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Yes / Critics of IPA suggest that it is unscientific, lacking a complex subjectivity and displaying a promiscuous epistemology. This article aims to explore these criticisms, offering a response that is inspired by the language of fertility and ideas adapted from evolutionary science. As the swan is often seen as a symbol of fidelity, this article draws an analogy between the promiscuous behaviour of Australian Black Swans and IPA research. Within this frame, flirtations with other methodologies are described as being advantageous in that they encourage gene flow and a productive cross fertilisation of ideas. An intermingling of genes can open up new avenues of research, enhance reflexive awareness and allow the voice of others to be heard. Finally as IPA is happy to engage in flirtations and dalliances with diverse theoretical frames to enhance its longevity, this article suggests that a good match could be made between IPA and dialogical methods.

Teaching is a foundational professional role addressed within the curriculum of counselor education doctoral programs, yet little is known about the teaching preparation experiences of counselor education doctoral students. This interpretative phenomenological analysis explored the teaching preparation experiences of a purposeful sample of eight current or recently graduated counselor education doctoral students enrolled in Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) through semi-structured interviews. Four superordinate themes, Experiential Integration, Contextual Development, Interactive Reflection, and Emergent Teaching Values, were identified to illustrate how counselor education doctoral students make sense of their teaching preparation experiences. These themes provide in-depth, nuanced, and narrative accounts of the multifaceted, experiential, relational, and contextual developmental teaching preparation experiences of counselor education doctoral students. The findings of this study revealed several important implications for counselor education doctoral students, counselor educations, counselor education doctoral programs, and CACREP to enhance the teaching preparation experiences of counselor education doctoral students. This study overall extends our knowledge of counselor education doctoral students' teaching preparation experiences, adding to a growing body of literature on doctoral teaching preparation in counselor education. / Doctor of Philosophy / Teaching is a foundational professional role addressed within the curriculum of counselor education doctoral programs, yet little is known about the teaching preparation experiences of counselor education doctoral students. This qualitative study explored the teaching preparation experiences of eight current or recently graduated counselor education doctoral students enrolled in accredited counselor education Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs. This study used in-depth interviews with counselor education doctoral students to understand how they make sense of their teaching preparation experiences. The analysis of the transcripts of the in-depth interviews revealed four themes that describe experiences, contexts, reflections, and values related to counselor education doctoral students' teaching preparation experiences. These themes provide detailed accounts of the many facets of counselor education doctoral students' teaching preparation experiences. These findings revealed implications for students, educators, degree programs, and accreditation organizations within counselor education that can enhance the teaching preparation experiences of counselor education doctoral students. This study overall extends our knowledge of counselor education doctoral students' teaching preparation experiences. Advancing our understanding of the teaching preparation experiences of counselor education doctoral students can improve the quality of the teaching, learning, and development facilitated through counselor training programs.

