Attitudes to talking to service-users with psychosis about sex.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Q-sort study of clinical psychologists’ attitudes to talking to service-users with psychosis about sex and intimacy.
IRAS ID
200997
Contact name
Daniel JL Southall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Staffordshire University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 25 days
Research summary
This study aims to explore the views and attitudes of clinical psychologists about discussing issues of sexual need and intimate relationships with service-users suffering with psychosis. Recent policy documents have highlighted the importance of social support and close personal relationships in recovery from psychosis, but the extent to which this is explored by clinical psychologists is unclear. Recent research has established that people with psychosis consider sexual expression and intimacy as an area of personal need, and service-users look to health professionals to open discussions in this area. The aim of this research is to open discussions about whether clinical psychologists can do more to support clients in the recovery process.
This study uses a mixed-method Q-sort methodology in order to identify the practices of clinical psychologists in relation to addressing issues of sex and intimacy with service-users who experience psychosis, and their views and attitudes on discussing this subject. The Q-sort will involve a set of statements related to sex and intimacy in psychosis that will represent, as broadly as possible, any view a clinical psychologist could hold in relation to the topic, for example “A healthy sex life is important for people with psychosis”, or “Talking about sex with clients is embarrassing”. Participants rank each statement from -6 (most disagree) to +6 (most agree).
Clinical psychologists whose role largely focuses on work with individuals with psychosis will be recruited to take part in the study both locally and nationally. The Q-sort process can take place physically in a quiet location, or it can be carried out using an online Q-sort data collection tool. Following data collection, statistical analyses then allows themes to be identified from the data that represent the different viewpoints clinical psychologists hold about discussing sex and intimacy with individuals with psychosis.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A