Fostering Qualitative Research in Clinical Psychology: An Ethic of Hospitality

This just posted on the International Institute of Qualitative Methodology blog

Clinical Psychology has long prided itself as being based on the scientist-practitioner model and has relied, at least in part on the randomised control trial and other forms of quantitative research to establish its stature among the helping professions  as trustworthy and accountable. This is a critical feature in our identity as a profession, especially given the fact that there is so much potential for poor guidance and even abusive practice when working therapeutically with vulnerable people. Despite the importance of quantitative research, however, focusing exclusively on outcomes and evidence brings the  risk of ignoring many other important questions that can be best explored through qualitative and mixed methods. What in-session processes or interactions contribute towards change? What types of personal narratives are involved in recovery? How can research support community-based participatory initiatives? Can "unconscious processes" be externalised and understood? Qualitative methods, such as conversational analysis, interpersonal, process recall, narrative inquiry and participatory action can all contribute to the field, adding the process to the content, filling in the lived experiences that underlie the outcomes, and by doing so deepen a field that has contributed so much to the helping professions. Certainly this is becoming more recognized in the field, albeit perhaps slower here in Australia than has been the case in the United Kingdom and United States. SEE MORE