Sammenfatning Baggrund: Silversplints som behandling af hypermobilitet i fingrene hos personer med Ehlers-Danlos syndrom (EDS), er blevet mere udbredt i Danmark igennem de sidste 10 år, men der findes endnu ingen publicerede artikler om denne ortosebehandling og målgruppe. EDS er en gruppe sjældne heterogene bindevævssygdomme der kendetegnes ved generel hypermobilitet og smerte. Silversplints er håndlavede finger- og håndledsskinner af sølv, der er opbygget som et 3-punkts kraftsystem, der kan støtte og korrigere hypermobile led, modvirke fejlstillinger, samt begrænse bevægeligheden af fingrene. Formål: Bacheloropgaven har til formål at undersøge hvordan personer med EDS oplever at have silversplints på og hvilke vanskeligheder de oplever at have i hverdagen ud fra ICF. Metode: Bacheloropgaven anvender semi-structured interviews for at undersøge hvordan 3 deltagere med EDS oplever silversplints som behandling af hypermobilitet i fingrene. Den teoretiske referenceramme er Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, som er en induktiv tilgang og iterativ proces. Resultat: Ud fra analysen opstod følgende 4 temaer: jeg er ikke min sygdom, energiforbrug, smertens mange ansigter, et farverigt liv. Gennem disse temaer gives et indblik i den positive effekt silversplints kan have for nogle personer med EDS. Anvendelsen af ICF viste at især funktionsevnen blev påvirket. Dette indebærer at kroppens funktioner og anatomi opleves vanskeligt, hvilket fører til begrænsninger i deltagernes mulighed for aktivitet og deltagelse. Konklusion: De identificerede temaer demonstrerer silversplints effekt på deltagernes mentale og fysiske helbred, samt giver et detaljeret billede af deltagernes oplevede problemer og funktionsevne, med og uden silversplints. Bacheloropgaven identificerer hvilke dele, kategorier og domæner indenfor ICF, personer med EDS oplever som problematiske, hvilket kan anvendes til at skabe et core set i videre forskning. / Abstract Background: Silversplints as orthotic management of finger hypermobility for people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) has become more widespread in Denmark during the last 10 years, but no articles has yet been published about this orthotic management and population. EDS is a group of rare heterogeneous connective tissue disorders which is characterized by general hypermobility and pain. Silversplints are handmade finger and wrist splints made of silver, which are structured as 3-point force systems, which supports, corrects hypermobile joints, and corrects deformities as well as limits the movement of the fingers. Purpose: The aim of the thesis is to explore how people with EDS experience the use of silversplints and which difficulties they experience in their daily life based on ICF. Methods: The thesis uses semi-structured interviews to explore how 3 participants with EDS experience silversplints as orthotic management of hypermobility in the fingers. The theoretical framework is Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, which is an inductive approach and iterative process. Results: From the analysis 4 themes emerged: I am not my disorder, energy consumption, the many faces of pain, a colorful life.  Through these themes an insight is gained into the positive effects silversplints may display for some people with EDS. The use of ICF showed that especially functioning and disability was affected. This involves that the body functions and structures are experienced as difficult, which leads to limitations in the participants possibility of activities and participation. Conclusion: The identified themes demonstrates silversplints’ effect on the participants mental and physical health, as well as provides a detailed picture of the participants’ experienced problems and functional capability, with and without silversplints. The thesis identifies which parts, categories, and domains within ICF, people with EDS experience as problematic, which can be used to generate a core set for further research.

The benefits of breastfeeding for mother and baby are well established; however, only 37.5% of Scottish women are currently breastfeeding at six to eight weeks with less than 1% breastfeeding exclusively for six months, as recommended by UK and international health policy. Family influence is amongst the socio-demographic factors which affect breastfeeding initiation and duration and women who were not breastfed themselves are 25% less likely to initiate breastfeeding. While there is a growing body of literature which seeks to understand breastfeeding by exploring the perspectives of breastfeeding mothers, no studies can be found describing the experience of making a different feeding choice from that of one’s family-of-origin, nor of the potential impact of this decision on relationships with them. As such, this study exploring the experience of being the first in your family to breastfeed is novel. The aim of the study was to investigate the experience and meaning of being the first person to breastfeed in a family. Consequently, areas explored included women’s experience of initiating and sustaining breastfeeding when they have no immediate family history of breastfeeding, how women make sense of their decision to breastfeed and their understanding of how their decision has affected their relationships. A methodological development in the form of an Infant Feeding Genogram was used to record relevant demographic and family information and semi-structured interviews with fourteen women obtained in-depth narratives. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used as an approach and to analyse the data. Following the completion of idiographic analysis, cross participant analysis was undertaken and four superordinate themes emerged: Breaching Family and Social Norms; Volitions and Imperatives; Unprepared for the Challenge; and A Sacrifice but Worth It. Within these superordinate themes, 13 themes were identified and articulated. Findings from this research were synthesised to provide an account of how women experience being the first to breastfeed in a family, make sense of their decisions and the impact this has on their relationships with their family. This provides an understanding of women’s experience in an original context, and the contextualising within the existing literature generates commonalities and highlights differences between the experience of this group of breastfeeding women and the wider cohort. The findings of this research inform recommendations for practice at both an individual and public health levels, and have implications for policy makers, health professionals and breastfeeding support organisations. It is asserted that policy makers and the health service need to acknowledge the unanticipated consequences of some current breastfeeding discourses associated with health promotion practices, and take a mother and family focussed approach to breastfeeding that acknowledges women’s embodied experience, which often includes breastfeeding difficulties. A mother and family centred approach can identify and adapt to women’s support needs in their own particular context, which may include very limited community and family support for their decision.

