Background: Adventure therapy is a short-term experiential psychotherapeutic approach that utilises adventurous activities and being in natural environments in order to facilitate therapeutic change in clients. The present paper examines how students with self-reported anxiety and depression experienced participating in an innovative intervention that combined individual therapy with an adventurous outdoor experience. Clients participating in the Adventure Therapy Project received between 10Á15 one-to-one counselling sessions prior to the outdoor experience, as well as ongoing counselling following it. Method: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used in order to record and analyse the experiences of three male and three female students who presented at a major UK university student counselling service with self-reported depression and anxiety. Findings: Twelve themes emerged which were categorised into four major domains: enhancing intrapersonal relationships; improving interpersonal relationships; providing an experiential outdoor venue for achieving therapeutic change; offering a secure, personal place for achieving inner healing. The intervention was perceived to improve the ways in which interviewees related towards themselves and other people. Interviewees perceived the counselling sessions as offering a safe therapeutic space within which they could unveil their anxieties and achieve inner healing. Conclusions: Outdoor experiences offer an experiential venue for achieving personal change and, it appears enhance the therapeutic process. Prior and subsequent individual therapy increases the benefits of such experiences.
Although there is a plethora of research exploring the impact of working with trauma on therapists, limited attention has been paid to the impact of working with traumatised asylum seekers specifically. Furthermore, recent evidence shows that socio‐political factors and asylum‐seeking processes are acknowledged as major inhibitors of positive well‐being and therapeutic effectiveness in mental health practitioners working with this population. Despite this, there is very limited research focusing on the impacts and consequences of asylum legislative framework upon the therapeutic process. This study aimed to explore the impact of the UK asylum legislative framework upon the psychotherapeutic process and relationship. Nine psychotherapists and counsellors who worked with traumatised asylum seekers, with an average of eight years of experience, were interviewed. Transcripts were analysed by employing Braun and Clarke’s (2020) reflexive thematic analysis. Three major themes were identified related to the impact on therapeutic work: (a) Moving away from the traditional therapeutic frame, (b) adjustments to the therapeutic process, and (c) impact on the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship. The findings revealed that the UK asylum legislative framework penetrates all aspects of the psychotherapeutic process, including the therapeutic relationship because it may affect the power imbalance in the therapeutic dyad. Practice and policy implications are discussed.
Adventure based counselling is a short-term experiential psychotherapeutic approach, which utilises adventurous activities and being in natural environmental in order to facilitate therapeutic change in clients. The present paper critically appraises the results of a qualitative study that investigated how clients with self-reported anxiety and depression experienced participating in an innovative counselling intervention with combined individual counselling with such an adventurous outdoor transaction. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, as described by Smith and Osborn (2008), was used in order record and analyse the experiences of four male and six female students who were treated at the Teesside's University Counselling Service. Interviewees perceived the counselling sessions as offering a safe therapeutic space within which they could unveil their anxieties and achieve inner healing, whereas the outdoor transaction as providing an experiential venue for achieving personal change. Interviewees felt that without the outdoor transaction the therapeutic significance of the counselling process would not have reached its full potential. Likewise, without the individual counselling, the outdoor transaction would just have an entertaining event and not a venue for personal change. These findings are discussed in relation to object relations theory.
Johnstone et al. (2016, p.421) identify homelessness as "a significant and worldwide problem". Whilst homelessness is often associated with "sleeping rough" (Ministry of Housing, Communities, & Local Government, 2018), UK legislation (Housing Act, 1996) identifies individuals as homeless if they do not have the legal right to occupy habitable accommodation (non-statutory homelessness). The current paper refers to "individuals experiencing homelessness" (IEH) in relation to "non-statutory" homelessness and individuals who do not meet "priority need" legislative criteria and therefore are not legally entitled to housing.
Purpose The rates of offending and re-offending for young males are higher than any other population. Whilst the UK Ministry of Justice (2020) states that rehabilitation programmes should aim to build a positive identity, little is known about the subjective experiences of how this occurs. Various theories and models suggest that the development of a positive identity assists rehabilitation for young men with convictions (i.e. Johns et al., 2017). Therefore, the current study aimed to gather personal narratives from male, young offenders with the intention of understanding identity development. Design/methodology/approach Twelve interviews were conducted with young men with convictions aged between 18 and 25 years who had almost completed a rehabilitation process within the community. Narrative analysis was used to analyse the data. All were engaging with the rehabilitation service as a result of conviction for low to medium level offences, including burglary, harm of another person and drug related offences. Findings Three plots were identified which explain identity when committing offences: “The Powerless”, “The Feared” and “The Disconnected”. One plot was evident within the narratives which explained positive identity when rehabilitated: “The Connected”. The findings illustrate the importance of an approach which considers various aspects of a young offender’s life. Originality/value The current study further adds to knowledge base of young offender rehabilitation by providing a systemic understanding of how men with convictions’ identity develop pre- and post-rehabilitation. New implications for trauma informed practice are discussed.
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