Qualitative Health Research: A Practical Guide for Clinical Practitioners

This accessible text supports health practitioners undertaking qualitative research to inform clinical practice, guiding readers through the decision-making process from planning and proposing, through data collection, to dissemination and impact. Qualitative research makes an important contribution to the health evidence base, including improving service provision, practitioner communication, and patient safety, as well as informing policies, generating important knowledge about health, and providing populations with a voice in the health context. Balancing the need for practitioners to operate in an evidence-informed way, the increasing role of a research culture in the health service, and the everyday clinical demands faced in practice, this book includes strategies for managing the reality of undertaking qualitative research while working in clinical practice and includes a wide range of “bite size” chapters on topics such as: Quality improvement; Evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence; Managing dual roles; Planning a project; Working with stakeholders; Ethics; Data collection methods; Conducting digital research; Recruitment and sampling; Data management; Analytical approaches; Thematic approaches; Research with vulnerable groups; Dissemination: Translating research into practice. This book is a practical resource for clinical researchers, designed to support the application of learning. Each chapter opens with learning objectives, and ends with a reflection on the chapter, integrating case examples and highlighting core issues. Practitioner experience boxes and reflective activities bring an invaluable real-world perspective to each chapter. Qualitative Health Research is the ideal text for all healthcare practitioners and trainees new to qualitative research, including those from medicine, nursing, midwifery, psychology, allied health, and public health

"It’s better to be quiet than share”: Perspectives of secondary-aged students of British Pakistani background in seeking support for Social, Emotional & Mental Health

This research explores the perspectives of British Pakistani adolescents on seeking support for Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) issues. The study aims to understand the cultural and gender-specific barriers and facilitators that influence help-seeking behaviours in this demographic. Utilising a qualitative methodology, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with adolescents aged 16-18 attending post-16 educational settings. The findings highlight significant cultural barriers, such as stigma, the importance of maintaining family honour, and gender-specific expectations, which inhibit open discussions about mental health and seeking professional support. Female participants reported a relatively higher inclination towards seeking help compared to their male counterparts, who often faced cultural pressures to conform to traditional masculine norms. The research underscores the need for culturally sensitive mental health interventions and greater mental health literacy within the British Pakistani community. It also suggests the importance of collaboration between educational institutions, mental health services, and community organisations to effectively address the mental health needs of British Pakistani adolescents

Diagnosis and management of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD)

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is a new diagnosis in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 11.1 It is not currently recognised in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 5.2 Caused by recurrent, chronic, or sustained trauma, C-PTSD has the clinical features of PTSD and symptoms that reflect the prolonged impact of sustained trauma on self-organisation, encompassing affect regulation, negative self-concept, and difficulties sustaining interpersonal relationships. Here we explain what C-PTSD is, how to recognise it, and the fundamentals of management, acknowledging that the evidence base continues to grow and evolve

Supporting health and social care students stay and stay well: A conceptual framework for implementing integrated care into higher education

Integrated care demands a workforce that is confident, capable and compassionate. This is dependent on a willingness to work inter-professionally and understand the roles, standards and values of other professional groups. However, there are few examples of integrated care initiatives within higher education that aim to build the knowledge and skills required to support effective integrated, people-centred care. While satisfying, working in the helping professions is emotionally challenging and for students’ these challenges are often underestimated. Some students struggle through their studies with many failing to complete and others drop out in the early years of their careers. Understanding what supports students to thrive in their professional roles is essential to retention of a highly skilled integrated workforce. To address this challenge, this paper outlines a conceptual framework designed to promote a pedagogical environment focused on creating the conditions for integrated working. The framework is based on the “student lifecycle”, from starting to see the benefits of a career in the helping professions, developing a sense of belonging through to thriving and succeeding as future practitioners. It outlines how students are supported to develop emotional resilience, inter-professional empathy and reflexivity to help them stay and stay well in their careers

Learning and Unlearning through the Clinical Encounter: Becoming a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist

This book examines the learning process involved in becoming a psychoanalytic practitioner and presents training experiences at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust through the lens of both teachers and trainees. The book describes the relevant history at the Tavistock and how psychoanalytic knowledge is acquired through a process of learning from experience and the fostering of a culture of enquiry. The contributors also present their interpretations of what is meant by analytic learning and how this is acquired for a psychoanalytic attitude to become possible. The book includes a mix of chapters by more experienced clinicians setting out what can be useful in training, balanced by other chapters from more recent trainees who reflect on their development and experience of that training. Other important sections focus on the experience and importance of supervision and on how to respond to clinical challenges in training and practice, specifically public-sector-based trainings. With rich clinical vignettes and personal reflections on training experiences, this book is key reading for all psychoanalysts and psychotherapists involved or interested in training

Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror, by Judith Herman

Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman was published in 1992. This article explores its relevance and legacy for today in the trauma field, particularly with the new ICD-11 diagnosis of complex post-traumatic disorder

What knowledge and skills do early career social workers need to practice effectively with children and families?

