological consequences, both negative (including distress and emotional exhaustion) and also positive (such as acquiring a sense of purpose). Patient or Public Contribution: People living with HIV and those working with them were involved in the initial study conceptualization and design. The second and fourth authors of this paper were professionals working in HIV throughout the pandemic and have led on all aspects of the study. People living with HIV and those working with them additionally guided participant selection by suggesting participants and supporting recruitment. Narrative transcripts were checked and amended (if necessary) by participants. Initial findings were presented at the AIDS impact conference, where PLWH and those working with them attended and feedback on important ideas that helped to prioritize and shape the study findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea and practice of going "into the field" to conduct research and gather data is a deeply rooted aspect of Geography as a discipline. For global North Development Geographers, among others, this usually entails travelling to, and spending periods of time in, often far‐flung parts of the global South. Forging a successful academic career as a Development Geographer in the UK is therefore to some extent predicated on mobility. This paper aims to critically engage with the gendered aspects of this expected mobility, focusing on the challenges and time constraints that are apparent when conducting overseas fieldwork as a mother, unaccompanied by her children. The paper emphasises the emotion work that is entailed in balancing the competing demands of overseas fieldwork and mothering, and begins to think through the implications of these challenges in terms of the types of knowledge we produce, as well as in relation to gender equality within the academy. This paper critically engages with the gendered aspects of fieldwork mobility, focusing on the challenges and time constraints of conducting overseas fieldwork as a mother. The paper emphasises the emotion work of balancing the competing demands of overseas fieldwork and mothering, and thinks through the implications of these challenges in terms of the types of knowledge we produce, as well as in relation to gender equality within the academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicating and engaging with children is a foundational component of child care social work practice, but all too frequently, in the wake of serious incidents, it is the focus of criticism. Drawing on findings from a large‐scale ESRC‐funded research project conducted in the four U.K. nations, this paper explores, through a psychosocial analytic lens, how social workers anticipate, enact and reflect on their encounters with both children and their families. Close analysis of what social workers said about their practice alongside what they were observed to do in practice revealed perceptions, patterns and processes of communication that, first, minimize emotions and the complexity of the professional task and second, overly privilege verbal interaction. Drawing on Sennett's (2012) ideas this paper offers a reconceptualisation of this professional task, from a communicative to a co‐operative one. It affords and creates a space in which social workers can develop more attuned communicative practices that include rituals, gestures and the minimal use of force. The theoretical insights and evidence‐informed practice recommendations arising from this research have conceptual significance for the social work discipline and practical significance for the child care social work profession, across national and international contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical race theory is growing in popularity in Britain. However, critics and advocates of critical race theory (CRT) in Britain have neglected the racialized social system approach. Through ignoring this approach, critics have thus "missed the target" in their rebuttals of CRT, while advocates of CRT have downplayed the strength of critical race analysis. By contrast, in this paper, I argue that that through the racialized social system approach, critical race theory has the conceptual flexibility to study British society. As a practical social theory, critical race theory provides us with the tools to study the realities and reproduction of racial inequality. To demonstrate this strength of CRT, and to demonstrate its theoretical nature, I discuss the conceptual framework of the racialized social system approach, paying specific attention to the notions of social space, the racial structure and racial interests; the racialized interaction order, racialized emotions, and structure and agency; and racial ideology, racial grammar, and racialized cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In healthcare settings, there is an emotional cost to caring which can result in compassion fatigue, burnout, secondary trauma, and compromised patient care. Innovative workplace interventions such as the Schwartz Rounds offer a group reflective practice forum for clinical and non‐clinical professionals to reflect on the emotional aspects of working in health care. Whilst the Rounds are established in medical health practice, this study presents an evaluation of the Rounds offered to mental health services. The Rounds were piloted amongst 150 mental health professionals for 6 months and evaluated using a mixed‐methods approach with standardized evaluation forms completed after each Round and a focus group (n = 9) at one‐month follow‐up. This paper also offers a unique six‐year follow‐up of the evaluation of the Rounds. Rounds were rated as helpful, insightful, and relevant, and at six years follow‐up, Rounds were still rated as valuable and viewed as embedded. Focus groups indicated that Rounds were valued because of the opportunity to express emotions (in particular negative emotions towards patients that conflict with the professional care‐role), share experiences, and feel validated and supported by colleagues. The findings indicate that Schwartz Rounds offer a positive application in mental healthcare settings. The study supports the use of interventions which provide an ongoing forum in which to discuss emotions, develop emotional literacy, provide peer support and set an intention for becoming a more compassionate organization