David J. Harper

Qualitative Research Methods in Mental Health and Psychotherapy: a guide for students and practitioners

About the Contributors. Acknowledgements. PART I Getting Started. 1 Introduction (Andrew R. Thompson and David Harper). 2 Identifying and Synthesizing Qualitative Literature (Rachel L. Shaw). 3 Ethical Issues in Qualitative Mental Health Research (Andrew R. Thompson and Eleni Chambers). 4 Participation and Service User Involvement (Alison Faulkner). 5 Qualitative Data Collection: Asking the Right Questions (Hannah Frith and Kate Gleeson). 6 Qualitative Methods for Studying Psychotherapy Change Processes (Robert Elliott). 7 Choosing a Qualitative Research Method (David Harper). PART II Methods. 8 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in Mental Health and Psychotherapy Research (Michael Larkin and Andrew R. Thompson). 9 Existentialist-Informed Hermeneutic Phenomenology (Carla Willig and Abigail Billin). 10 Grounded Theory Methods for Mental Health Practitioners (Alison Tweed and Kathy Charmaz). 11 Discourse Analysis (Eugenie Georgaca and Evrinomy Avdi). 12 Narrative Psychology (Michael Murray and Sally Sargeant). 13 Ethnomethodology/Conversation Analysis (Mark Rapley). 14 Q Methodological Research in Mental Health and Psychotherapy (Wendy Stainton Rogers and Phillip O. Dyson). 15 Thematic Analysis (Helene Joffe). PART III Establishing Good Quality Qualitative Research in Mental Health. 16 In Pursuit of Quality (Liz Spencer and Jane Ritchie). 17 Emerging Issues and Future Directions (David Harper and Andrew R. Thompson). Index.

Researching "experience": Embodiment, methodology, process

In this paper, we explore some of the tensions involved in the process of engaging with embodiment research. Although a significant volume of discursive work on “the body” and its role in social relations now exists, there is little in the way of empirical research that moves the focus away from discourse alone to concentrate on other modalities, such as embodied feelings, sensations, and engagements with the world. We begin by briefly reviewing the turn to embodiment across the social sciences and the manner in which this has been taken up in psychology. We then outline our attempts as a research collective to develop methodologies and research activities that can produce meaningful data on embodied experience. The outcomes of one of these tasks are then described in detail, along with reflections on the difficulties and limitations that emerged. Finally, we attempt to conceptualize the challenge of researching embodiment by returning to the late 19th century psychology of John Dewey, which, we argue, neatly summarizes some of the problems to be addressed by any researchers engaged in the “turn to the body.”

Accounting for poverty : From attribution to discourse

In this article it is argued that the attributional literature concerning explanations of poverty is inadequate due to its theoretical presuppositions. It is proposed that a discursive approach is better able to withstand criticism and contribute to a more adequate understanding of poverty accounts. Some examples are given of how a discursive approach might work in practice.

Poverty and Discourse

One would like on the part of the psychologist a reversal of allegiance so that he [sic] endeavors to bring about a change in people who control the material resources of the world… Mehryar (1984, p. 166)

Paranoia A Social Account

Both psychology and psychiatry are dominated by individualistic accounts of paranoia (and indeed, other forms of distress). As a corrective to these, this paper provides a social account of paranoia grounded in a minimal notion of embodied subjectivity constituted from the interpenetration of feelings, perception and discourse. Paranoia is conceptualised as a mode or tendency within embodied subjectivity, co-constituted in the dialectical associations between subjectivity and relational, social and material influences. Relevant psychiatric and psychological literature is briefly reviewed; relational, social structural and material influences upon paranoia are described; and some implications of this account for research and intervention are highlighted.Both psychology and psychiatry are dominated by individualistic accounts of paranoia (and, indeed, other forms of distress). As a corrective to these, this paper provides a social account of paranoia grounded in a minimal notion of embodied subjectivity constituted from the interpenetration of feelings, perception and discourse. Paranoia is conceptualized as a mode or tendency within embodied subjectivity, co-constituted in the dialectical associations between subjectivity and relational, social and material influences. Relevant psychiatric and psychological literature is briefly reviewed; relational, social structural and material influences upon paranoia are described; and some implications of this account for research and intervention are highlighted.

