Relational Narratives, Suffering, and Counselling Psychology Susan Kinyany-Schlachter Portfolio for the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology City University London Department of Psychology September 2017 Table of Contents List of Diagrams ....................................................................................................... 6 Research Study ................................................................................................................. 13 Professional Practice ........................................................................................................ 14 Writing for Publication ...................................................................................................... 14 Reflections & Summary .................................................................................................... 15 Part 1: Research ..................................................................................................... 17 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 18 1 Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................ 19 1.1Background .................................................................................................................. 19 1.2Overview of the Research Study ................................................................................. 21 1.3Context of Caregiving: Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) ........................................... 21 1.4A priori Personal Reflexivity ........................................................................................ 23 1.5Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 24 1.5.1 Psychosocial Experiences of Brain Tumour Caregivers ................................. 26 1.5.2 Psychosocial Needs ....................................................................................... 27 1.5.3 Psychosocial Impact ...................................................................................... 31 1.5.4 Psychosocial Support .................................................................................... 35 1.6Rationale for the Research .......................................................................................... 38 1.6.1 Gaps in the Literature Review ........................................................................ 39 1.6.2 Feminist Perspectives .................................................................................... 40 1.6.3 Narrative Perspectives ................................................................................... 41 1.6.4 Counselling Psychology Perspectives ............................................................ 41 1.7Research Aims & Questions ....................................................................................... 44 2 Chapter Two: Methodology ........................................................................... 46 2.1Overview ....................................................................................................................... 46 2.2Research Positionality ................................................................................................. 46 2.3Research Design .......................................................................................................... 48 2.3.1 Rationale for Qualitative Research ................................................................. 49 2.3.2 Rationale for Narrative Inquiry ....................................................................... 50 2.3.3 Illness Narratives ........................................................................................... 56 2.3.4 Rationale for Dialogical Narrative Analysis (DNA) .......................................... 56 2.3.5 Congruence between Counselling Psychology & Narrative Inquiry ................ 58 2.4Ethical Approval ........................................................................................................... 59 2.5Procedure ..................................................................................................................... 60 1 2.5.1 Recruitment ................................................................................................... 60 2.5.2 Participants .................................................................................................... 61 2.5.3 Sample .......................................................................................................... 62 2.5.4 Inclusion Criteria ............................................................................................ 62 2.5.5 Briefing .......................................................................................................... 63 2.5.6 Informed Consent .......................................................................................... 63 2.5.7 Confidentiality ................................................................................................ 64 2.5.8 Debriefing ...................................................................................................... 65 2.5.9 Online Stories as Data ................................................................................... 65 2.5.10 Email Interviews as Data ............................................................................... 65 2.5.11 Participant Feedback and Email Communication as Data .............................. 65 2.6Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 67 2.6.1 Practising Dialogical Narrative Analysis (DNA) .................................................. 67 2.6.2 Research Q.1: What kinds of stories do GBM caregivers narrate online? ...... 67 2.6.3 Research Q. 2: What happens as a result of storytelling? .............................. 73 2.7Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................ 74 2.7.1 In Situ: Methodological Reflexivity ................................................................. 75 2.7.2 Recruitment of Bereaved Caregivers ............................................................. 75 2.7.3 Online Stories as Research Data ................................................................... 76 2.7.4 Email interviews as Research Data ................................................................ 76 2.7.5 Illness Narratives as Research Data .............................................................. 77 2.8Evaluation of Qualitative Narrative Inquiry ................................................................ 79 3 Chapter Three: Findings ............................................................................... 83 3.1Overview of Chapter .................................................................................................... 83 3.2Introduction to the Caregivers .................................................................................... 83 3.2.1 Sharma: He was my rock… ........................................................................... 83 3.2.2 Anna: I would have walked through molten lava for him…. ............................ 83 3.2.3 Heather: We were a team, united in love…. ................................................... 84 3.2.4 Jasmine: It was a gift and honour to have been part of (his) life … ................ 85 3.2.5 Rosemary: He was my knight in shining armour… ......................................... 85 3.2.6 Lilly: His last kiss was 1 minute before he passed… ...................................... 85 3.2.7 Helen: He was precious…. our only child… ................................................... 86 3.3Presentation of Findings ............................................................................................. 86 3.3.1 What kinds of stories do GBM caregivers narrate online? .............................. 86 3.3.2 Subjective Stories .......................................................................................... 87 3.3.3 Sharma: No Suffering Plz… ........................................................................... 88 3.4Collective Story Typologies ........................................................................................ 94 3.4.1 Narratives of Disruption ................................................................................. 95 3.4.2 Embodied Narratives ..................................................................................... 99 2 3.4.3 Narratives of Moral Dilemma ........................................................................ 102 3.4.4 Narratives of Destruction ............................................................................. 108 3.4.5 Narratives of Silence .................................................................................... 110 3.5Core Narratives .......................................................................................................... 114 3.5.1 The Suffering of Caring ................................................................................ 114 3.5.2 Woman as Healer ........................................................................................ 115 3.6What happens as a result of narrating stories online? ........................................... 117 3.6.1 The Storytelling Landscape .......................................................................... 118 3.6.2 Relational Narratives ...................................................................................