in which to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Little research has examined the discourses that shape therapists' sense‐making around heterosex. This paper explores the discourses of sexuality and gender underpinning therapists' and non‐therapists' responses to a sexual experimentation scenario in a heterosexual relationship. It also considers the value of the novel technique of story completion (SC), in which participants are asked to write a story in response to a hypothetical scenario, for qualitative psychology and psychotherapy research. Design: This research used a comparative SC design (Kitzinger & Powell, 1995). Participants were sequentially presented with and invited to complete two story stems: one in which a male character suggested 'trying something new' to his female partner and one in which the female character made the suggestion. The stems were otherwise identical. Methods: A total of 100 SCs were written by 49 (28 female; 21 male) therapists and 51 (29 female; 22 male) non‐therapists. Participants were recruited mainly via UK‐based email lists and Facebook groups, and therapeutic training organizations, and the data were analysed using a feminist post‐structuralist thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results: Both groups of participants drew on heteronormative discourses of sexuality and gender to make sense of the stem. Engaging in sexual experimentation was often depicted as a demonstration of being normal. In some stories written by women, sex was framed as a site for negotiating 'equality' and reciprocity in relationships. Therapists were more likely than non‐therapists to frame 'difficulties' within relationships as opportunities for personal growth and increased emotional depth, and their stories included greater emotional complexity. Conclusion: These findings raise questions about practitioner training and whether it results in therapists drawing on narrow and restrictive discourses of heterosex in clinical practice. Practitioner points: Training on sexual issues is largely absent from non‐specialist practitioner training courses, which potentially means therapists are ill‐equipped to respond to clients' anxiety about sexual issues. Evidence from this and other research indicates that therapists' sense‐making around heterosexual sexual relationships is underpinned by narrow and restrictive discourses that entrench traditional gender relations and limit sexual agency. Psychologists are increasingly taking up positions of clinical leadership and are looked to for models of best practice. Drawing on theorizations of sexual difficulties, and of anxieties about sexual practice, that challenge traditional gender and heteronorms, and the commodification and medicalization of sex, is important for effective psychological leadership relating to the treatment of sexual issues and the furthering of social justice agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Childhood long‐term conditions are usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood. Little is known about the particular experiences and needs of young people who receive a chronic illness diagnosis during adolescence or late childhood. This paper will examine this experience in relation to multiple sclerosis (MS), which is increasingly being diagnosed before adulthood. Aims: To explore how young people experience an MS diagnosis. Methods: Qualitative study using a grounded theory approach. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 21 young people diagnosed with MS. Participants were recruited through health service and voluntary sector organizations in the United Kingdom. Results: Young people's pre‐illness normality was disrupted by the diagnosis of a chronic illness (MS). Participants experienced their body as changed physically, cognitively, and emotionally and as changeable due to symptom unpredictability. This influenced how participants perceived and presented their identity, disrupted their relationships, and altered their future biography. Young people developed strategies to manage their condition and identities in order to incorporate MS into their current and future lives, which required continual illness and identity work in response to changing symptoms, social contexts, and relationships. Conclusions: Although young peoples' experience of living with chronic illness has been widely explored, the aftermath of diagnosis has been underresearched from their perspective. This study contributes to this knowledge gap by illuminating how young people experience a chronic illness diagnosis and negotiate the resulting changes to their identity, relationships, and future. The findings suggest that young people need preparation and support in disclosing their diagnosis to others. Professionals supporting young people with long‐term conditions need to work closely with specialist mental health services to ensure that they receive appropriate emotional support. Schools have an important role in ensuring young people with long‐term conditions achieve their academic potential and receive appropriate careers advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a culturalist interpretation of the outcome of the Brexit referendum. This interpretation is grounded on the analysis of the U.K.'s cultural milieu, which is part of a more general study of the cultural milieus of several European countries. Specific to the United Kingdom, our analysis is based on a questionnaire carried out on a representative sample of U.K. respondents stratified by sociodemographic variables and geographic region (NUTS1). Responses to the questionnaire were subjected to multidimensional analysis—a combination of multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. Findings about the multicountry analysis show how cultural milieus are characterized by five basic, embodied, affect‐laden, generalized worldviews (defined as "Symbolic Universes"). Four out of five symbolic universes consist of a way of interpreting reality by a specific anchorage (i.e., the ethical norm, the institutional order, the emotional experience interpersonal bond, and the belongingness). One symbolic universe can be viewed as the anomic reaction to the failure of those anchorages. Focusing on Brexit, by means of a discriminant analysis, it is showed how the incidence of the symbolic universes (and of the underpinning