There is an extensive literature base about the knowledge and skills required by social workers to work effectively with children and their families. However, making sense of how best to translate this into direct practice can be challenging, particularly when newly qualified. The paper is based on a wider rapid evidence assessment (REA) of the post-qualifying knowledge and skills required by early career social workers (ECSWs) to practice effectively with children and their families. The REA involved searching for relevant English language literature (2012–2023) in ASSIA, Social Care Online, SocINDEX and PsycInfo and specialist journals. However, it was soon apparent that the literature was not segmented by career stage and wider searches relating to knowledge and skills needed to be undertaken. In total, 51 papers were included for review. Studies identified were largely qualitative, exploring the knowledge and skills required through observations of direct practice and self-report studies from the perspectives of social workers and children and families themselves. Where knowledge and skills were identified, relationship building and good authority skills were associated with some improved outcomes for family members. The review presents findings through practice-near descriptions of what works to build early career expertise with children and their families

The lived experiences of masking black Autistic girls in UK education: “Before people see the autism, they see my race.”

This paper explores the lived experiences of masking and camouflaging among Black Autistic girls in UK education, addressing a significant gap in autism research and educational psychology practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four participants aged 16–17, centring voices rarely represented in literature or policy. A novel framework, Kaleidoscope Analysis, was developed to interpret the data. Combining Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Intersectionality Theory, and Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), this approach offers layered insight into how individual experiences are shaped by wider structural inequalities. Five key themes were identified: acceptance and belonging; navigating social expectations; the intersection of race, gender, and autism; sensory overload; and the importance of relational support. The findings highlight how masking emerges as a strategy for navigating environments shaped by neurotypical, racialised, and gendered expectations rooted in societal norms of Whiteness and ability. This study recommends educational psychologists (EPs) and related professionals adopt intersectional, neuro-affirming approaches in their practice, highlighting the importance of pupil voice, critical reflection, and anti-oppressive practice in creating inclusive learning environments. Future research is required to explore a wider range of intersecting identities and include Autistic individuals who use diverse forms of communication

Psychoanalysis, criminology and delinquency: The early history of the Portman Clinic

Founded in 1933, the Portman Clinic, now part of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, in London UK, is a nationally funded out-patient clinic providing psychoanalytic psychotherapy to children, adolescents and adults who present with delinquency, violence, and problematic sexual behaviours. The Portman Clinic came into being during the interwar years, a fertile time in which psychoanalytic theories became influential within criminology. This article describes the foundation and early history of the Clinic within the wider social and political context of the early and mid-twentieth century, including the impact of the second world war and the dawn of the welfare state. It explores the ideas of the psychoanalysts Grace Pailthorpe, Edward Glover, Kate Friedlander, and Melitta Schmideberg, which were based on their work with patients at the Portman Clinic but were also shaped by the internal war within the British psychoanalytic community, the so-called Controversial Discussions. The review draws on previously unpublished clinical material from archived records of patients seen at the Portman Clinic since 1933, providing a fascinating glimpse into the profile of these patients, and how their psychopathology and offending behaviours were influenced by changing societal norms and significant historical events

Understanding the journeys of Black Caribbean parents who have children with autism.

This qualitative study explores the journeys of Black Caribbean parents (BCPs) living in the UK who have children with autism. It focuses on the experiences, thoughts, and processes surrounding their child’s autism diagnosis, and how cultural factors intersect with them. This study contributes to a small but growing body of knowledge exploring both autism and culture. It elevates the voices of BCPs who have not yet been exclusively represented in autism research. It also presents the perspectives of a group widely reported in educational statistics (e.g., school exclusion and attainment rates), but often not heard from themselves. Six BCPs, who collectively had ten children with autism, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed using a grounded theory methodology (Corbin and Strauss, 2015), resulting in the development of the essential super-advocacy theory. The essential super-advocacy theory proposes that BCPs who have children with autism are required to become ‘super-advocates’ to provide the essential, fervent, and persistent advocacy that their children will need. It presents three ‘essential super-advocacy factors’ needed to do this, which are a) enhanced autism awareness and ongoing learning, b) the ability to overcome stigma and inner conflict, and c) connection and collaborative support. The essential super-advocacy theoretical model illustrates how these factors are developed over time and across three stages. These stages involve a series of events and processes shaped by the BCP’s socio-cultural contexts and experiences. The implications of these findings consider how Black Caribbean parents and their children with autism can best be supported by professionals who work with them, including educational psychologists