This study aimed to address how fathers made sense of their experience of losing their baby due to stillbirth after receiving one-to-one counselling/therapy. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to explore the unique lived experience of each father. Eight semi-structured interviews were carried out with fathers of a stillborn baby who had experienced some form of one-to-one counselling/therapy in the aftermath of their loss. The research found that fathers developed an embodied relationship and continued to experience an ongoing relationship with their stillborn child. The fathers were changed by their experience of having a stillborn baby in fundamental and complex ways. The fathers also re-addressed aspects of their ‘masculine selves’ in response to this profound loss. It was meaningful for the fathers when their relationship with their stillborn child was validated and legitimised in their one-to-one counselling/therapy. Moreover, some fathers were able to address the confusion and ambiguity around the nature of their loss and their experience as men. The fathers expressed the unique ways they were transformed by their experience emotionally, psychologically, and existentially. Some fathers could begin to make sense of this and find meaning in their experience when it was recognised in their individual therapy. Finally, a critique of the limitations of the research process and methodology was provided and suggestions for further research were offered.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:682713 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Humphry-Baker, Hannah Jane |
| Contributors | Gaitanidis, Anastasios ; Allegranti, Beatrice |
| 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/how-do-fathers-make-sense-of-their-experience-of-stillbirth-after-therapy-an-interpretative-phenomenological-analysis(7850cd8f-43f2-49a8-9e55-c7b39184be2d).html |
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