basic dimensions of meaning within the 12 U.K. macroregions') enables to identify differentially the macroregions with high proportion of "leave" at the Brexit referendum against those with low proportion. More specifically, the high "leave" macroregion are characterized by higher relevance of cultural forms anchored on local identity/belongingness. Findings are discussed within the wider aims of the project and its implications for a cultural psychology informed policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how children themselves understand their moves to and between foster homes. The data presented in this paper come from a study that sought children's views on becoming and being a foster child. A key finding of that study was how children's accounts of being fostered illustrated a high level of anxiety and concern about their moving to live with a foster family. This paper firstly explores the key issues about looked‐after children's moves. It then describes the research study undertaken, before exploring the data generated from children's accounts of their moves to a new foster home. Lastly, there is a discussion of the implications for social work practice in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible Summary: Some clients in learning disability services have problems in their relationships with people. Some clients with learning disability have broken the law and live in hospital. For clients in hospital, treatment can be learning about managing behaviour, feelings and relationships.  This treatment is given by different professionals. This treatment is important to help stop these clients getting into trouble with the police again. An important part of treatment is to help clients understand their experiences in relationships. This case study is about Oliver, and how psychologists and an art therapist worked together to help him.​ Abstract: Background: Clients with attachment issues are over‐represented in learning disability services. Forensic inpatient services are no exception. Treatment pathways comprise multidisciplinary interventions, and skills‐based treatments are considered vital to recovery and maintenance of prosocial and adaptive behaviour and reduction in risk. An important aspect of treatment is the psychological intervention to enable clients to understand their early experiences and the way this may have impacted on later relationships and behaviour. Without exploring the difficult early lives that many clients in forensic inpatient services have experienced, skills‐based treatments and attempts to facilitate discharge may not be effective. Materials and methods: This case study presents the theoretical background of attachment, autism, learning disability and sexual offending that informed the collaborative multidisciplinary psychological treatment offered to one man with learning disabilities and autism in a secure forensic setting. Results: The introduction of Art Psychotherapy enabled the client to explore his history and the potential internal barriers to his therapeutic progress. Issues of safety and belonging, previously unexplored with this man, were uncovered and these themes were incorporated into his risk formulation and treatment plan. Conclusions: The paper reflects on the specific contribution of Art Psychotherapy in specialist services, and the importance of the collaborative relationship between the Art Psychotherapist and the ward Multi‐Disciplinary Team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the law in England and Wales requires a child's wishes and feelings to be heard in LAC (Looked After Children) reviews, there remains limited research into how far this is achieved. This study interviewed 25 children and 16 foster carers to explore how well children understand and take part in reviews, and what factors impede this. The study found that levels of participation, as experienced by children and foster carers, were very low and the methods used were relatively ineffective. Children experienced significant barriers in engaging with the review process. The paper concludes that, as a vehicle of children's participation, LAC reviews are still not working well and calls for more attention to the views of children and young people and to the effectiveness of LAC reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interrogates the multiple spatialities bound up with the consumption of units as the dominant means of diagnosing 'health-related' alcohol problems and measuring 'drunkenness' in international alcohol policy and research. In order to question the power afforded to units, we work at the intersection of theoretical debates concerning biopower and governmentality; emotional, embodied and affective geographies and actor network theory. Presenting empirical research from the UK we contribute to geographical agendas that seek to consider the ontological and epistemological understandings of alcohol, drinking and drunkenness. The paper concludes by calling for dialogue between social, health and medical scientists in order to develop more pertinent ways of understanding and representing the risks and benefits of alcohol consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper considers social and personal/individual approaches to researching identities of adolescents with severe learning disabilities; suggesting that vital components of emotionality and relatedness are largely missing from research and consequently from literature informing social care professionals. This leaves untapped, rich information and communication resources for research which may improve understandings of the experiences of a socially excluded group of young people. A psychosocial view of adolescent identity development, 'subjectivation', offers a way forward and a case study on 'Billy', drawn from a 'practice-near' observational study, helps to illustrate this. Observation allows the researcher to be sensitive to the subtle ways in which identities of young people with severe learning disabilities are constructed, often with a sense of fragility and uncertainty. Continuities of experience between the young people and the rest of the adolescent community may be seen, but also the impact of living with impairment can be thought about in relation to the particular psychosocial circumstances of each young person. Knowledge of these processes enhances social