RESOLUCIÓN MINISTERIO DE TRANSPORTE 003275 DE 2008 (Agosto 12)

How do existential therapists investigate clients’ exploration of meaning and death? Invitation to participate in this research project.

In my initial email [see* below] I explained that I’m studying for an MSc Psychology by Research at Huddersfield University and you very kindly agreed to take part. The focus of the current project will be on how therapists use the existential perspective in counselling, specifically in relation to

encouraging clients to discuss issues around meaning in life and in relation to death anxiety. It will at the same time aim to gather therapists’ own ideas about their experiences of loss and their own creation/discovery of meaning in life.

I will be asking therapists/participants to reflect on their own attitudes to meaning in life and how this relates to their feelings about their own mortality. The research will involve participants responding to a series of questions [**see below for a summary of these, although this is only a summary and not the specific questions I’ll be asking for responses to] in light of their experience as therapists and will be followed up with an interview by email if participants are happy to do this as well as the initial questionnaire, i.e. I will be asking for participants to take part in both activities while emphasising that the latter is largely for the purposes of elaborating on some points raised in the initial activity. It is of course the participants’ own choice how much detail they provide but I will be encouraging respondents to provide as much detail as possible around each of the statements initially – but will be grateful for any information participants are willing to provide. I will of course negotiate with participants which two weeks are best for them but will be looking to collect data from all participants within a certain time frame. I will also suggest a follow up email interview of approximately one week where questions and answers can be emailed gradually during that time. The questions will only be sent to participants once they have agreed in principle to take part, knowing how much detail and time is being asked of them.

I am aiming to interview at least six people who use an existential approach to some extent in their work. If you are still happy to take part, which I hope you are, I will ask you to sign a consent form. All information disclosed within the interview will be kept confidential, unless you indicate that you or anyone else is at risk of serious harm, in which case I would need to pass this information to my supervisor. All will of course remain anonymous in the write-up. It is anticipated that the research may, at some point, be published in a journal or report. However, should this happen, your anonymity will be ensured, although it may be necessary to use your words in the presentation of

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the findings and your permission for this is included in the consent form. Data will only be accessible to the researcher and supervisor and participants will have the right to withdraw at any time, including the right to have any part of their responses removed from the data at any time.

If you feel you would still be able, in principle, to participate it would be much appreciated and I am hoping to begin to collect data from October/November 2017.

Please let me know if you feel you are still happy to take part by signing and returning the consent form.

Many thanks,

Mark Haddock [email protected]

The research aims/focus of the research can be summarised as:

*“Dear ….

My name is Mark Haddock and I’m studying for an MSc Psychology by Research at Huddersfield University. The focus will be on how [far] therapists see and use the existential perspective in

counselling. It will involve one questionnaire by email and one interview also by email. I am aiming to interview at least six people who use an existential approach to some extent in their work. All will of course remain anonymous in the write-up.

I wouldn’t expect to be ready to conduct the questionnaire and interview until October/November 2017. If you feel you would be able, in principle, to participate in these two activities it would be much appreciated.

I will be able, of course, to give you some idea of what the themes of the questionnaires and interviews might be around beforehand but they will involve therapists reflecting on their own experiences of loss and understanding of their own mortality and how this impacts on the way they address similar issues with clients.

I won’t be carrying out any data collection until I have received ethical approval of course. Please let me know if you feel you might be able to help.

Many thanks,

Mark [[email protected]] “

**Therapists’ own experience and understanding of meaning creation and mortality, therapists’ willingness to challenge clients’ meanings in life and attitudes to mortality, therapeutic techniques used to facilitate discussion of these issues including integrated approaches and how addressing issues around meaning and mortality relates to specific client-groups and contexts.

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