Table Of ContentENJOYING RESEARCH
IN COUNSELLING
AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
Edited by
Sofi e Bager-Charleson
Alistair McBeath
Enjoying Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy
“This book supports the development of our next generation of counselling researchers. Written in
clear and understandable language, with engaging case studies, it allows exploration of a range of
counselling methodologies, from specific qualitative approaches to quantitative and mixed methods,
ending with a recent example of a randomised control trial. It is current, drawing on research in areas
of interest to counsellors today and fills the current gap for a textbook providing a comprehensive
approach to successfully completing counselling and psychotherapy research. Covering the principles
of research, as well as some of the details required for those wishing to consider research at a higher
level, it provides an excellent resource for students studying research at all levels of counselling and
psychotherapy. I will be recommending it to my MSc and PhD students.”
— Dr Jeannette Roddy, Senior Lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy,
University of Salford, UK
“I congratulate the editors and authors of this important book. It is filled with insights into the breadth
and depth of research frameworks and methodologies. The book can contribute to the promotion and
shaping of high quality practitioner-friendly research. Well done.”
— Michael Helge Rønnestad, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology,
University of Oslo, Norway
“This timely new book beautifully and critically reflects knowledge and insights on a range of research
frameworks and methodologies. The editors and authors are to be congratulated on offering and
summing up multiple perspectives that empower therapists, research teachers and researchers alike. It
offers essential tools to engage in research and developing or sharpening key research skills. ‘Enjoying
Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy’ will take its place as a key text for many years to come,
particularly as the psychotherapy and counselling professions are increasingly valuing both evidence-
based practice and practice-based evidence.”
— Professor Divine Charura, UKCP Research Group, Director of the Counselling
Psychology Doctorate, York St John University, UK
“‘Enjoying Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy’ lives up to its title and is a pleasure to read! The
book is aimed at counsellors and psychotherapists, and it clearly speaks to this audience informing
about different methodologies and encouraging in equal measure. It is very clearly written, and yet it
succeeds in communicating complexity and richness of psychotherapy research methods. I would
recommend it as essential reading to all research students and novice researchers.”
—Dr Biljana van Rijn, Psychotherapist and a Faculty Head of Research
and Doctoral programmes, Metanoia Institute, UK
Sofie Bager-Charleson • Alistair McBeath
Editors
Enjoying Research
in Counselling and
Psychotherapy
Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research
Editors
Sofie Bager-Charleson Alistair McBeath
Metanoia Institute Metanoia Institute
London, UK London, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-55126-1 ISBN 978-3-030-55127-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55127-8
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2020
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by
similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover Illustration: Bernhard Fritz/gettyimages
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland
AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
V
Acknowledgements
We want to thank our colleagues and Metanoia students for their invaluable input:
your research is an ongoing source of inspiration and enrichment. We would also
like to thank our families and friends.
VII
Contents
1 Introduction: Considering Qualitative, Quantitative
and Mixed Methods Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Alistair McBeath and Sofie Bager- Charleson
2 Doing Qualitative Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Sofie Bager-Charleson
3 Doing Phenomenological Research. Dwelling with the Mystery . . . . . . . . . 37
Rupert King
4 Doing Qualitative Research with Interpretative
Phenomenological Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
John Barton
5 Becoming a Narrative Inquirer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Kim Etherington
6 Doing Constructivist Grounded Theory Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Elvis Langley
7 Ethical Research? Examining Knotty, Moment-to- Moment
Challenges Throughout the Research Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Linda Finlay
8 Doing Qualitatively Driven Mixed Methods and Pluralistic
Qualitative Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Nollaig Frost and Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez
9 Doing Quantitative Research with Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Alistair McBeath
10 Doing Quantitative Research with a Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Alistair McBeath
11 Doing Quantitative Research with Outcome Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Charlie Duncan and Barry McInnes
V III Contents
12 Doing Mixed Methods Research. Combining Outcome
Measures with Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Alan Priest
13 Understanding Randomized Control Trial Design
in Counselling and Psychotherapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Megan R. Stafford
14 Navigating the Landscape of ‘Evidence’ in Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Emma Broglia and Louise Knowles
Supplementary Information
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
IX
About the Editors
Sofie Bager-Charleson
is a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)-
and United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)-registered
psychotherapist and supervisor, who works as Director of Studies on
the MPhil/PhD in Psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute. Sofie spe-
cialises in psychotherapy research, reflexivity and reflective practice. She
chairs the Metanoia research group ‘Therapists as Research Practitio-
ners’ aimed to support psychotherapists and counselling psychologists
to become confident researchers. She is the co-founder of the annual
Metanoia Research Academy for practitioners, and has published
widely in the field of research methodology and reflexivity, including
the text-book Practice-b ased Research in Therapy: A Reflexive Approach
(2014). She has guest edited the Counselling and Psychotherapy Research
journal issues on ‘Therapists and Knowledge’ and ‘Mixed methods
research in therapy’ together with her Metanoia colleagues Alistair
McBeath and Simon du Plock. She also guest edited the Psychothera-
pist journal issue on ‘Therapists’ Creative Use of Self in Research’. She
holds a PhD from Lund University in Sweden in attachment issues
within families and reflective practice amongst teachers.
