> Thanks for the message. I have put a copy of the paper in the post to you
> this morning.
Thanks, I picked up the paper this morning, am looking forward to reading
it.
It would be interesting to hear about your experiences of
> using pcp approaches with your groups.
I have found this a mixed pleasure. I initially started using Role
Grids to look at health beliefs in post registration nurses I teach
psychology to. I felt I had to stop when the grids 'exposed' sensitive
issues eg anorexia and I did not feel I had the resources necessary to
ensure the 'safety' of the students. This I feel is a pity as one
excellent experience was when a nurse provided a thematic pattern to her
constructs which linked "old-age" and "not coping", "elderly" and "low
self-esteem", "old" and "unattractive". You guessed it! These came from a
nurse who had worked in Geriatrics for 15 years and said she knew
something was "wrong". She identified for herself the need to take a
break from this area after she interpreted her grid - it appeared to came
as an obvious relief to her.
I have recently needed to concentrate on topics as elements (which are
inevitably less 'meaningful' but 'safer' - an issue which isn't often/ever
raised in the group? - for a teacher practitioner such as myself) using
rep grid rather than roles in order to complete an MSc. I have found this
quite different - a not entirely or even essentially, but more a
positivistic approach if you like (or if you don't like!). I've just been
offered a new job which will incorporate (hopefully) Staff Development -
there may be some excellent opportunities here.
You say you work with counselling students. You might, therefore, be interested
in some of the other papers
> delivered at the pcp Southern Interest Group Conference. For instance,
> Malcolm Cross (of City University, Psychology Dept, Northampton Square,
> London, EC1V 0HB) gave a paper on the reflexive and discursive analysis of
> discourse with postgraduate counselling students. You could get further
> information about the papers at the conference from Maureen Pope at
> Reading.
I'm not sure how much I'll be doing here in the short term. But thank you
for this information also.
Finally, all the students I have worked with on grids have had similar
(disappointing?) responses to the process of completing the grid. The
only group/individuals that responded enthusiastically where Psychology
Lecturers!
Kind regards
Anne-Marie
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