Being and doing in relationship: person-centred counselling students’ experiences during their training

Taylor-Jones, David (2017) Being and doing in relationship: person-centred counselling students’ experiences during their training. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experiences of students training in Person-Centred Counselling. The study focuses on students’ perceptions of their relationships with their teachers and peers to develop a better understanding of how these might influence their development during training. Material was collected from a series of semi-structured interviews at the beginning, middle and end of the course. The intention was to develop rich descriptive accounts of individual participants’ perceptions as they developed over their training. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed to generate themes from the interviews. To assist the reflective process, participants also completed Strathclyde Inventories.
This study illustrates how each student experienced their training as idiosyncratic and complex. Unconditional positive regard was found to be significant to personal development within this context. However, perceptions of this concept and how it was operationalised within the course varied. A lack of unconditional empathic acknowledgement of difference was found to have a potentially shaming and/or painful impact that could negatively affect a student’s sense of self and their engagement with the training. A potentially problematic relationship emerged between a non-directive approach to training and students’ need for direction. The influence of the course’s conceptualisation of congruence on students’ development emerged as a complex and potentially problematic theme. Groupwork emerged as a contentious strategy for personal development. This study highlights the value of open dialogue between teachers and students about a number of specific aspects of the training, including the students’ and the course’s conceptualisation of the approach. The study also raises questions about the value of focusing on a single therapeutic approach early in training. Finally, the study acknowledges that Person-Centred counselling training involves aspects of both doing and being in relationships, the dynamics of which need to be managed sensitively.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Users 4971 not found.
Date Deposited:	04 Jul 2017 15:09
Last Modified:	04 Jul 2017 15:09
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/64008
DOI:

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