An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Abstract
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City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Nicholls, Nicole (2014). Engaging Men, An Exploration of the Help-Seeking Experiences of Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City University London) This is the draft version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/3749/ Link to published version: Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. 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City Research Online: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/ [email protected] Engaging Men, An Exploration of the Help-Seeking Experiences of Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse By Nicole Nicholls Thesis submitted to fulfil the requirements of the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology City University Department of Psychology Submitted February 2014 0 CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ 6 Declaration ......................................................................................................................... 7 Key to Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... 8 Preface ............................................................................................................................... 9 References to Preface ........................................................................................................ 12 Part A: Doctoral Research - ‘Understanding Men’ - Experiences of Help-Seeking after Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Abstract ............................................................................................................................ 14 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................... 15 Defining Childhood Sexual Abuse....................................................................................... 15 The Scope of the Problem .................................................................................................. 16 The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse .............................................................................. 19 The Dilemma of the Male Survivor ................................................................................... 22 Men and Disclosure ........................................................................................................... 24 Masculinity and Male Socialisation ................................................................................... 27 Male Survivors and Coping ................................................................................................ 29 Making Sense of Childhood Sexual Abuse ......................................................................... 30 Resilience and Recovery .................................................................................................... 31 Help-seeking, Therapeutic Intervention and Support for Male Survivors ......................... 33 Methodological Concerns and Limitations of Existing Research ....................................... 37 Male CSA and the Relevance to Counselling Psychology ................................................... 39 Rationale for the Current Research ................................................................................... 40 Research Question ............................................................................................................ 43 Chapter 2. Design, Methodology and Procedures......................................................... 44 Methodological Considerations ......................................................................................... 44 Rationale for using a Qualitative Research Paradigm ....................................................... 46 Choosing a Qualitative Research Method ........................................................................ 47 Grounded Theory ................................................................................................ 48 Discourse Analysis .............................................................................................. 49 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ......................................................... 49 Rationale for Choosing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis................................... 50 1 The Philosophical Underpinnings of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis............... 50 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as a Method ................................................... 53 Criticisms of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis .................................................. 53 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and its Relevance to Counselling Psychology.. 54 Procedures ....................................................................................................................... 55 Sampling and Participants ......................................................................................... 55 Procedure and Ethical Considerations ....................................................................... 59 Post Interview ........................................................................................................... 62 Analytic Strategy ............................................................................................................... 63 Reflexivity .......................................................................................................................... 64 3. Analysis ................................................................................................................ 68 Outline of Chapter .............................................................................................................. 68 Overview of Themes ......................................................................................................... 68 Table 1: Table of Themes and Sub-Themes ....................................................................... 68 1. Master Theme One: Disclosure ............................................................................ 69 1.1. Pre-disclosure, Disassociation, Distance and Detaching ............................. 70 1.2. Secrets and Silence ...................................................................................... 74 1.3. Experiences of Telling ................................................................................. 81 1.4. The Freedom of Disclosure ......................................................................... 88 2. Master Theme Two: Searching ............................................................................ 90 2.1. ‘It’s like a Desert Out There’ ........................................................................ 90 2.2. Being Male and Searching for Help ............................................................. 95 3. Master Theme Three: The Help-Seeking Journey ................................................ 99 3.1. Relationships (Developing, Managing, Negotiating) .................................. 100 3.2. Hindering Aspects ........................................................................................ 108 3.3. Helpful Aspects ........................................................................................... 115 4. Master Theme Four: Continuing the Journey – Making Sense and Moving 119 Forward .................................................................................................................. 4.1. Making Sense of the Past ............................................................................ 119 4.2. Wounded Healers ....................................................................................... 123 4.3. Recovery as an on-going Process ................................................................. 125 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 129 2 Chapter 4: Discussion .................................................................................................. 130 Outline of Chapter ............................................................................................................. 130 Master Theme One: Disclosure ............................................................................... 130 Master Theme Two – Searching ............................................................................. 137 Master Theme Three – The Help-Seeking Journey ................................................. 141 Master Theme Four- Continuing the Journey .......................................................... 148 Implications for Practice and Considerations for Future Research ............................... 151 Understanding the Process of Disclosure ................................................................