scholarly journals Counselling and professionalism: A phenomenological analysis of counsellor experience

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Tapson

In this article, the author discusses findings from an interpretative phenomenological study which explores challenging issues in relation to professionalism for counselling, and illuminates features in need of consideration in relation to organisational contexts. These features include the rapid reconfiguration of professionalism in response to contemporary organisational structures such as policy and managerial driven incentives. Using two individual semi-structured interviews, the meaning of professionalism for counsellors is explored. The author proposes that the rapidly growing disparity between old or occupational professionalism, as opposed to new or organizational professionalism, causes uncertainty for counsellors who may struggle to maintain their professional identity. The counsellor’s sense of professionalism is further disempowered if they feel themselves unheard, causing the counsellor to either resist or disengage from organizational obligations. Findings suggest that a counsellor’s sense of professionalism is more ably communicated if their place in an organisation is enacted rather than imposed. The author discusses the experiences of two counsellors in relation to the literature on professionalism, with focus upon the emotional reactions which were expressed as to organisational changes.

2022 ◽  
pp. 003022282110486
Author(s):  
Fatma Altınsoy

This study examines the post-traumatic growth of adolescents who have lost their parents about their experiences. Eight adolescents whose parents had died participated in the study conducted in the phenomenological design. The data were collected with three-step semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the phenomenological analysis technique performed in five stages. The findings were grouped into three main themes as “reactions to loss,” “readjustment,” and “post-traumatic growth,” and nine subthemes under each, and these sub-themes were categorized into forty-five codes.


Author(s):  
Marte Bentzen ◽  
Göran Kenttä ◽  
Pierre-Nicolas Lemyre

Background: Chronic job insecurity seems to be a prominent feature within elite sport, where coaches work under pressure of dismissals if failing to meet performance expectations of stakeholders. The aim of the current study was to get a deeper understanding of elite football coaches’ experiences of getting fired and how they made sense of that process. Method: A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews was conducted with six elite football coaches who were fired within the same season. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was chosen as framework to analyze the data. Results: The results reflected five emerging themes: Acceptance of having an insecure job, working for an unprofessional organization and management, micro-politics in the organization, unrealistic and changing performance expectation, and emotional responses. Conclusion: All coaches expressed awareness and acceptance regarding the risk of being fired. However, they experienced a lack of transparency and clear feedback regarding the causes of dismissal. This led to negative emotional reactions as the coaches experienced being evaluated by poorly defined expectations and by anonymous stakeholders. Sports organizations as employers should strive to be transparent during dismissal. In addition, job insecurity is a permanent stressor for coaches and should be acknowledged and targeted within coach education.


Author(s):  
Moawiah Khatatbeh ◽  
Fadwa Alhalaiqa ◽  
Aws Khasawneh ◽  
Ala’a B. Al-Tammemi ◽  
Haitham Khatatbeh ◽  
...  

Various changes have affected health services delivery in response to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this may exhibit unprecedented effects on healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to explore the lived experience of physicians and nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in Jordan. An interpretative phenomenology approach was used, and sampling was purposively performed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using an online meeting platform (Zoom®). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed. The data were obtained from 26 physicians and nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. The mean age of the participants was 29.41 years (SD = 2.72). Six main themes and 17 subthemes were identified: (i) emotional reactions; (ii) preparation; (iii) source of support; (iv) extreme workload; (v) occupational challenges, and (vi) work-related concerns. The results showed that nurses and physicians caring for COVID-19 patients in Jordan were experiencing mental and emotional distress and were practicing under inadequate work conditions. This distress could be multifactorial with personal, organizational, or cultural origins. Our findings may guide policymakers to consider the potential factors that significantly affect working environment in healthcare settings, the physical and mental wellbeing of HCWs, and the required professional training that can help in enhancing resilience and coping strategies amidst crises.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 284-291
Author(s):  
Andrew David Dainty ◽  
Donna Barnes ◽  
Erica Bellamy ◽  
Nicola Kyte ◽  
Katie Berry

Aims: This study aimed to capture the lived experience of some of the first trainee nursing associates (TNAs) during the pilot of the role in the January 2017 cohort of TNAs, based at the University of Derby. Methods: A convenience sampling approach was used to recruit participants to this phenomenological study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with four participants to capture the experience, as lived by the first cohort of TNAs. Transcripts were transcribed verbatim and were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Results: Analysis suggests that the participant experience was characterised by six themes, namely: challenges relating to NA training; developing new skills; opportunity; the importance of support; impact of the NA role; and understanding the NA role. Conclusion: This study adds to our understanding relating to the lived experience of some of the first TNAs taking up training for this role within healthcare, and highlights some of the factors that were most pertinent, according to the lived experience of the trainees themselves. The authors hope that the findings of this study will prove useful for those considering taking up training for the role, or indeed establishments considering implementing the role with their settings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 874-889
Author(s):  
Katey Warran ◽  
Daisy Fancourt ◽  
Rosie Perkins

