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This paper examines the question of how counselling psychology might move forward into the future. It argues that, for many counselling psychologists, the defining feature of our profession lies in a humanistic value-base; and that, to move forward, we need to look at how that could be more fully actualised. The paper argues that this value-base is most succinctly expressed in Levinas's concept of 'Welcoming the Other,' and it proposes five ways in which this ethic might be taken forward: developing our capacity to see beyond diagnoses, enhancing our responsiveness, focusing more fully on our client's intelligibility, taking a lead in giving psychology away, and developing our evidence base. The paper concludes by suggesting that the key issue is not the survival of counselling psychology as a profession; but the survival, development and proliferation of this value-base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wellbeing plays a key role in economic psychology, illustrating how psychological mechanisms impact on economic factors. Wellbeing is vital for occupational psychologists as it allows for the development of interventions to protect and improve workers health. The contribution of economic psychology has received little attention within occupational psychology to improve the measurements of individual wellbeing. The aim of this commentary paper was to bring forward a call to action of two methods that have been used in economic psychology that occupational psychologists can adopt to better measure wellbeing. This commentary paper is based on the insights of Kirchler and Hoelzl (2018) and both time-sample diaries and day reconstruction methods. The analysis showed that by using time-sample diaries, occupational psychologists could better understand the current mood, current mental state and objective characteristics of worker situations. This commentary article identified that by using day reconstruction method, occupational psychologists can have a better insight into employee experiences and feelings in a timely manner. This commentary article recommends that by using insights from economic psychology, occupational psychologists can better measure the wellbeing of workers using time-sample diaries and day reconstruction methods. The paper should, therefore, be of value to scholars and practitioners wishing to improve wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on how eclectic the work of educational psychologists (EPs) can be. It outlines how the profession of educational psychology has had to adapt and grow as a result of the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. An overview of the direct result of the exceptional working conditions that we have endured since March 2020 is presented.