The Affective Atmospheres of Surveillance

The spaces that surveillance produces can be thought of as ambiguous, entailing elements that are ethereal yet material, geographical yet trans-geographical. Contemporary surveillance systems form numerous connections that involve multiple times, spaces, and bodies. Owing to their ubiquity, normalization, and yet clandestine characteristics, they seem to produce an almost unnoticed aspect of everyday life. The impacts, then, of contemporary surveillance systems appear to be particularly experienced on the margins of consciousness. Thus we find that an empirical analysis of this realm of experience is possible but requires one to look for such things as disruption, disfluency, and hesitation in the text of speech acts rather than clear representation. Through empirical analysis of narratives concerning everyday experiences of living with contemporary surveillance systems, this paper focuses on their possible affective impacts. In turn, we find it more fitting to think about the so-called “surveillance society” in terms of producing “atmospheres” rather than “cultures or assemblages,” and “affects” rather than “emotions.”

Delusions and Discourse: Moving Beyond the Constraints of the Modernist Paradigm

In this commentary, I highlight some of the difficulties encountered by those working within a modernist paradigm (eg Bayne & Pacherie and Klee) and go on to argue that this paradigm is ill-equipped to conceptualise issues which are essentially moral. Georgacas suggestion that there is a need for researchers to focus more on the contexts which give rise to judgements of delusions and the assumptions which appear to underlie those judgements is a useful one and there is a need for researchers and clinicians alike to learn from the paradigm shift that is taking place in relation to the phenomenon of hearing voices. I suggest that we need to be open to service users’ own theories of the meaning of their beliefs and see our goal as helping them find better ways of living with them.

Learning to Use Discourse Analysis on a Professional Psychology Training Programme: Accounts of Supervisees and a Supervisor

Qualitative research methods have become more prominent in professional psychology training over recent years, yet there are relatively few published accounts of how students learn to use these methods. In this article we describe the experiences of three British trainee clinical psychologists as they learn to use one qualitative method, Discourse Analysis, for their major research project. Based on these experiences, we discuss key aspects of the research process (e.g. supervision) and delineate dilemmas, theoretical questions, suggestions, and practical advice. Extracts from a group discussion conducted involving the supervisor and supervisees (after the trainees had completed their studies) are provided to illustrate some of these themes.

Surveying Qualitative Research Teaching on British Clinical Psychology Training Programmes 1992–2006: A Changing Relationship?

There have been indications that qualitative research has become more popular in British clinical psychology, particularly amongst trainee clinical psychologists. In a 1992 survey conducted by the author, 81% of UK clinical psychology training programmes that responded reported that they taught qualitative methods for an average 4.85 hours and that only a small number of students submitted qualitative dissertations. This article reports the results of a similar survey conducted in 2005–2006. Twenty-six programmes responded (a response rate of 83.9%). In contrast to the 1992 survey, 100% of the responding programmes reported that they taught qualitative methods for an average of 12.6 hours (approximately 31.1% of total research methods teaching). The most popular methods were Grounded Theory, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Discourse Analysis. All of the programmes reported that they would accept theses solely using qualitative methods, with an average of 42.8% of dissertations falling into this category in the previous four years. The results are discussed in the context of the development of British clinical psychology and training.

On the persistence of psychiatric diagnosis: Moving beyond a zombie classification system:

Many of the articles in this special issue have addressed problems with the validity of psychiatric diagnostic systems like the American Psychiatric Association’s (2000) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, currently in its fourth edition with a fifth edition soon to be published. As a result, I won’t rehearse them here. Rather I wish to reflect on why critiques of the categorical psychiatric diagnostic enterprise over the last five decades seem to have had relatively little effect on the progress of the diagnostic juggernaut. The failure of mainstream psychiatry to respond in any meaningful way to the critique of diagnostic classification has suggested to many commentators that this is an issue that will not respond to rational debate and empirical evidence alone. More recently, some critics have begun to examine the social functions and institutional interests served by diagnosis (Boyle, 2002; Moncrieff, 2010; Pilgrim, 2007).