Researching, Reflecting and Writing about Work

Fiona Gardner is the Award leader for the Professional Master's Programme in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice at Bath Spa University. Steven J. Coombs is Head of Department for Continuing Professional Development, Teaching Fellow and Chair of the Professional Master's Programme at Bath Spa University.

• Harré, Preface. Gardner, Introduction. Gardner, Coombs, Learning and Researching as an Adult Professional. Gardner, Coombs, Ethical Dilemmas in Training and in Research. Gardner, Coombs, Using the Case Study Approach for Training and Research. Gardner, Coombs, Choosing a Research Paradigm. Whitehead, Research Using Focus Groups in an Organisational Setting. Barnet, Research in the Voluntary Sector. Larcombe, Research in the Public Sector. Cole, Research in the Community with a Feminist Approach. Larcombe, Gardner, Coombs, Going Public – Getting Your Work Out to a Wider Audience. Coombs, The Way Forward.

"This is an important book. For the first time the gamut of diverse training programmes for therapists are linked in a systematic and productive way with the research methodologies currently in use." - Rom Harré, from the Preface"By providing examples of the experience of counsellors in pursuing research projects that have meaning and value for their clients and themselves, the contributors to the book are able to show that research can indeed represent a significant means of extending and deepening insight and understanding in ways that are relevant to understanding the purpose and process of therapy, and which enhance rather than undermine the therapeutic relationship." - John McLeod, from the Foreword"Researching, Reflecting and Writing about Work can be dipped into, and chapters hold their own, independtly of the whole. However, the book's true richness comes through best from reading it in full... I highly recommend it, and expect to refer to it often with a range of students." - Sandra Taylor, Healthcare, Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, July 2010