Content & Focus: This paper aims to explore a number of key challenges raised by existential theory to the dominant assumptions, aims and practices within contemporary counselling psychology. It argues that the existential focus on relatedness significantly alters counselling psychology's understanding of, and ways of perceiving individuals as well as the concerns that are brought to the therapeutic encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely accepted that Counselling Psychology is underpinned by both Humanist and Post-Modern epistemologies, and that it holds the practitioner's 'use of self' in the service of the therapeutic relationship to be paramount in the therapeutic encounter. Although Humanism and Post-Modernism can both provide theoretical pretexts for the use of self, these stances to knowledge can be experienced as in conflict with each other, and so generate ambiguity and conflict for trainees. The academic (University) contexts of training courses can feed into aspects of these epistemological conflicts in that they uphold individualist-objectivist stances to knowledge/evidence and styles of communication. In this paper psychological literature is drawn upon to explore how trainees are positioned by the discourses of 'self and 'development' that are available to them, with particular reference to the discourse of 'reflective-practice'. The concept of a plural and dialogical self is used to suggest augmenting the manner in which personal and professional development is conducted and assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the development of a systemic family clinic in a Paediatric Health Psychology setting. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was used in the development of the clinic and to consider future plans. Reviewing the development of the clinic a year on from the AI session we identified the benefits of embedding systemic family work and training strategy within the department. This was enabled by a willingness to lean into uncertainty, clear boundaries, structure and protected time. AI also helped us to look towards growth in the future. We reflect on the process and offer some key learning points that we hope will inspire others in their own service development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a critical discussion about how the curriculum contributes to the sense of belonginess within Higher Education (HE), and how the ongoing aim of decolonisation needs to incorporate a more consistent intersectional lens with the curriculum within psychology. Psychology as a discipline has been criticised for its focus on primarily conducting research with people from countries that are Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD; Henrich et al., 2010). This approach has neglected a number of social groups within the wider literature and has indeed marginalised the voices and experiences of many. Through the topic of decolonisation, there has been the discussion of the importance of belonging and belongingness, but the intersectional experiences of various social groups within the curriculum has been neglected. In summary, this discussion reveals that there are several key ways in which curricula and decolonial research can contribute to belonging: 1) communication of what (who) is important; 2) consideration of student learning needs; 3) appreciation of course content that is salient to students; 4) demonstration of alignment with a wider range of philosophical approaches; 5) promotion and celebration of cultural differences which allow students to be themselves; and 6) inclusion of a wide range of factors within teaching that contribute to belonging, for example the importance of place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Ireland is introducing major human rights-based reform to its mental health laws. This paper outlines the new legal landscape in which psychologists must operate against the backdrop of present day effects of Ireland’s dark legacy of institutionalisation. A rights-based approach aims to positively transform mental health service delivery and we advocate for person-centred treatments as the ‘new normal’. We summarise the recent advocacy work undertaken by the Psychological Society of Ireland’s Special Interest Group in Human Rights & Psychology. Finally, we present an innovative best practice case promoting future rights-based delivery via the Socio-Ecological Model of Health – Kyrie Farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a long history of human rights violations in healthcare and those perpetrating such human rights violations have included healthcare professionals, including clinical psychologists (Soldz, 2008; Balfe, 2016). Furthermore, individuals who have been subject to human rights violations which can include torture, discrimination, war, genocide, abuse, and trauma to name a few, are more likely to come into contact with mental health services and as a result, with clinical psychologists. Therefore, clinical psychologists have an ethical responsibility to critically engage with and examine issues pertaining to human rights, as well as their own positionality in respect of this (Patel, 2003). To support this examination, Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) training programmes should include opportunities for exploration and engagement with Human Rights violations as part of the training of clinical psychologists, however this is not currently consistently the case. In this paper the authors outline and examine the delivery of Human Rights Based teaching to trainee clinical psychologists using pedagogical, participatory and experiential learning techniques. The authors offer qualitative and quantitative feedback from four cohorts of trainee clinical psychologists on the impact of the Human Rights based teaching on their sense of self, their sense of others, their practice, and their ability to critically reflect on clinical psychology as an oppressive structure. The authors present some of the challenges and opportunities of embedding a Human Rights based framework in the teaching and education of trainee clinical psychologists and the implications of this on the practice of clinical psychology. The authors make a case that training institutions which embody principles and values connected to human rights and just psychology are likely to foster a psychological workforce that is attuned with ethics, justice and privilege. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the Open Science movement, a large number of training events have emerged. Addressing different topics and target audiences ranging from students to senior researchers, they all are contributing to the goal of making the psychology more open, transparent, and reproducible. In the present paper, the authors, based on their active involvement in the Open Science Community and their experience of leading a Germany-wide Open Science initiative, provide a best practice overview of Open Science events. Six different event types including talks, workshops, podcasts, panel discussions, event series, and summer schools are outlined and ranked on five criteria: accessibility, feasibility, scalability, specificity, and needed expertise. The present best practice article should help individuals interested in Open Science to organise their own educational events and offer established Open Science initiatives for expanding their range of events. We further outline how each of the six presented events can be used for teaching in psychology by illustrating practical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about the Qualitative Methods in Psychology (QMiP) conference at Leicester's De Montfort University on July 13–15, 2022, in Leicester. Topics include workshop facilitated by Michael Larkin exploring interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA); and provides a unique opportunity for qualitative researchers to come together and share innovation.

The article informs about Micah Saviet's experience at The Qualitative Report's 14th Annual Conference, emphasizing the conference's theme, the well-organized online format, and the diverse topics discussed, including technology-infused research, ethical considerations, and themes related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Saviet expresses a sense of community and highlights the engaging presentations and discussions that contributed to the overall excitement about future conferences.

