Study of the impact of abuse on children, adult survivors and practioners, and the implications for service delivery and therapeutic interventions.

Abstract

This thesis presented for a Ph. D. by publication traces the progress of my work from 1988-2004. The portfolio and narrative herein developed demonstrates that the publications and their dissemination constitute a contribution to knowledge equivalent to that of a traditional doctorate. This portfolio aims to demonstrate how my original contribution to knowledge has been a cumulative process developed from my on-going integration of practice and academic work and that this has substantially impacted on the understanding of childhood abuse on children and on the adult survivors they become, on practitioners working in the field, and on the implications for service delivery and therapeutic interventions. I consider how practice has fed and focussed my thinking on areas subsequently studied, explored and described in these publications; and that these are fundamentally deeply rooted in and with survivors, but significantly extend to consideration of issues for practitioners. I examine how in order for survivors to be truly heard, their voice has to be communicated effectively and be translated into the development of appropriate responses. I have therefore demonstrated not only the intrinsic necessity of survivors of abuse being core to the whole process, but that educating practitioners is of parallel and equal importance, ensuring and facilitating safe and effective practice. I show how my work has made an effective contribution in these respects. The thesis is presented in three chapters: Chapter 1 describes and overviews the selected publications and contextualises these; explores the research journey; examines the methodological base and rationale, and considers the influence of practice. The twelve cited selected publications (Appendix B) are intertwined within the developing narrative, with particular focus on specific key publications, notably the single authored Surviving Secrets (1992) and the jointly edited Hidden Selves (1999). Throughout, I reflect on my own learning and development academically and clinically, demonstrating the crucial significance of the interrelationship between these two. I refer to my publications to illustrate the progress of my development, how these have drawn on and fed back into practice, and essentially how survivors of abuse have continually remained at the very heart of my work. Chapter 2 is the body of the work containing the cited articles and book chapters, including the most relevant chapters from Women in Therapy and Counselling : Out of the Shadows and Hidden Selves. The four books cited. Surviving Secrets: the experience of abuse for the child the adult and the helper; Hidden Selves: An Exploration of Multiple Personality, and Abuse: Questions and Answers for Counsellors and Therapists, are attached separately. Chapter 3 summarises the results of the published works demonstrating their original contribution to knowledge. As this portfolio extends over 16 years, and considerable work has taken place, for the sake of clarity I trace the impact of this body of work, and the contribution it has made, in respect of the four most significant pathways: education, training, practice, policy and service development. The chapter concludes by reflecting on both strengths and weaknesses of this body of work, including further consideration of the methodology used.