Alistair McBeath
is a Chartered Psychologist and BACP- and UKCP-registered psy-
chotherapist. Trained at Regents College and Guys Hospital, he is a
doctoral Research Supervisor at the Metanoia Institute and the New
School of Counselling and Psychotherapy. He also works for an Edin-
burgh-based therapeutic consultancy. Alistair considers himself to be
a researcher-practitioner and is keen to promote this identity within
the psychotherapy profession. Alistair is a strong advocate of mixed
methods research and has recently used this approach to explore top-
ics such as the motivations of psychotherapists and psychotherapists’
attitudes to academic writing. Alistair favours a collaborative
approach to research and has published research-led papers with Sofie
Bager-Charleson and has been a co-editor with her (and Simon du
Plock) for a special edition of the journal Counselling and Psycho-
therapy Research entitled ‘Therapists and Knowledge’. Alistair is a
senior practitioner member on the BPS Register of Psychologists Spe-
cialising in Psychotherapy and a member of the Editorial Board of
the European Journal for Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy.
X About the Editors
Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez
is a lecturer in Psychology within the Psychology Department at Mid-
dlesex University in London, UK. Deborah’s PhD used a pluralistic
case study approach to explore the dynamics and changes in attach-
ment behaviours in a couple relationship as they transitioned to sec-
ond-time parenthood. She is an Executive Committee member of the
International Attachment Network as well as a member of the Net-
work for Pluralistic Qualitative Researchers and of the Centre for
Abuse and Trauma Studies (at Middlesex University). Amongst other
subjects, Deborah teaches research methods and is also programme
director of the MSc in Psychological Therapies and Interventions at
Middlesex University.
John Barton
is a counselling psychologist and psychotherapist and writer. In his
private practice in his hometown of London, he often works with cli-
ents who are experiencing or avoiding transitions in their lives; or who
are having difficulties in their relationships with others and with them-
selves; or who otherwise struggle to live and love. He also works with
psychotherapy trainees. During his training, he spent time at the
Samaritans, the West London Centre for Counselling, Ealing Abbey,
Mind and the NHS, both primary and secondary care. His doctoral
research was an exploration into the lived experience of progressive
disability. Before training to be a therapist in midlife, he lived in Amer-
ica for a decade and travelled the world in his previous career as a
magazine writer and editor. He believes that living well can be a
choice, and that death is not the end.
Emma Broglia
is a senior researcher and policy lead working across the British Asso-
ciation for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Univer-
sity of Sheffield. Emma has 12 years’ research experience working in
settings ranging from hospitals to schools and counselling services.
This includes holding a PhD supervised by Professor Michael
Barkham and Dr. Abigail Millings, partially funded by BACP, to
explore the effectiveness of university counselling services. It was
through her PhD that she met Louise Knowles and had the privilege
of working with the counselling service and alongside Louise and
Michael to embed research into the service for the first time. Emma
later worked as a postdoctoral researcher with the policy department
and continues to make research, practice and policy links in her work.
She believes that these three components are necessary to build an
evidence base born from counselling and psychotherapy practice.
XI
About the Editors
Charlie Duncan
is Senior Research Fellow at the British Association for Counselling
and Psychotherapy (BACP) and primarily leads on their Children,
Young People and Families research. She is also pursuing a part-time
PhD at the University of Roehampton on the goals that young people
set for school-based humanistic counselling. Charlie’s research inter-
ests are varied, but she particularly enjoys practice-based research in
counselling and psychotherapy and analysing large datasets of rou-
tinely collected outcome measures.
Kim Etherington
is Emeritus Professor at the University of Bristol, Fellow of BACP,
BACP senior accredited counsellor and supervisor, and accredited
EMDR practitioner in private practice. She has presented workshops
and seminars in New Zealand, Malta, South Africa, Crete and the
USA. Invited keynote speeches and conference presentations have
taken her to Canada, Ireland, the USA and across the UK. She is a
leading writer in the field of reflexivity and narrative inquiry. Her
books and peer- reviewed journal papers reflect her passion for linking
practice with research, and her intention to write with an emancipa-
tory purpose, using a style of writing that is accessible by academics,
practitioners and clients, as well as the public in general. Kim lives in
Leicestershire and offers freelance support to doctoral and master’s
candidates who are interested in creative, reflexive, collaborative
research such as Narrative Inquiry and Autoethnography and other
arts-based approaches. Details at: 7 http://kim. etherington. com
Linda Finlay
is an existentially orientated relational integrative psychotherapist and
supervisor (UKCP registered) in private practice in York, UK. Previ-
ously she was an occupational therapist (not presently registered)
working in the mental health field. She teaches psychology, counselling
and research methodology at the Open University (UK), and she also
teaches and mentors doctoral students across various European insti-
tutions. She has published widely. Her most recently published books
are Practical ethics in counselling and psychotherapy: A relational
approach (2019) and Relational integrative psychotherapy: Engaging
process and theory in practice (2019). Among her books relevant to
research are Phenomenology for therapists: Researching the lived world;
Relational-centred research for Psychotherapists (written with Ken
Evans) and Qualitative research for health professionals: Challenging
choices (edited with Claire Ballinger). Her particular research interests
include exploring relational dynamics and applying relational-reflexive
approaches to investigate the lived experience of disability and trauma.