Story completion (SC) – where respondents are presented with the start of a story (the story ‘stem’ or ‘cue’) and asked to complete it – originally developed as a projective technique for clinical and research assessment. While SC continues to be used in this way, it has also evolved into a qualitative data generation technique, providing qualitative researchers with a creative and novel alternative to the self-report data typical of qualitative research. In this paper, we outline the growing interest in the method within psychotherapy and counselling psychology research and explain what we think the method offers to this field of research. To support psychotherapists and counselling psychologists in adding SC to their methodological toolkit, we also provide practical guidance on the design and implementation of SC, drawing on an example study exploring perceptions of ethnic/racial differences between a therapist and client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that first-year retention rates are a cause for concern within higher education. One way in which to tackle this is to consider how institutions can best prepare new students for the transition to university. The current paper details a project from the University of the West of Scotland where first year psychology students enrolled on a pre-entry academic skills induction course in order to support their transition to university. The course consisted of engagement with five interactive magazines to allow students to begin experiencing the digital environments, skills, and resources that they would need throughout their degree ('What is psychology?', 'How do I study?', 'The importance of critical thinking', 'What's involved in psychological research?' and 'Life after university'). Focus groups were conducted with students shortly after taking part in the course, and again four years later upon graduation, to explore its perceived value both as a new student, and across time at university. A deductive thematic analysis showed a positive reception to the materials, but that some topics were less relevant at the beginning of a degree course. We reflect upon these findings in the context of current HE practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is developed from the Psychotherapy Annual Conference workshop with the the theme: The Distress of Invisible Populations - Your Chance to Speak. It describes how to culturally enhance social prescribing as a community practice for educating community psychologists and psychotherapists. It expands the previous literature review on the topic and the biopsychosocial model. It adds the cultural aspect and evaluates the outcome as evidence-based practice with recommendations to increase the future impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how to culturally enhance social prescribing as a community practice in accordance with the ethno biopsychosocial human rights model for educating community psychologists and psychotherapists. It provides a literature review and an overview of the procedures on how to translate the theory into practice. It expands therapeutic approaches as a multidiscipline that involves community psychology, psychotherapy and sports and exercise psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people find it difficult to accept British psychology's eugenic history. Much of the literature is unhelpful in its abstention from comprehensive and lucid accounts of the Galtonian eugenic origins of much published work on individual differences in intelligence and personality deemed as inherited, the multifaceted nature of eugenics itself, or the complexity of this legacy in the early 20th century. Despite some well researched accounts of highly specific aspects of eugenic influence, the wider picture often remains elusive. Yet as the implications of eugenics for studies of race, class, and the histories of institutions and academic disciplines are increasingly interrogated, this is ever more inappropriate. Its eugenic past forms part of the challenging history of British psychology. Though a single paper cannot address these issues in their entirety, this thematic reappraisal of Galton and his legacy in the early 20th century provides a crucial initial step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores concerns regarding the standardization and technologization of education, specifically in the field of counseling psychology training. While acknowledging the potential benefits of these changes, such as increased access and improved planning, the author also highlights the negative consequences, including a loss of independence, curiosity, and risk-taking in the learning process. The article argues that spontaneity, emotion, and unpredictability are crucial for effective learning, and that a focus on metrics and outcomes can hinder genuine engagement. The author calls for a reevaluation of the current approach to education and emphasizes the importance of reflection, critical thinking, and protecting vital aspects of teaching and learning. [Extracted from the article]

Because I have so little time in which to tackle such a basic and important issue I shall limit myself to sketching the fundamental contradictions and pitfalls that are to be found underneath the smooth presentations of this new discipline of counselling psychology. It seems to me all the more important to take this opportunity to ask some pertinent questions and challenge some of the preconceptions around the aims and objectives of counselling psychology as it will be tempting for most of us to launch headlong into the professionalization of the field in order to achieve credibility. In making these few remarks I shall therefore speak from the perspective of the philosopher as defined by Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations, where he declares that "the work of a philosopher consists in assembling reminders for a particular purpose" (Wittgenstein, 1953). My purpose will be clear in a minute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles on the topics including experiences of Imposter Syndrome in postgraduate students from an ethnic minority background; and using Photovoice within small group teaching and presents a reflection from both the educator's perspective.

Although the first research in the UK to achieve what amounted to operant conditioning (Grindley, 1932) was published in the same year as Skinner's pioneer publication no similar procedure seems to have been carried out in Britain until Hurwitz founded an operant laboratory at Birkbeck, (then Birkbeck College), University of London, in the early 1950s, presumably inspired by his meeting with Skinner in 1951, and their subsequent friendship. It certainly was an import from America, fortified by local solutions for providing suitable control equipment. The author was a student of Hurwitz at Birkbeck (1957-1961) and was researching (1961-1964) close by at University College (UCL). There follows a largely biographical account of how operant conditioning, initially mostly in rats, spread around universities in the UK. Many of the people concerned, and others not mentioned, shared their ideas at meetings of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour Group (EABG) that informally sprang up in the early 1960s, initially without funding or its own journal. In coordination with the later emergence of the European Association for Behaviour Analysis (EABA) and its associated journal (European Journal of Behaviour Analysis) the organisation of the EABG has become established in Bangor, and holds regular biennial meetings at University College, London, alternating with those of the EABA in other parts of Europe. The EABG continues to attract many foreign attendees, including from the US, but some of its earlier enthusiasts no longer attend, whilst those attending mostly see themselves as Behaviour Analysts, reflecting changes both in the theory and practice of operant psychology. While operant technology remains a useful tool for those seeking a broad biological and authentic evolutionary understanding of behaviour, the philosophy of operant psychology as an all-encompassing approach to behavioural science has proved divisive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial that academic institutions offer support to their increasingly diverse student bodies. LGBTQIA+ students often report negative experiences in relation to campus climate and treatment. The aim of this qualitative research was to explore the experiences of LGBTQIA+ students who attend(ed) a collaborative (staff and student), departmentally located (psychology) virtual (synchronous and asynchronous online) Pride group. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four LGBTQIA+ students who had attended one or more virtual group meetings. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006; 2019; 2022) reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were constructed: being and becoming authentic; safe and restorative spaces; community, and connections. Together these four themes relate to an overarching theme of belonging. Although the cohort was small, the emphatic and consistent findings point to the importance of visible representation of LGBTQIA+ academic staff and the need to provide joint Pride group spaces in academic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on the topics including qualitative research workshops and talks that were equally interesting and inspiring; and methodological and ethical positions countenance for methodological and of course ethical reasons.

