City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Le Clézio, Natalie (2014). Between binaries, borders and boundaries: counselling psychology in liminal spaces. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City University London) This is the accepted version of the paper.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/14797/ 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] Between binaries, borders and boundaries: Counselling psychology in liminal spaces Natalie Hélène Le Clézio Portfolio submitted in fulfilment of the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DPsych) Department of Psychology, City University October 2014 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 5 Declaration .................................................................................................................... 6 Preface ........................................................................................................................... 7 Part A – Doctoral Research ....................................................................................... 12 An ok way to fall apart: Exploring the social construction of ‘nervous breakdown’ 1. Introduction: What’s in a ‘nervous breakdown?’ ........................................... 13 1.1. ‘Nervous breakdown’ in the academic terrain: A short conversation ..................... 15 1.1.1. Subsuming ‘nervous breakdown’ under diagnosis and diagnosticians ....................... 16 1.1.2. Exploring lay definitions of ‘nervous breakdown’ ...................................................... 19 1.1.3. ‘Nervous breakdown’ as written for the lay person by clinicians ............................... 21 1.2. The nervous subject ...................................................................................................... 23 1.2.1. ‘Nervous breakdown’ after World War I ..................................................................... 28 1.3. In summary: ‘Nervous breakdown’ and this research ............................................. 34 1.3.1. An excursion: Towards exploring current and popular constructions of ‘nervous breakdown’ ................................................................................................................................ 36 2. Methodology ........................................................................................................ 40 2.1. Situating the methodological approach ...................................................................... 40 2.1.1. Discourse, the critical and psychology ........................................................................ 41 2.1.2. The crisis in social psychology .................................................................................... 42 2.1.3. Social constructionism ................................................................................................. 43 2.1.4. Discourse and discourse analysis ................................................................................. 45 2.1.5. A synthetic approach: Combining Foucauldian discourse analysis and discursive psychology ................................................................................................................................ 52 2.1.6. Developing an analytical approach to explore ‘nervous breakdown’ and its subjects 56 2.1.7. Analytic approach ........................................................................................................ 58 2.2. Overview of methods .................................................................................................... 59 2.2.1. Media study ................................................................................................................. 59 2.2.2. Methods used in media study ...................................................................................... 60 2 2.2.3. Interview study ............................................................................................................ 63 2.2.4. Methods used in interview study ................................................................................. 64 2.2.5. Data transcription and analysis .................................................................................... 74 2.2.6. Transcription ................................................................................................................ 74 2.3. Analytic procedure ....................................................................................................... 75 2.3.1. Familiarization and coding .......................................................................................... 76 2.3.2. Key analytic concepts .................................................................................................. 76 2.3.3. An integrated analysis .................................................................................................. 78 2.3.4. Ending analysis ............................................................................................................ 78 3. Analysis ................................................................................................................ 80 3.1. Media Analysis .............................................................................................................. 80 3.1.1. Revisiting the Research Aim ....................................................................................... 80 3.1.2. Reviewing Newspaper Articles ................................................................................... 80 3.1.3. ‘Nervous breakdown’ constructed as a space on the edge .......................................... 81 3.1.4. Offness, stress or potential madness? .......................................................................... 83 3.1.5. ‘Nervous breakdown’ constructing a liminal space: An edge ..................................... 90 3.2. Interview Analysis ........................................................................................................ 93 3.2.1. ‘Nervous breakdown,’ breakdown and break .............................................................. 93 3.2.2. Not mad or bad, just nerves ....................................................................................... 109 3.2.3. A liminal space .......................................................................................................... 122 4. Discussion ........................................................................................................... 126 4.1. Finding a place between not coping and mad .......................................................... 126 4.1.1. Failed self-management ............................................................................................. 126 4.1.2. Mad ............................................................................................................................ 135 4.1.3. Not mad, just ‘nervous breakdown’ ........................................................................... 138 4.1.4. Nervous: Mitigating blame and individualising distress ........................................... 139 4.1.5. ‘Nervous breakdown:’ Discursive flexibility and constraint ..................................... 146 4.2. A personal grapple: Researching and authoring this construction of ‘nervous breakdown’ ............................................................................................................................ 148 4.2.1. Considering the constraints that I placed on the work ............................................... 151 4.3. In conclusion: What can this study of ‘nervous breakdown’ contribute? ............ 154 5. References .......................................................................................................... 158 3 6. Appendices ......................................................................................................... 179 Appendix A1 – Table of articles used in media analysis Appendix A2 – Sample transcription of media article Appendix B – Recruitment Appendix C – Interview schedule Appendix D – Informed consent form Appendix E – Debrief resource Appendix F – Ethical approval Appendix G – Sample interview transcription Part B – Critical literature review .......................................................................... 197 The immigrant, immigration and mental health care: A critical literature review 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 197 2. Immigration: The current contexts ................................................................. 197 3. Immigration and mental health ....................................................................... 201 3.1.