Section A presents a literature review on the topic of personal therapy for therapists. Section B presents a cross-national empirical study. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour, the study explored the influence of subjective norms (social stigma) on clinical psychology students’ attitudes towards seeking personal therapy. A total of 462 students from Argentina (n = 121), England (n = 211), and the US (n = 211) completed a survey on demographic characteristics, well-known predictors of seeking therapy, perceived social stigma for receiving therapy, and attitudes towards seeking therapy. Results revealed significant cross-national differences, with Argentinean students showing the lowest levels of perceived social stigma for receiving therapy (M = 5.02, SD = 1.60), followed by English (M = 4.57, SD = 1.61) and Americans (M = 3.22, SD = 2.35). English students showed significantly less positive attitudes towards seeking therapy (M = 22.60, SD = 2.97) than their Argentinean (M = 24.89, SD = 2.94) and American (M = 24.27, SD = 3.17) counterparts. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived social stigma predicts students’ attitudes towards seeking therapy, even after controlling for the effects of other predictors of therapists’ therapy-seeking behaviours, among English (ß = -.26, p < .001), and American (ß = -.34, p < .001) students but not among Argentinean students. The hypothesised role of nationality as a moderator of the relationship between perceived social stigma for receiving therapy and attitudes towards seeking therapy was confirmed. Implications for research and training are discussed. Suggestions are made for English and American clinical psychology training programs to raise awareness on social stigma associated with receiving therapy. Section C presents a critical appraisal of the process of conducting the present major research project, including learning outcomes, limitations, implications, and areas for future research.

Part A provides an overview of the literature pertaining to influences on the research activity of clinical psychologists. The need for ongoing research within the profession is outlined and the evidence for the role of different factors associated with research activity is described and evaluated. Further investigation is recommended in the areas of the research training environment and the practice context. Part B reports an empirical study looking at how components of the theory of planned behaviour may mediate the impact of factors within the research training environment (RTE) on research intention in a sample of UK clinical psychologists. Low levels of clinical psychologist research activity are repeatedly highlighted within the literature. Several potential influences have been identified with the majority of investigation directed towards the RTE and mediators of this factor. A model has been proposed using the theory of planned behaviour to explain research activity and preliminary support has been found for this. The current study took a more in-depth look at the active ingredients of the RTE, as well as aspects beyond training in the workplace. Factor analysis revealed two second order factors within the RTE that differed from an earlier two-factor solution in the literature. These were labelled stimulation and expectations. The relationship between stimulation and intention to do research was shown to be mediated by theory of planned behaviour components, whilst expectation maintained a direct relationship with intention. Thematic analysis of comments from clinical psychologists relating to influences on their research activity supported some of these findings, but also identified new barriers and facilitators of research activity relating to the work environment. Further research exploring both training and practice contexts is called for and implications for training and practice are made. Part C is a critical appraisal of the project, which considers learning points and skills gained from the process of undertaking the study. Future directions for developing research skills are discussed and personal reflections on how the implications of the project may be incorporated into future roles are provided.

A series of 5 experiments assessed implicit and explicit memory for words and nonwords. Experiments 1-2 assessed memory for words and legal nonwords (e.g. KERS) following a levels-of-processing manipulation and a study/test modality shift manipulation, respectively. Robust priming was observed for words and nonwords in both experiments, and an implicit/explicit dissociation was observed for nonwords in Experiment 1. Experiment 3 observed a double dissociation between implicit and explicit memory for words and legal nonwords following a study condition that confounded the above levels-of-processing and study/test modality shift manipulations. Experiment 4 observed robust priming for legal and illegal nonwords (e.g., XYKS) that dissociated from explicit memory following a levels-of-processing manipulation. Finally, Experiment observed significant negative priming for legal nonwords when the lexical decision task was used. These experiments suggest that implicit memory can extend to legal and illegal nonwords.

Art therapy research studies neglect the description of practice. A literature review revealed that art therapists narrowly rely on self-reported case studies to build theory, but that approach tends to result in a description of the therapist's intention rather than the actions they undertook. Comparable forms of psychological therapy have constructed descriptions of practice from observational research but this method has been relatively underused by art therapists. The present study used observation to build a description of practice of how art therapists interacted with service users and their artworks in a mentalization-based art therapy group for people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Three fifteen minute video edited sequences of in vivo art therapy sessions were viewed by focus groups who described what they observed. Because the study assumed a social constructionist epistemology, focus groups were chosen to represent a range of service users, psychological therapists, art therapists and the treating art therapists' perspectives. A modified grounded theory approach was used to analyse transcripts from those focus groups which resulted in two core conceptual categories. The first proposed that when art therapists demonstrated their engaged attention, it supported a more reliable therapeutic interaction. The second, conversely, proposed that when the art therapists gave the appearance of passivity, it exacerbated dismissive interactions between group members and with artworks. This added new theoretical concepts to art therapy group literature. However, that theory was not tested in the present study.

published_or_final_version / Geography / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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This study explored how parents from care backgrounds viewed their experiences of childhood. It considered how these experiences influenced parents’ relationships with their children, their concepts and values of parenting and protective factors that contributed to resilience. Six parents were interviewed and gave detailed autobiographical narratives which were transcribed and processed using narrative analysis. Participants were 3 fathers and 3 mothers aged between 25 and 65 years. Participants expressed difficulties in relating to their children consistent with attachment theory, including role confusions, re-traumatisation and over-protectiveness. Despite traumatic childhood experiences participants lacked self-pity and were motivated by a determination to give their children a better experience of childhood than their own. Possible protective factors were indicated in experiences of consistent, stable foster-care and services and personal attributes. Participants described difficulties in making sense of their past lives and reappraised their experiences throughout their narratives. They described managing psychosocial transitions beyond the adolescent changes predicted by focal development theory. This study has implications for clinical practice with families, specifically in raising awareness of the long standing vulnerability that care histories may confer, informing therapeutic practice and the use of integrated models of intervention.

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