The aim of this study has been to investigate the significance of hide and seek play as a central feature within the intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy of one looked after child, whose referred symptom of separation anxiety improved during the course of treatment. A mixed methods modified form of thematic analysis has been used to analyse the data and Max QDA has been introduced for data organisational purposes and to support analytic rigour. This single case study is approached from a Critical Realist stance and key findings support the argument for the validity of extending the relationship between the theoretical paradigms of Complexity Theory and Psychoanalysis,beyond the metaphorical towards the methodological with implications for efficiency, triangulation and generalisability of findings; issues which have been historically problematic in single case study research. The mixed methods analytic approach has allowed for the quantitative tracking of frequency and quality of a single marker of change, in the form of hide and seek play, across the course of the treatment. This has revealed an overall pattern in the form of a trajectory, containing properties of a self-organising complex dynamic system. Two levels of abstraction have been identified and investigated demonstrating the presence of sel-similar functioning across different levels of complexity. A ‘period of oscillation’ between variables has been identified which is associated qualitatively to a period of psychological growth and development within the child. This finding is consistent with emerging evidence in the broader field of psychology for the occurrence of a period of critical instability associated with positive treatment outcome. A key qualitative finding is the evidence for the four different sub-types of hide and seek play. This may have implications for the understanding of hide and seek play in every day life and significantly in the lives of looked after children.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:722966 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Coyle, Anne-Marie |
| Publisher | University of East London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://repository.tavistockandportman.ac.uk/1795/ |
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