The aim of this study was to explore the experience and perceived impact of group singing for men with cancer. Through the lens of phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were carried out with five patients with prostate cancer, focusing on their experience of cancer, singing, and the perceived impact of the choir. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes emerged from the data: (a) meeting existential changes; (b) dynamic connection to others; (c) a holistic experience; (d) a positive experience. The experience of singing was viewed by participants as: something positive; a social experience; an ineffable experience; an activity that engages the whole person. The perceived impact of singing included: providing support in the face of the existential uncertainty brought about by having cancer; a dynamic connection to others; fulfilment; enhanced wellbeing; finding some form of benefit from the cancer experience. These results indicate that group singing has potential as an appropriate intervention for men living with cancer. This study, though small-scale, sheds some light on how to deliver holistic healthcare and how to optimise current choirs in health settings.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadie Hassell ◽  
Debbie M Smith ◽  
Stewart Rust ◽  
Simon Jones ◽  
Anja Wittkowski

Abstract BackgroundLysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LALD) is an ultra-rare, inherited metabolic disease within the category of lysosomal storage disorders, affecting an infant’s ability to metabolise cholesterol. Developments in treatment, including Enzyme Replacement Therapy, have proven successful, with some children living for a number of years post-diagnosis, although the future still remains unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of parents of children with LALD. Main textParticipants were recruited from across the United Kingdom between 2020-2021. Eight parents (five mothers and three fathers) whose child had a confirmed diagnosis of LALD were interviewed. Data collected from the semi-structured interviews were audio-record, transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate and nine subordinate themes emerged from the data: 1) Uncertainty - a double-edged sword (plunged into an uncertain world, living life with worry and walking the tightrope of stability), 2) Powerless against a shared battle (a helpless parent, a joint battle, protection against distress and a vulnerable parent needing to be held) and 3) Accepting a life with LALD - the camouflage of a “normal” child (trying to make sense of ‘why’ and a condition disguised by normality). ConclusionsThe findings of this study highlighted that the diagnosis of LALD proves to be a very vulnerable time in parents’ lives, eliciting strong emotional reactions against an unknown future. This study signified the importance of clinical pathways and service provisions to support parents and their children through this period, raising important issues around diagnosis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Andrea Subryan

Family law practitioners can potentially experience display rule conflict in the workplace. Such conflicts result when family law practitioners comply with competing display rules from their profession, their organisation, and their clients. Research relating to display rule conflict is in its infancy. The phenomenon of display rule conflict was explored to contribute to knowledge in the literature and to inform family law practitioners of such conflicts and how to cope with them. To this end, a hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted on family law practitioners' workplace experiences of display rule conflict. Two sociocultural theories, professional identity theory and community of coping theory, underpinned this study. Semi-structured interviews of ten family law practitioners comprising partners, solicitors, and paralegals provided data which were analysed by inductive thematic analysis and qualitative hermeneutic phenomenology. Findings revealed four themes: expectations, professional identity, support by offloading, and learning. Furthermore, all participants experienced emotional complexities, tensions and conflicts when they complied with competing expectations to manage and display appropriate emotions during interactions with stakeholders in accordance with diverse formal and informal display rules. Additionally, family law practitioners formed and participated in communities of coping as a means of dealing with display rule conflict. The theme, learning, threaded through the other themes where incidental learning in communities of coping or intended learning in communities of practice were of significant value to participants in this study. It is through learning that family law practitioners were able to recognise expectations from stakeholders and display rule conflicts in various forms and find ways of coping with such conflicts. Time constraints, identity conflict, and power status factors influenced the extent to which knowledge was shared in communities to negotiate the professional identity of the family law practitioners and to uphold perceived power imbalances in the workplace.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Kananga Robert Mukuna

This study explored Basotho teenage mothers' experiences in early motherhood at a rural school in a district in South Africa. The interpretative phenomenological qualitative approach and the contextual and phenomenological study designs were used in this study. Five participants (N=5) were purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews were employed as a tool for data collection. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. The findings demonstrated that Basotho teenage mothers experience insufficient support from the family and the school management team. They are expelled from the school during their pregnancy and only allowed to return to school after giving birth.  They also lack support from their teenage husbands. Thus, Basotho teenage mothers are stigmatised, discriminated against, and lack support from their teenage husbands, peers, and the community during their early motherhood. The study recommended that the School-Based Support Team (SBST) should train teachers on the best support mechanisms for teenage mothers.   Received: 24 August 2020 / Accepted: 21 November 2020 / Published: 10 May 2021


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 2156759X2199714
Author(s):  
Kenya G. Bledsoe ◽  
Joy J. Burnham ◽  
Ryan M. Cook ◽  
Madeline Clark ◽  
Alan L. Webb

Researchers conducted a qualitative, phenomenological investigation of the clinical supervision experiences of nine early career school counselors using semi-structured interviews. Researchers discovered six themes and related subthemes regarding clinical supervision experiences, including (a) challenges, (b) support, (c) knowledge, (d) self-efficacy, (e) improved professional identity, and (f) improved counseling services. Implications for school counselors, counseling supervisors, and counselor educators are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
F A Nurdiyanto

This research was conducted to explore the experiences of suicidal survivors in seeking psychological help for their crisis. A descriptive phenomenological study was chosen to get the dynamics of mental health help-seeking. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with youth participants who had previously experienced a suicide crisis. Seven participants (5 women; mean age 26 years-old) were involved voluntarily through the snowball technique recruitment. Descriptive phenomenological analysis was applied to get the synthesis and meaning of experiences in psychological help-seeking. This study found psychological help sources: self-help, close relationships, socio-cultural, and institutional. This article highlighted that social relations played a crucial role in the success of seeking help. Suicide prevention should be carried out by campaigning for self-disclosure to seeking help by utilizing various available psychological help sources.


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