The article offers information related to "Decolonizing Psychology: Moving from developing an inclusive social psychology to centering epistemic justice" by Geetha Reddy, Kopano Ratele, Glenn Adams and Shahnaaz Suffla which appeared in the periodical "Social Psychological Review" is presented. Topic includes on Decolonizing Psychology from developing an inclusive social psychology to centering epistemic justice'. Epistemic justice is a key, but often glossed over, component of social justice.

This article outlines a preliminary mapping exercise of psychological staffing provision across Level 1 and 2 NHS neurorehabilitation services in England in February 2023, with the aim of understanding current provision and how it aligns with national service standards. Twenty services contributed clinical psychology/ neuropsychology staffing information. This was audited against national recommendations for clinical psychology/neuropsychology staffing provision in specialist neurorehabilitation services (British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine Specialised Neurorehabilitation Service Standards, 2015). The results indicate that, on average, neurorehabilitation services are understaffed by approximately 2 full-time equivalent psychologists. As a result, patients are at risk of receiving substandard care, with poor optimisation of rehabilitation through evidence-based interventions and increased possibility of long-term disability. Staff are not being provided with psychological consultation and services are hence not providing appropriate and efficient multidisciplinary care. This is a call for action to support sufficient funding for clinical psychology/neuropsychology provision within specialist neurorehabilitation services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Michael Larkin is a Reader in the School of Psychology at Aston University and is perhaps best known for his contribution to the development of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Michael, along with co-authors Jonathan Smith and Paul Flowers, recently published the second edition of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research (2022). In the interview, Michael was asked about his personal journey within qualitative research, his approach to teaching qualitative research methods and his hopes for the future of the discipline. The interview was conducted by Dr Sophie Williams (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology, University of Derby) and shaped into the following article by Dr India Amos (Senior Lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy, University of Salford and associate editor of QMiP Bulletin). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles on topics including continuing barriers to research influencing policy in the need for collaboration with teachers; and state of the area of Psychology of Education that formed the basis of their original Vernon Wall lecture.

The article focuses on introducing key members of the Psychotherapy Section committee for the year 2024, which include Ho Chung Law, Angela Shengxi Miao, and Isabel Clarke, highlighting their diverse backgrounds and contributions to mental health and psychotherapy.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including qualitative research in psychotherapy and counselling psychology, use of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) in higher education and the advantages of thematic learning (TA).

The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has led health services to change the way they support people with intellectual disabilities and their carers. Therefore, this novel service evaluation aimed to find out what service users thought about telephone, video or in-person psychology appointments during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, 45 adults with intellectual disabilities and their carers completed our mixed-methods questionnaire. Service users reported that they found video sessions easy and helpful. Despite an overall positive experience of video and telephone psychology input, most service users reported a preference for in-person psychology sessions after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, 27 per cent of service users also reported that they would appreciate flexibility in the modality of therapy delivery, with a preference for both remote and in-person appointments. Therefore, it is recommended that clinicians take a person-centred approach to offering appointments, by ensuring service users are aware of the available options and asking what their preference is. The findings also suggest the importance of ongoing practice-based evidence using accessible measures, whereby service users are involved to gain a broader understanding of experiences of digital technologies in clinical practice. Further research should also ensure that there is a disability-inclusive response to all decisions regarding one’s care and that the best provision of digital mental healthcare is provided to people with intellectual disabilities and their carers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative psychological research frequently focuses on issues of inequality, and as such researchers are committed to inclusion, including in education. However, as students in higher education become more diverse, and the sector becomes increasingly motivated to decolonise curricula and enhance inclusion in the classroom, how can we draw on our expertise and methodologies to create truly inclusive education? The Teaching Qualitative Psychology (TQP) workshop provided an opportunity to reflect on how we can translate our research ethos into teaching practices, increase our students' awareness of diversity and inclusion, and practically ensure that our students feel a sense of belonging and psychological safety in our classrooms (physical and virtual). We close with a call to share resources and effective practices across the qualitative psychology teaching community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about the Qualitative Methods in Psychology (QMiP) conference at Leicester's De Montfort University on July 13–15, 2022, themed ‘A Holistic Approach to Inclusion'. Topics include early career researcher (ECR) went with a poster delineating the proposal for a thesis which focuses on the underprivileged working mums; and research on incels who utilise social media echo chambers to promote innovative qualitative methods.

