This research explores how counselling psychologists construct of the diagnosis of ‘schizophrenia’ and their perceived ability to work with this client group. The diagnosis of ‘schizophrenia’ does not feature prominently in counselling psychology literature, and there is a distinct lack of empirical research pertaining to how counselling psychologist construct this diagnosis, as well as accounts of their experiences of working with this client group. The literature review commences with: an exploration of the context of counselling psychology with particular reference to theory, practice and research; the diagnosis of ‘schizophrenia’ in relation to the medical model debate; and, the implications of ‘schizophrenia’ for the theory and practice of counselling psychology, with a particular reference to diagnostic categories. A version of discourse analysis known as ‘critical discursive psychology’ is used to analyse how eight counselling psychologists talk about and around the diagnosis of ‘schizophrenia’ in semi-structured interviews. The analysis demonstrated a number of repertoires used in relation to the diagnosis of ‘schizophrenia’ and how these counselling psychologists use them in different ways. The analysis suggested that through the use of these repertoires the counselling psychologists negotiated their relationship with their clients, their ‘identity’ as counselling psychologists and the organisations they worked for. It was also found that there were a number of difficulties in their relation to the diagnosis of ‘schizophrenia’, such as how to negotiate the balance between phenomenology and empiricism, as well as the sometimes detrimental effects the institution had on the counselling psychologists. The research also raised questions concerning methodology and the use of critical discursive psychology in studying this topic, as well as issues regarding the conflicting epistemological positions of counselling psychology and critical discursive psychology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:588673 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Larsson, Patrick |
| Contributors | Loewenthal, Derek ; Brooks, Onel |
| Publisher | University of Roehampton |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/studentthesis/counselling-psychologists-talk-about-the-diagnosis-of-schizophrenia(5b37204b-1bd4-456c-a439-dfbc06363b5c).html |
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