Introducing Counselling and Psychotherapy Research

Prof. Terry Hanley is a Professor in Counselling Psychology at the University of Manchester. He is a HCPC Registered Counselling Psychologist and a Fellow of both the BPS and the Higher Education Academy. Terry works on a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology programme and has a particular interest in training therapists in humanistic approaches of therapy and research skills. In addition to editing ‘The Sage Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy’, he is a co-author of ‘Introducing Counselling and Psychotherapy Research’ (Sage, 2013) and lead editor of text ‘Adolescent Counselling Psychology’ (Routledge, 2013).  He has worked as a therapist with young people and young adults for a number of third sector organisations, a football therapist with the organisation Freedom from Torture, and a clinical supervisor for staff at Bury Involvement Group. He has been researching web-based therapy with children and young people for over twenty years and has a growing interest in surfing therapy and the use of artificial intelligence in the caring professions.  Follow him on twitter @drterryhanleyWilliam West is a lecturer in Counselling Studies at Manchester University. He currently serves on the Research and Evaluation Committee of the British Association for Counselling, and has written extensively on humanistic therapy, spirituality, supervision and qualitative research.

• IntroductionThe Research Underpinning TherapyWhat Is Research?Preparing for Undertaking ResearchThe Impact of Undertaking Research on the ResearcherQuantitative Research: Collecting and Making Sense of Numbers in Therapy ResearchQualitative Research: Collecting and Making Sense of Talk, Thoughts and Feelings in ResearchEthical Issues in Therapy ResearchTalking about Research and DisseminationSummary

′The authors of this very personal book seem to have really understood student anxieties about embarking on research. The whole project of getting to grips with research methods is brought alive through examples from the authors′ own teaching of research methods. One of the inspired pedagogical methods is the use of debate to get students to articulate their approach and back this up from role played perspectives like that of a service commissioner. The reader is encouraged to adopt a critical stance in relation to the text, throughout, and the ′student voice′ is used as a critical commentary.The process of research is used as a model of collaborative and experiential learning, which makes this book very different from most of the research methods texts already ′out there′. The language of research is used throughout, in order to help students to begin to identify as researchers (e.g. ′your findings′; ′our findings′). This is set to become an essential part of every counselling trainer′s reading list, serving as it does to demystify research and set learning through research firmly within counsellor training. My students will read it with relish′ - Bonnie Meekums, PhD,Lecturer in counselling and psychotherapy at University of Leeds