During the final year of studying for a psychology undergraduate degree at Middlesex University, students select whether they would like to undertake either a group project or an independent research-based dissertation. We both decided to carry out our dissertations as a qualitative group project composed of six students. We describe our experiences of the process, with a focus on both the benefits and disadvantages of the involvement of us as team members. The main advantages we have highlighted were the fact that we greatly saved time through delegation of responsibility and that there was a way to interact with others who were interested in the subject, which is not possible when working on individual projects. The key weakness was the lack of communication by other team members, which caused stress levels and feelings of aloneness. However, we both remain strongly glad we chose to execute our dissertations through a qualitative group project, displayed through the benefits exceeding the drawbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decolonising psychology curricula faces substantial anti-racist inertia and a history of 'using data limitations as an excuse not to push ahead' (NUS & Universities UK, 2019; p.35). We report on a targeted curriculum decolonisation project at a British university. We quantitatively coded the identifiable 'race', gender and nationality of the authors set as reading at the beginning (in 2015-16) and three-years after the project began (in 2019-20). Our analysis revealed no significant change in the dominance of Globally Northern (95 per cent), white (95 per cent) and male (57 per cent) authors over time. Indeed, there were more White, male authors named John than BAME-female and male authors, of any name, collectively. We call on organisational bodies to promote decolonisation as part of course re-accreditation converging with staff's interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of integrating psychology into neurorehabilitation has been documented (Wilson & Betteridge, 2019); however, research has found that services are often under-resourced. There has been emphasis on clinical psychologists using consultation and leadership to demonstrate their value beyond individual interventions (Wood, 2016). The neuropsychology department in the Mid Yorkshire Trust provided formulation meetings to a community neurorehabilitation team and this article provides an evaluation of those meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research relating to the development of expertise has tended to focus on very high level expertise or the many factors which are important in its development. In formal educational contexts the model of domain learning is particularly relevant for understanding learning. Conceptual change research has evolved from a focus on misconceptions to exploring issues related to professional development. Research on epistemological beliefs, metacognition, self-regulation, and beliefs about the nature of intelligence has clarified several issues. Change between learning environments continues to be challenging for some learners with the groups at risk of not fulfilling their potential remaining relatively stable. A key issue for those engaged in educational psychology is how to influence policy which can negatively impact on expertise development, particularly in relation to structured ability grouping, the curriculum and assessment procedures the latter ensuring that a large proportion of children are doomed to failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ways in which research into university teaching and student learning originated and developed over a forty-year period are illustrated by following a single line of research conducted by the author and his colleagues. The early research drew heavily on established psychological concepts, such as ability, motivation, and personality, to predict degree outcomes using inventories with statistical analysis. Subsequently, this approach was combined with in-depth interviews with individual students, which provided insights into distinctive approaches to learning and studying. The nature of academic understanding was also explored with students who explained the techniques they had used to remember what they had understood. Later, the research on student learning was expanded to explore the influences of teaching, and of the whole teaching-learning environment on students’ levels of knowledge and understanding, and on their feelings. Finally, problems in conveying research findings to university teachers are considered and directions of future research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years approaches to children's school progress are one step removed from the proximal processes which directly affect learning. Yet educational initiatives are unlikely to work well if there is not a prior understanding of the everyday contextual and relational dimensions of classrooms. On the basis of a review of our long-standing research programmes at the Institute of Education (IOE), and building in particular on ecological psychology, I propose a new eco-relational approach that has three dimensions: first, the influence of the immediate classroom context, in terms of, for axample, organisation into groups and interactional contexts; second, relationships in the classroom between teachers and pupils and between pupils; and third, ways contextual and relational elements are aligned or not in the complex interconnected and dynamic nature of the classroom system. I use our SPRinG project to show how an eco-relational approach can help realise the pedagogical potential of group work and benefit learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about the 36th issue of the QMiP Bulletin, welcoming new co-chairs Laura Kilby and Sarah Seymour-Smith. Topic includes an interview with Michael Larkin, empirical articles on the learning experiences of autistic university students during the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on eating disorder recovery, a student spot article on mental health in young women in couple relationships, event reviews, and book reviews on qualitative research and family narratives.

This service evaluation aimed to investigate the value of clinical psychology support into paediatric neuro-oncology rehabilitation over a two year period. Positive outcome and feedback data were obtained, evidencing the need for support to be introduced to families early on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]