1st Edition

Further Researching Beneath the Surface Psycho-Social Research Methods in Practice - Volume 2

Edited By Anne-Marie Cummins, Nigel Williams Copyright 2018

    Contributions in this volume cover ways of knowing, the dynamics of research encounters, new methods of psycho-social inquiry, and the first-hand experience of being a researcher. Since the first volume of Researching Beneath the Surface was published by Karnac in 2009, psycho-social research has become more established but is also more scrutinised by a new generation of researchers, practitioners, and clinicians. This volume offers a timely exploration of the latest developments in psycho-social research, bringing together a series of papers in which both longstanding contributors to the field and new researchers explore tensions, possibilities, and innovations in psycho-socially inspired research.

    Showcasing advances in psycho-social research methods, the book focuses on methodological dilemmas, innovations in method and methodology, and on experiences of conducting psycho-social research in challenging contexts. It also focusses on the contested but pivotal role of psychoanalysis in psycho-social research and explores what can be added by transdisciplinary use of deep ecology, continental philosophy, and relational approaches as alternative or supplementary ways of knowing.

    Further Researching Beneath the Surface: Psycho-social Research Methods in Practice offers fresh insight into the practical and emotional issues of conducting oneself as a psycho-social researcher and learning from experience. It will be of great interest to psycho-social, qualitative, organisational, and psychoanalytically-oriented researchers, as well as postgraduate students in these fields.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

    ABOUT THE EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS

    INTRODUCTION: Researching beneath the surface—a continuing journey

    PART I: KNOWING

    CHAPTER ONE

    "As easy as to know . . .": on the tensions between psychoanalysis and psychosocial research

    Jem Thomas

    CHAPTER TWO

    The researcher’s subjectivity as a research instrument: from intuition to surrender

    Lita Crociani-Windland

    CHAPTER THREE

    Leaders and their relation to nature

    Rembrandt Zegers

    PART II: DOING

    CHAPTER FOUR

    Researching powerful people: the experience of having access to them

    Louisa Diana Brunner

    CHAPTER FIVE

    "Every human being is an artist": from social representation to creative experiences of self

    Julian Manley

    CHAPTER SIX

    Prospects for the Listening Post as a psycho-social methodology

    Anne-Marie Cummins

    PART III: EXPERIENCING

    CHAPTER SEVEN

    The challenges of being a mature doctoral student: the supportive role of vertical and lateral third spaces

    Rose Redding Mersky

    CHAPTER EIGHT

    Markers and milestones: learning to navigate the psycho-social research journey

    Jane Woodend

    CHAPTER NINE

    Finding "self" when looking for "other": intrasubjectivity in the research encounter

    Nadine Riad Tchelebi

    Biography

    Anne-Marie Cummins is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of the West of England, a founder member of the Centre for Psychosocial Studies (now the Psychosocial Studies Research group) and former UK editor of the journal Organisational and Social Dynamics. She has taught on and co-led the UWE Psychosocial Doctoral programme. Anne-Marie has a background in Group Relations, Group Analysis and Organisational Consultancy.

    Nigel Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, and a member of the Psycho-Social Studies Research Network at the University of the West of England. He is engaged in Psycho-social research that reaches across boundaries to deepen and inform professional practices. He lectures in Psycho-social and Beneath the Surface Methodologies, Systems and Complexity Theory, Groups and Organisations, and Intergenerational Memory. He is an organisational consultant and is a registered psychotherapist and supervisor with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.

    "Volume 1 of Researching Beneath the Surface was something of a landmark in psychosocial studies. If anything, Volume 2 is even more significant. Theoretically wide ranging and willing to take risks, it invites psychosocial researchers to look again at their practice and their claims to knowledge. It will be invaluable reading for everyone in the field, whether experienced researchers or those coming to the psychosocial for the first time." --Peter Redman, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University

    "This volume questions, challenges, extends and enriches the still emergent practice of psycho-social research. In doing so, the authors cultivate a therapeutically informed research practice committed to social engagement and intervention which bursts with potential." --Paul Hoggett, Professor Emeritus, University of the West of England

    "Psychosocial studies can be seen as a crucial antidote to the current tendency to fragment research and interventions at the expense of both the individual and society. This book is an important reminder of the ethical responsibility to develop relevant research methods as well as an exceptionally useful handbook regarding how to do such important and valuable work." --Marilyn Charles, Austen Riggs Centre, Massachusetts