Event Details

In this seminar, Ruth Roberts will explore ways in which psychotherapeutic concepts can inform creative and idiosyncratic approaches to qualitative research.

Drawing on the work of Carl Rogers and Eugene Gendlin, I will consider how a relational and empathic approach to interviewing can enable a collaborative form of inquiry that acts as a precursor to the analytic process. Beginning with an image / object elicitation task, the interviewer’s aim is to explore implicit and unsymbolized experiences and by doing so, to draw out stories and personal meanings collaboratively with participants. I will then describe how Gendlin’s Focusing approach can be used to explore the ‘felt sense’ of the data, allowing the identification of salient phrases and ‘handle’ words to create evocative and lively representations of participants’ narratives. The seminar will begin with an experiential exercise introducing participants to working with bodily felt sense and conclude with opportunities for questions and discussion.

Bio: Ruth is in her 4th year of the PhD in Higher Education: Research, Evaluation and Enhancement at Lancaster University. Ruth qualified as a counsellor in 2004 and apart from a short period of working in private practice and in the NHS, she has worked in higher education since 1999 as an academic policy administrator, counsellor and latterly, a full-time lecturer in counselling. She currently works as Senior Lecturer and course lead for the BSc Psychology and Counselling at Birmingham City University. Her PhD research is looking at academic writing in the context of students’ lived experiences. Ruth's project involves qualitative research and textual analysis to provide a multi-faceted view of academic writing and its role in student success.