Studies that expressly define the roles of related service providers in inclusive schools are limited. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of related service providers, specifically occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech and language pathologists, who practice in an inclusive education setting. An objective was to examine their attitudes and beliefs toward inclusion. This study used role theory as the theoretical framework. Tenets of role theory were used to explain how related service providers have come to understand their roles and responsibilities in the inclusion setting. Purposeful and snowball sampling yielded 10 participants who participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using a multistep, phenomenological analysis method. The participants' descriptions of their involvement in inclusion revealed 7 themes: Expert/consultant, evaluator, direct service provider, mainstreaming, methods of collaboration, member of a multidisciplinary team, and documentation. Findings suggest a strong correlation between the perceived roles of the participants and the generic roles reported in the literature. Three themes emerged from their descriptions of their attitudes toward inclusion: general definition of inclusion, social/behavioral effects on inclusion, and barriers to inclusive education. The participants' views on the behavioral and social impact of inclusive education were mixed. Findings inform stakeholders about the day to day experiences of related service providers in an inclusion setting. This study represents a steppingstone toward increasing awareness of school-based professionals' contributions to the educational experience of special education students.

No description available.

The person of the counsellor, or what is sometimes referred to as the counsellor�s self, is the focus of this thesis. How the counsellor�s self is described and manifested during therapy constitute the two main research questions. Various perspectives are presented from psychoanalysis, behaviour therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, person centered therapy and systems therapy. While issues pertaining to the counsellor�s self have been explored predominately by systems therapists, this study extends previous research by involving interviews with counsellors from a range of orientations. The study is conducted within an interpretative research paradigm, and data are collected and interpreted according to a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews with 16 counsellors, from a range of theoretical orientations, constitute the primary method of data collection. Other data sources include a short questionnaire sent to the same counsellors, the researcher�s reflective journal as well as recorded meetings between a peer debriefer and the researcher. Study participants describe the counsellor�s self as a multifaceted, positive and integrated entity. The counsellor�s self includes participant�s professional knowledge and skills as well as their beliefs, values, thoughts, feelings, personal style and an unknown aspect of self that some participants referred to as their unconscious. While somewhat influenced by past relationships and the client, the counsellor�s self is primarily autonomous and defined by the individual counsellor. Although the counsellor�s self has the capacity to change over time, in different environments and with different clients, the self also includes notions of stability and consistency. The counsellor�s self is involved in therapy as an inevitable presence, a deliberate tool and a stance. Participants highlighted the importance of self-awareness and various professional and personal constraints on the involvement of self. A central function of the self in therapy is in the therapeutic alliance. The study has implications for the training and supervision of counsellors and future psychotherapeutic research.

No description available.

Thesis (MHlthSc(OccTh))--University of South Australia, 2000

The person of the counsellor, or what is sometimes referred to as the counsellor�s self, is the focus of this thesis. How the counsellor�s self is described and manifested during therapy constitute the two main research questions. Various perspectives are presented from psychoanalysis, behaviour therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, person centered therapy and systems therapy. While issues pertaining to the counsellor�s self have been explored predominately by systems therapists, this study extends previous research by involving interviews with counsellors from a range of orientations. The study is conducted within an interpretative research paradigm, and data are collected and interpreted according to a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews with 16 counsellors, from a range of theoretical orientations, constitute the primary method of data collection. Other data sources include a short questionnaire sent to the same counsellors, the researcher�s reflective journal as well as recorded meetings between a peer debriefer and the researcher. Study participants describe the counsellor�s self as a multifaceted, positive and integrated entity. The counsellor�s self includes participant�s professional knowledge and skills as well as their beliefs, values, thoughts, feelings, personal style and an unknown aspect of self that some participants referred to as their unconscious. While somewhat influenced by past relationships and the client, the counsellor�s self is primarily autonomous and defined by the individual counsellor. Although the counsellor�s self has the capacity to change over time, in different environments and with different clients, the self also includes notions of stability and consistency. The counsellor�s self is involved in therapy as an inevitable presence, a deliberate tool and a stance. Participants highlighted the importance of self-awareness and various professional and personal constraints on the involvement of self. A central function of the self in therapy is in the therapeutic alliance. The study has implications for the training and supervision of counsellors and future psychotherapeutic research.

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.48-54).

M.Tech. / The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the experiences of the somatology therapist from which guidelines for the self-management of therapists within private somatology practices were described. The guidelines were derived from the two research questions: "How do therapists experience self-management during their daily practices?" and "What can be done to improve the self-management of therapists within private somatology practices?" A descriptive, exploratory and contextual qualitative design was used with the underlying philosophy of an Appreciative Inquiry. The accessible population consisted of therapists (N=15) practicing in six private somatology practices in the Pretoria-North region. Purposeful sampling was used in this study. The data collection was conducted by means of individual semi-structured interviews and field notes. The question was formulated by means of Appreciative Inquiry guidelines. A pilot interview was conducted with one participant that served as the preparation for the study. Tesch's Method of data analysis was used to identify themes and sub-themes. The Model of Lincoln and Guba was used to ensure that trustworthiness and ethical considerations were maintained throughout the process. Informed consent was given by the private somatology clinic and therapists.

No description available.

Aims: The Second World War had a dramatic impact on the lives of those who lived through it (Davies, 1997) and its long-term impact continues for older people whose formative life experiences were affected by the process of Britain‟s wartime child evacuation scheme (Foster et al., 2003). Despite the place in the national psyche that remembrance of the World Wars holds there is very little literature or psychological research investigating the long-term effects of evacuation. There have been some previous quantitative studies using questionnaires to explore the effects of evacuation (e.g. Rusby, 2008, Foster et al., 2003, Waugh et al., 2007). There has also been one qualitative study exploring evacuees' experience of evacuation (Sturgeon-Clegg, Dpsych unpublished thesis). However, with an increasing number of former evacuees now becoming eligible for older people's services and being seen by mental health practitioners in specialist older people's services, this study is the first to ask psychologists who have worked with former evacuees about their experience of the therapy and whether they consider there is a long-term impact of evacuation. Method: Six psychologists took part in one-to-one, face-to-face interviews to investigate their experiences of working with evacuated clients whether they thought there had been a long-term impact of the evacuation on former evacuees. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 2009) methodology was used to analyse the data. Each interview was analysed individually before cross analysis. Results: The research produced three prominent themes related to the way psychologists understood the therapy with former evacuees. The first theme was the different voices around evacuation in the therapy room and how these different voices (the therapist's, the former evacuee's and dominate discourses) influenced participants' understanding of the evacuation experience. The second theme around "being genuine" explored psychologists' beliefs about their role and the role of therapy for former evacuees. The third theme was an awareness of death in the therapy with former evacuees and the impact this had on the therapeutic relationship. Implications: The main implications identified were: the need for psychologists working with former evacuees to have an understanding of evacuation and knowledge of the research on the long-term impact of evacuation on former evacuees. The importance of supporting psychologists working with former evacuees around the complex task of making sense of the relationship issues in the therapeutic relationship. Finally, participants in the study stressed the importance of developing a trusting, non-judging environment to encourage psychologists to process their response to the former evacuees they worked with.