Counsellor And Health Psychology

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Counsellor And Health Psychology

 

Overview of Research Activity

The Counselling and Health Psychology Research Group primarily conducts research with a strong emphasis on practical applications.

The counselling team members are particularly focused on methodological concerns, supporting one another throughout the research process and in disseminating their findings. Their extensive expertise in counselling research spans various subject areas, including:

• Self-image: Topics such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder, facial disfigurement due to trauma, young women’s experiences with negative body image, and the experience of “the other woman” in extra-dyadic relationships, as well as eating disorders.
• Sexuality: Issues including the experiences of transsexual individuals, the use of club drugs among gay/bisexual men, and the construction of BDSM among trainees, along with childhood sexual abuse (CSA).
• Trauma: Research into adult relationships following CSA, the sense of self after CSA, help-seeking behaviors in adult male survivors of CSA, self-harm depicted in YouTube images, the concept of hope within self-harm, and therapists’ experiences working with self-harming clients, as well as abuse in Ireland.
• Psychological Concerns within Families: This includes research on parents’ experiences with a child in therapy, mothers’ experiences with adult daughters in therapy, fathers’ experiences raising sons with challenging behaviors, and rumination after bereavement, as well as couples’ issues, family dynamics regarding diabetes, and CSA.
• Psychological Impact of Health-Related Concerns: Topics covered include couples’ experiences when one partner has an eating disorder, family social support and self-care in diabetes, mothers’ experiences upon learning their child is overweight, therapy for adult cancer patients, altruistic kidney donors, trauma symptoms after childbirth, persistent primary nocturnal enuresis, older male caregivers for partners with dementia, young adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder, and aging with HIV.
• Social and Cultural Issues: This includes research on the institutional abuse of children in Ireland, resilience among survivors of Irish institutional abuse, South-Asian therapists’ experiences with service matching, Ghanaian psychologists working with clients who hold traditional beliefs, the wrongful imprisonment of indigenous Mexicans, engaging military veterans in therapy, workplace bullying, male prisoners’ perceptions of help-seeking, therapists’ experiences with prisoners, counsellors’ work with Iraqi refugees in Jordan, and cravings in pathological gamblers.
• Practitioner Identity and Development: Topics include the wounded healer, burnout, mindfulness for CBT practitioners, the impact of therapist attire in psychotherapy, therapist disclosure to clients with eating disorders, humor with psychotic clients, the impact of domestic violence on therapists’ intimate relationships, sexual harassment from clients, therapists’ experiences within different therapeutic approaches and sessions
• the influence of therapists’ life experiences on clinical practice, choosing psychological professionals for older adults, and therapists’ emotional experiences when working with anorexia patients.

The health psychology team concentrates on evaluating and improving health services, understanding the effectiveness of health psychology interventions, and studying the experience of illness and well-being.

They excel in evaluating innovative approaches and policies designed to enhance health and well-being in various settings, including communities, workplaces, and hospitals.

The health psychology team collectively brings extensive experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as action research, interpretative phenomenological analysis, grounded theory, discourse analysis, randomized controlled trials, and systematic reviews.

The Counselling and Health Psychology Research Group is particularly committed to ensuring that its research has a meaningful impact. For example, Pires-Yfantoudas’s research on supporting patients with musculoskeletal conditions through motivational interviewing techniques was shared through blogs to broaden access to the findings.

Sykes’s work on pregnancy sickness, which affects approximately 80% of singleton pregnancies, led her to become a trustee of the Pregnancy Sickness Support Charity, where she helps shape the charity’s research strategy and manages its data.

Willig contributed to the prestigious American Psychological Association (APA) Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology, a leading guide to research methods in counselling psychology.

Achievements and News

The health psychology team has recently presented at two major conferences: the Annual Division of Health Psychology Conference and the 8th International Society of Critical Health Psychology Conference.

Presentations included findings from a qualitative study on healthcare professionals’ experiences with patient-reported stress, a study on paramedics’ discourse in managing pain for people with dementia, and the results of a brief mindfulness-based intervention aimed at helping people resist chocolate.

The health psychology team also hosted the Biopsychosocial Understandings of Hyperemesis Gravidarum Conference, which was a great success. Speakers from around the world presented the latest research and developments in the care and management of women with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. MSc and undergraduate health psychology students contributed to the conference’s success, gaining valuable work experience.

The health psychology team values its collaborations with external organizations on the front lines of healthcare service delivery. For instance, the team is working with the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to explore the beliefs and attitudes towards work return among patients with chronic pain.

This multi-phase project will inform future service development for chronic pain patients, drawing on expertise from multidisciplinary teams, including experienced health psychologists and specialist healthcare providers.

The counselling team aims to showcase its activities, foster collaboration, and facilitate joint publications involving both staff and graduates. Additionally, the team seeks to establish links with researchers at other institutions to create opportunities for collaboration and integration.

The counselling team holds monthly meetings where researchers present their work-in-progress. These meetings led to the production of two journal articles and one conference presentation by alumni during the 2012-13 period.

The counselling team also welcomes presentations by researchers from outside City University London and has benefited from contributions by the following visitors during 2012-13:

• Dr. Catherine Nelson, Counselling Psychologist at Maggie’s London, Charing Cross Hospital
• Elizabeth Hughes, PhD student in Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck (under the supervision of Stephen Frosh)
• Ryan Kemp, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Addictions Lead Psychologist at Central & North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust, Chair: Faculty of Addictions (British Psychological Society)
• Andrea Calsamiglia, Research student in Social Psychology PhD at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Open University

Teaching

The health psychology team offers two courses in health psychology:

• MSc Health Psychology: This course is designed for those seeking to start or advance their careers in the rapidly-evolving healthcare sector. It is professionally-focused and innovative, equipping students with both practical and critical skills to distinguish themselves in the field.
• Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology: This course is the second stage of training for aspiring health psychologists, preparing them for careers in health psychology, including public service roles. The Professional Doctorate provides trainees with all the competencies needed to practice health psychology effectively and confidently while also developing their individual skills and experience.

The ultimate goal of this program is for trainees to become proficient in practicing health psychology and to produce original research that contributes to the field of applied health psychology.

The course aims to provide professional and academic training that enables trainees to work as health psychologists in a variety of settings, including the NHS, charities, industry, government, private practice, academic, and research environments.

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