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DOCTORAL THESIS the Counselling Psychology Needs of New Fathers DOCTORAL THESIS The counselling psychology needs of new fathers Johnston, Judith Award date: 2013 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 01. Oct. 2021 THE COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY NEEDS OF NEW FATHERS By Judith Johnston BSc (Hons) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PsychD in Counselling Psychology Department of Psychology Roehampton University 2011 The counselling psychology needs of new fathers Abstract This study explored new fathers‟ understanding and experience of fatherhood, their own well-being and whether, or not, there is a role for counselling psychologists to work with new fathers in their transition to fatherhood. A qualitative research methodology was employed: counselling psychologists were asked to complete a partially structured questionnaire to explore their perceptions of men‟s experiences of fatherhood; fathers‟ well-being and mental health needs; and the psychologists‟ thoughts about what role, if any, counselling psychology might have in assisting the transition to fatherhood. Questionnaires were analysed using a content analysis. Fathers, in the first five years of fatherhood, were interviewed to explore their experiences of fatherhood, and their understanding of their own well-being. The interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four master themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews, with 11 subthemes identified. The four master themes were preparation; roles, responsibilities, perspectives and priorities; joy and reward versus difficulties and concerns; support. These were consistent across the participant‟s accounts, although experiences varied between individuals. Fifteen themes were identified in the analysis of questionnaire responses from counselling psychologists. Research findings support previous research in showing that the transition to fatherhood is a time of intense psychological adjustment and suggest that counselling psychologists do have a role to play in working with new fathers in their transition to fatherhood. The researcher suggests that counselling psychologists have a role to play in both therapeutic work and in the broader provision of psychological knowledge, education and support, either directly to individuals or groups, or indirectly through the provision of information, working with or training other professionals and through research and the dissemination of findings. The counselling psychology needs of new fathers Contents Acknowledgements ... 1 Chapter 1 Introduction ... 2 Chapter 2 Literature Review ... 16 Chapter 3 Methodology ... 41 Chapter 4 Results ... 66 Chapter 5 Discussion ... 111 References ... 128 Appendices ... 138 Word count – 36,156 The counselling psychology needs of new fathers Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people: Firstly, the fathers and counselling psychologists who participated in this research and whose time and interest is very much appreciated. My Director of Studies Dr Harbrinder Dhillon-Stevens, and my Supervisor Dr Richard House, for their guidance and encouragement. Tau, for his love, support, endless patience and unwavering belief in me, and for making me countless cups of tea. My parents for their love and support, and for always being there for me. All my friends, and my brothers, for their interest in my studies and their confidence in me. 1 The counselling psychology needs of new fathers Chapter 1 – Introduction The purpose of this study is to explore what needs new fathers might have that are relevant to counselling psychology. The study aims to explore new fathers‟ understanding and experience of fatherhood and their own well-being and whether, or not, there is a role for counselling psychologists to work with new fathers in their transition to fatherhood. It aims to extend the literature in the field of new fathers‟ well-being (e.g. Bradley, Boath and Mackenzie, 2004; Edie and Loewenthal, 2007), and to explore the extent to which involvement with a counselling psychologist might be of interest to new fathers, and within this how the specifically relational aspect of counselling psychology practice (e.g. Strawbridge and Woolfe, 2009) might be helpful to new fathers, in terms of whether engaging with a relational counselling experience or more practical support, is preferred, if at all. There is a growing body of literature, which will be discussed in Chapter 2, suggesting that new fathers need more support (e.g. Ramchandani et al., 2005), that counselling services to support new mothers and to treat maternal post natal depression (PND) have been successful (e.g. Holden, Sagovsky and Cox, 1989), and that men are reluctant to seek help for emotional issues (Mansfield, Addis and Courtenay, 2005), but understanding fathers‟ needs and the ways that they are best addressed is in the early stages of exploration and understanding. As part of this study it is hoped that a deeper knowledge and understanding of men‟s constructions of health, masculinity and culture will be developed which will be useful for counselling psychologists working with men in all life stages, not merely confined to early parenting experiences. Research-based information on whether, and in what circumstances, a relational aspect to support is helpful and important, or whether new fathers tend to prefer more practical support 2 The counselling psychology needs of new fathers might well provide information that links into and informs interventions provided by the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme (see Chapter 2 for an overview of IAPT), or to provision of other kinds of support by other professionals or by family centres, for example. Such knowledge might also be useful for other professionals, perhaps informing provision of antenatal and, or postnatal support for fathers; in developing criteria for screening men for susceptibility to depression in early fatherhood; for those involved in infant mental health care; or for those working with families in other settings. Knowledge and understanding of possible barriers to new fathers seeking professional help and support will be useful for counselling psychologists and other professionals working with new fathers in encouraging and increasing access to support services for this population. Knowledge gained from this study may also contribute to the knowledge base for a men‟s mental health strategy (Mind, 2009) and on a psychological plan for care for men, similar to the psychological plan for perinatal care (Slade and Cree, 2010) developed for women. Finally, knowledge about the practice of relational counselling psychology, sometimes in multidisciplinary teams in, for example family centres or GP practices, will be relevant to discussions on the future of Counselling Psychology (cf. Counselling Psychology Review, Special Edition, March 2009) and whether it has something distinctive to offer, in comparison to other counsellors, psychotherapists, applied psychologists or professionals who might work with new fathers. 3 The counselling psychology needs of new fathers Definitions of central constructs Counselling psychology and relational counselling psychology Counselling psychology became a division within the British Psychological Society (BPS) in 1994, challenging, and proposing an alternative, to the dominant psychodynamic and behaviourist approaches. Counselling psychology has its philosophical roots in humanism, owing much to humanistic and existential thinkers such as Maslow, Rogers and May (Strawbridge and Woolfe, 2009: 4) and became part of the a so-called „third force‟ in psychology „privileging a non-pathologising account of psychological distress, and emphasising the uniqueness of each person and his or her self-actualising tendencies‟ (Rizq, 2008a: 8). Counselling psychology has evolved in relation to, and is committed to exploring, a range of approaches to inquiry, and recognises the contribution of different traditions including the phenomenological (existential and humanistic); the psychoanalytic/psychodynamic; the cognitive-behavioural; the constructionist; narrative and systemic traditions (Strawbridge and Woolfe, 2009: 4). Cooper (2009: 120) has identified six key principles, from a variety of texts, as the essential values of counselling psychology: 1. A prioritisation of the client‟s subjective, and intersubjective, experiencing (versus a prioritisation of the therapist‟s observations, or „objective‟ measures). 2. A focus on facilitating growth and the actualisation of potential (versus a focus on treating pathology). 3. An orientation towards empowering clients (versus viewing empowerment as an adjunct to an absence of mental illness). 4 The counselling psychology needs of new fathers 4. A commitment to a democratic,
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