Clinical Psychologists' experiences working with sexual trauma V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring Clinical Psychologists’ (and Psychotherapists’) experiences of working with survivors of sexual trauma
IRAS ID
305837
Contact name
Laura Glinn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bangor University, School of Human and Behavioural Sciences
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 30 days
Research summary
Research has shown that mental health professionals who help survivors of sexual trauma (ST) in their recovery from the effects of ST are vulnerable to negative and positive effects of this work (Cohen & Collens, 2013). Several factors seem to influence how professionals experience ST work, including amount of exposure to ST at one time and over time, ST training, personal trauma history, coping strategies and organisational support (Cohen & Collens, 2013). There are, however, inconsistencies in the literature as to how these factors influence the impact of this work on professionals, suggesting that the personal impact of ST work is likely complex, varied, and multi-faceted.
Yet most existing research in this area is quantitative and the small amount of qualitative research has largely focused on vicarious trauma as a negative risk and post-traumatic growth as a positive risk. Little is known about professionals’ experiences that fall outside of how these constructs have been defined and measured. Furthermore, most research has been conducted in the USA. There is no qualitative research that has explored Clinical Psychologists’ experiences of ST work in NHS settings. Given that there are important differences in professional requirements and likely the client group, the personal experiences of ST work might also differ.
This study therefore aims to explore the personal experiences of Clinical Psychologists (and Psychotherapists) working therapeutically with adult survivors of ST in NHS settings in Wales. Understanding the personal impact of ST work on Clinical Psychologists (and Psychotherapists) in the NHS will provide an important perspective and might help inform training and support. This study will use single semi-structured interviews and will analyse interview transcripts using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009). This methodology allows for the identification of themes in peoples’ experiences and in how they make sense of their experiences.
REC name
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REC reference
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