Aims: Recently, empirical literature exploring cognitive characteristics of intimate partner violence offenders has received considerable attention with both theory and practice historically focusing on victims of the abuse. Qualitative exploration has proposed implicit theories (ITs), that is distinct sets of schemas that offenders hold in relation to themselves, the world and others. In relation to cognition in intimate partner violence offenders, this thesis had two aims: to systematically analyse qualitative literature exploring cognition in intimate partner violence offenders and to implement interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore cognition in intimate partner violence sex offenders. Methods: Aims are addressed separately in two journal articles. A systematic review of qualitative literature exploring cognition in intimate partner violence offenders is presented in journal article 1. Journal article 2 utilises interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore cognition in 11 intimate partner sex offenders. Results: In relation to journal article 1, systematic searches of bibliographic databases in addition to hand-searches of various articles in the domain of intimate partner violence were conducted to identify eight empirical papers qualitatively exploring cognition in intimate partner violence offenders. Synthesis of the papers resulted in 10 themes being extrapolated thought to be representative of cognition in intimate partner violence males: “violence is normal”; “policing partner”; “women are provoking” “need for control”; “grievance/revenge”; “external factors responsible”; “rejection/abandonment”; “minimisation/denial”; “entitlement” and “remorse”. Journal article two utilised interpretative phenomenological analysis of 11 transcripts of IPV offenders. This revealed five superordinate and 14 subthemes which are proposed as implicit theories present in this specific offender group. These are: “violence is acceptable”; “grievance/revenge”; “dangerous world”; “need for control”; “real man”; “entitlement/women are objects”; “male sex drive/policing partner”; “women are provoking”; “rejection/abandonment”; “women are supportive”; “uncontrollability”; “nature of harm”; “the new me” and “I‟m not like them”. Conclusions: Cognitions identified from the systematic review are discussed in addition to limitations of the synthesis and clinical and empirical utility. The implicit theories identified in journal article 2 are discussed in relation to other offending behaviour groups in addition to their clinical implications in the development of effective interventions and risk assessment tools.

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Background: Until recently, qualitative researchers have avoided interviewing participants with brain injuries because of the ethical and practical dilemmas which may arise and because it has been argued that they may not be able to reflect and accurately report upon their experiences. Therefore, little research has been produced which explores the personal experience of living with a brain injury. Recently, however, some researchers have challenged the view that people with brain injuries are unsuitable as interviewees in qualitative research and have, through their own research, highlighted the importance of understanding their views and perspectives in order to provide them with the best care and rehabilitation. Aims: With this in mind, and in line with current calls for more research gaining the brain injured person’s perspective, this study attempted to gain an in depth understanding of what it is like from the brain injured person’s perspective, to live with an acquired brain injury. The study focussed upon the experience of gaining consciousness following a brain injury, the experience of living with permanent memory loss, the experience of gaining awareness of deficits, the experience of losing an identity and adjusting to a new identity, the impact on relationships with friends and family and experiences as an inpatient in a Brain Injury Unit. Sources of strength and coping mechanisms were also explored. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six individuals who had severe acquired brain injuries and were inpatients in a post-acute neuro-rehabilitation unit. The verbatim transcripts of the semi-structured interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: The analysis produced four master themes. These were: ‘Piecing together the past and becoming aware of the present’, ‘The transition from old self to new self’, ‘Sources of strength and survival’ and ‘Experiences in rehabilitation’. A description of these themes is presented with the corresponding subordinate themes. Conclusions: The clinical implications of the research and guidance for future research are discussed. The study produced a valuable insight into the personal experience of living with a severe acquired brain injury that could be used to inform rehabilitation interventions. The results also indicated that people with acquired brain injuries may experience Post Traumatic Growth.

Aim: A wealth of quantitative literature exists exploring the adjustment of children and young people with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. However, results are often confusing and contradictory, at least partly due to studies using different definitions and measures. Studies have been criticised for over relying on parental reports and failing to consider young people’s own perceptions. Furthermore, they have often conceptualised adjustment as an outcome, rather than exploring the process involved. Additionally, although peers are considered to play an important role in young people’s lives, their role in young people’s adjustment to living with diabetes has rarely been examined. To address this gap, this study attempted to gain a rich understanding of young people’s experiences of adjusting to life with diabetes and explore how they feel their peers have contributed to this process, with the hope of informing clinical practice and improving support to young people and their families. Method: A qualitative approach was chosen and six young females aged 12 – 15 with a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. Results: Five main themes emerged from participants’ accounts: Developing a balanced relationship with diabetes; the uncomfortable position of difference; grappling with the fall out of diabetes; making diabetes more bearable; and the role of parents and friends. The findings are discussed in relation to the relevant literature. Clinical implications, methodological limitations and directions for future research are presented. Conclusions: This study provided an insight into the complex and dynamic process of young people’s adjustment to life with Type 1 diabetes. It highlighted the challenges and struggles they faced as a result of their diagnosis and the different strategies they employed to manage these. It also emphasised the valuable role both parents and friends provide in supporting young people with their illness.