Search results for ""Author Kim Etherington""

Looking at the life stories of ex-drug misusers in their own words, this book offers insights into the nature of addiction and how it can be tackled. It examines the links between early childhood experiences and drug misuse and also shows pathways to recovery and transformation.Kim Etherington highlights the therapeutic value of listening to drug misusers' life stories and the importance of understanding how social environments and the wider cultural influences shape people's lives. She encourages people working with drug misusers to challenge pathologising notions of `spoiled identity', which assume that identity is fixed. By taking a step back and separating the person from the problem, it is possible to help them explore their relationship with drugs in ways that encourage a stronger sense of agency and power to change.With compelling first-hand narratives and practical strategies to encourage drug misusers' ability to recover, this is essential reading for professionals working with drug users as well as people misusing drugs themselves.

Read more less

'This is an optimistic book which advocates and describes a different research paradigm to be practiced and developed. Read it and research!' - Lapidus 'She has achieved her aim of the book being readable and giving insight into the processes of doing research through the lenses of the personal stories of researchers, whilst still writing a text that could be used as a core research method text for those who are themselves becoming reflective researchers. No matter what your background in the social sciences this original book, grounded in the reflexive practice of an experienced teacher and researcher, is well worth checking out'. - Escalate 'Etherington (U, of Bristol) uses several narratives, including her own research diary and conversations with students and academics to demonstrate the way reflective research works in practice. Illustrating her points with poetry, paintings, metaphors and dreams, she suggests that recognizing the role of self in research can open up opportunities for creative and personal transformations. She also explores the use of reflexivity in counseling and psychotherapy practice and research.' - Book News This book raises important questions about whether or not researchers can ever keep their own lives out of their work. In contrast to traditional impersonal approaches to research, reflexive researchers acknowledge the impact of their own history, experiences, beliefs and culture on the processes and outcomes of inquiry. In this thought-provoking book, Kim Etherington uses a range of narratives, including her own research diary and conversations with students and academics, to show the reader how reflexive research works in practice, linking this with underpinning philosophies, methodologies and related ethical issues. Placing her own journey as a researcher alongside others, she suggests that recognising the role of self in research can open up opportunities for creative and personal transformations, and illustrates this idea with poetry, paintings and the use of metaphors and dreams. She explores ways in which reflexivity is used in counselling and psychotherapy practice and research, enabling people to become agents in their own lives. This book encourages researchers to reflect on how self-awareness can enrich relationships with those who assist them in their research. It will inspire and challenge students and academics across a wide range of disciplines to find creative ways of practising and representing their research.

Read more less

Trauma suffered during childhood can affect not only a person's emotional and mental health, but also their physical health, even into adulthood. This unique book fills a gap in research in this area, providing personal and theoretical perspectives on trauma and recovery.The contributors tell powerful stories of traumatic childhood events, including bereavement, abuse and evacuation and separation from parents. They document their reactions to trauma whether through illness, disability, addiction, psychosomatic disorders, self-harming behaviours or dissociation. Each author also shows the pathway they have taken towards transforming their bodies to well-being.This will be a valuable resource for those who are dealing with the impact of childhood trauma in their own lives; their families and friends whose lives are also touched; workers in the field of trauma, especially medical practitioners who can sometimes feel helpless when faced with patients whose symptoms they cannot understand or heal; and counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists. This book will also be of value to researchers interested in narrative research methods.

Read more less

The book highlights many interesting discussion areas, leading toward reflection led practice. The need and value of supervision for those working for the NHS is another interesting area touched on throughout this book'- A&E'It is recommended for all counsellors who work part-time or full-time in healthcare, and will also be invaluable for many colleagues of these counsellors and also all those who manage such services. Each chapter is written in a lively, personal way that invites the reader into a relationship with the author, raising awareness of the dilemmas counsellors may face in their work and what they need to support them, especially training and good supervision. The book represents a significant step forward in the literature on healthcare counselling and a copy should find its way into every healthcare library where counselling is a key part of the delivery of care.'- Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal'It is recommended for all counsellors who work part-time or full-time in health-care, and will also be invaluable for many colleagues of these counsellors and also all those who manage such services. Each chapter is written in a lively, personal way that invites the reader into a relationship with the author, raising awareness of the dilemmas counsellors may face in their work and what they need to support them, especially training and good supervision. The book represents a significant step forward in the literature on healthcare counselling and a copy should find its way into every healthcare library where counselling is a key part of the delivery of care.'- HCPJ'This thought-provoking book gives contextualisation to the growth area of counselling in the NHS and elsewhere. Each chapter provides fascinating personal insights into experiences such as palliative care, counselling, cancer care, living with HIV/AIDS, young people and sexual health, counselling in fertility problems and two chapters on counselling in the mental health services. It explores the lived experiences of clients and professionals, helping them to apply theory to practice and giving, rather than detached observations, intensely personal windows into what actually goes on between client and counsellor. Despite being centred mostly on hospital work, the book would be useful for work in the domiciliary setting, particularly for community psychiatric nurses, school nurses and for those who specialise in serious, chronic, or life-threatening conditions.'- Community Practitioner'I very much enjoyed reading this book because of the insight it gave me into the different ways in which counsellors work in health settings. Such information can be difficult to come by because of confidentiality issues and when working with individual clients. I was also touched by the open way in which all the authors wrote when including personal details and their own reflections on their work. Throughout this book I found my attention held by the counsellors' accounts of the way in which they approached their work with clients, linking with their personal reflections and comments on their own theoretical perspectives. Each chapter is written by a different author and includes queries and questions raised by the difficulties in the work they undertake, such as balancing the medical model with a person-centred holistic model, confidentiality issues, and the importance of supervision when working with very distressed clients. I recommend this book to all counsellors wishing to gain some insight into counselling in different settings'- National Association of Cancer CounsellorsFocusing on the experiences of counsellors themselves, this book is a comprehensive resource for counsellors working in health contexts and for the health professionals who work with them, and may take on counselling roles. The contributors, who include clients, health care workers, psychiatrists and academics as well as counsellors, show how counselling can and should form an integral part of a patient's health care, explaining key theoretical considerations and relevant research and applying these to suggestions for good practice. They also discuss the needs of counsellors themselves (for example for supervision and support) and the variety of roles that counsellors and health care workers are expected to fulfil. This book will inform and improve the work of professionals in a range of health care contexts including those working with patients who have cancer, HIV and AIDS or who are having treatment for infertility; and in the fields of young people's sexual health and palliative care.

Read more less