work practice by encouraging workers to be sensitive to, and healthily curious about, the multiple ways in which identities of young people with severe learning disabilities are shaped in relationship with those around them and the wider social field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This paper reports on a subset of findings from a wider ranging grounded theory analysis of therapy and recovery processes in psychosis. It describes therapist activities involved in maintaining an observational perspective during therapy and the links between these and other therapist activities. Design. Grounded theory was used to examine the qualitative data collected. Methods. An initial sample of 19 taped therapy sessions and 23 interviews with psychologists and their clients was collected. This sample was extended through the collection of three further interviews with psychoanalytically aware psychologists. The data were analysed using grounded theory. Results. A grounded theory model of therapy processes in psychosis was developed that conceptualized therapist actions as providing an observational scaffold to support the client's efforts in moving to new perspectives on their situation. Consistent with the understanding of the core therapy activity as a dialogical process, this set of therapist actions was understood as occurring alongside other therapist activities involved in managing emotion and building a relationship in therapy. Conclusions. The central activity of therapy in psychosis was understood as a dialogical process continuously negotiated between therapist and client in conversation and was conceptually summarized in the grounded theory as 'building bridges to observational perspectives'. However, the active and strategic efforts of psychologists to sustain the dialogue implied a particular assumption of responsibility for maintaining this process. In particular, therapists appeared to be 'working to maintain observational perspectives', 'managing emotion', and 'doing relationship' during the therapy conversation as part of the joint effort with clients to build bridges to new observational perspectives on distress and psychosis. Practitioner Points There is conceptual convergence in the field regarding the importance in psychological therapy in psychosis of the therapist both assisting the person experiencing psychosis to keep emotional intensity to a manageable level and assisting them in opening up new ways of thinking about their experiences., The therapist's strategic activities in working to maintain an observational perspective on both the process and content of therapy appears to support a collaborative endeavour with the client of building bridges to new perspectives on distress and psychosis. However, the apparent assumption of responsibility by the therapist for maintaining what appears to be a dialogical (i.e., joint) process underlines the importance of the therapist's efforts to maintain an observational standpoint relative to their own activities and views., The study emphasizes the therapist's use of theoretical/therapeutic models as observational tools supporting their active and strategic efforts to maintain an observational perspective during therapy in psychosis, rather than regarding those theories as representing fixed or final views of the client's situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to re‐examine nursing work from a Marxist perspective by means of a critique of two key concepts within nursing: autonomy and caring. Although Marx wrote over 150 years ago, many see continuing relevance to his theories. His concepts of capital, ideology and class antagonism are employed in this paper. Nursing's historical insertion into the developing hospital system is seen in terms of a loss of autonomy covered over by the development of cults of loyalty toward those institutions, while the concept of emotional labour is used to re‐examine nursing's high valuing of "caring" and to understand it as potentially exploitative of nurses. Raising awareness of this alternative way of understanding nursing work can become a first step toward change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops dialogue between geographers’ engagement with emotion, embodiment and affect, and geographical research on alcohol, drinking and drunkenness. In doing so, we focus on the long-running ‘moral panic’ relating to alcohol-related violence, disorder and drunken behaviour in urban public space. We argue there has been an ontological and epistemological impasse in ‘alcohol studies’ between approaches that have considered the biological, physiological and psychological impacts of alcohol consumption and those focused on social and cultural practices. While there has been an artificial separation, and hence under-theorisation of the relationships between emotions, embodiment, affect and everyday uses of alcohol, we develop an argument that signals the possibilities of a more nuanced and sophisticated approach. We present empirical research from the UK and offer theoretical, methodological and policy-relevant conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns threats to identity experienced by migrants who have encountered radical socio-political upheaval. We argue that migration, following massive societal change, is associated with disruption that is likely to be undesired and, even when it is desired, because it is substantial, threatens identity definition and evaluation. There is relatively little empirical social psychological research on migrants' perceptions of the threats associated with migration and their impact upon identity. In this study, we investigate the emotional and cognitive experience of threat to identity described by immigrants to Britain (N = 24) from the former Yugoslavia, following the outbreak there of civil war. We examine how these interviewees engage in a meaning-making process, negotiating their position amid a complex system of group categorisations and cultural values in order to retain their sense of self-efficacy, continuity, distinctiveness and self-esteem. Identity Process Theory (Breakwell, 1986) is used to interpret the findings. We also show how strong emotional reactions surround alterations in identity meanings following severe threats that are consequent upon major life changes. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]