An Exploration of Clinical Psychologist and Educational Psychologist Constructs of Mental Health in the Context of Secondary School Aged Children

Over the past decade, Mental Health (MH) has increasingly appeared on the ‘school agenda’, both in terms of rising levels of MH difficulties in the student population, and also the expectation that schools have a role to play in supporting good MH. MH is a term fraught with ambiguities leading to uncertainty around the most appropriate ways to provide support. A review of current literature reveals a wide range of definitions and interpretations, sometimes within the same team of supporting professionals. The current study seeks to explore the perspectives held by two professional groups seemingly well placed to support young persons’ (YPs’) MH. Six Clinical Psychologists (CPs) and six Educational Psychologists (EPs) are interviewed, exploring their constructs of MH, and their perceptions of their own role and the roles of others in supporting secondary school aged YPs’ MH. The data are analysed through Thematic Analysis. Findings suggest that there are variations between the two professions’ constructs of MH, and EPs in particular have no unified concept of MH. This is likely due to less experience or training in this area. CPs and EPs hold similar perceptions of the school’s role for promoting good MH, and flagging up concerns to more specialist professionals when necessary. However, there are discrepancies in the EP and CP perceptions of each other’s roles. The conflicting views appear to emerge through incomplete information about the other, and professional defensiveness in a context where resources and funding are scarce. The current study suggests that these challenges can be addressed through: greater reflectivity on professional biases, exploration of MH constructs within other epistemological positions, and greater communication regarding professional roles, leading to clearer collaboration in supporting the MH of YP.

Brief Psychotherapy with Children in a Specialist School: An Exploration of the Underlying Issues for Children and Mainstream Schools

This thesis explores brief psychotherapy with children on placement at a specialist school setting, as part of an on-site, child psychotherapy outreach provision. The study sought to explore two research questions concerning the themes that could emerge in brief work with children and how these themes could be discussed in relation to the understanding formed by their mainstream school teachers. A qualitative research design was used to investigate these questions. The methods used to collect data were case studies, concerning the brief psychotherapy with 4 boys, aged 7 years, and and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teachers. Thematic analysis was used to explore the data. The themes that were derived from the analysis were described in detail. The research found that brief work has considerable benefit for children and mainstream schools. Through the brief work intervention, the children all made significant progress in all areas of their lives a school. Contributions that the research makes to related fields, the implications that it has for policy and practice and recommendations for future research were all discussed.

Newham’s Every Child a Sports Person (NECaSP): A Summative Process Evaluation of a School-and-Community Based Intervention in East London, UK

Background: The NECaSP intervention aspires to increase sport and physical activity (PA) participation amongst young people in the UK. The aims of this paper are to report on a summative process evaluation of the NECaSP and make recommendations for future interventions. Methods: Seventeen schools provided data by students aged 11-13 (n=1,226), parents (n=192) and teachers (n= 14) via direct observation and questionnaires. Means, standard deviations and percentages were calculated for socio-demographic data. Qualitative data was analysed via directed content analysis and main themes identified. Results: Findings indicate further administrative, educational and financial support will help facilitate the success of the programme in improving PA outcomes for young people, and of other similar intervention programmes globally. Data highlighted the need to engage parents to increase likelihood of intervention success. Conclusions: One main strength of this study is the mixed-methods nature of the process evaluation. It is recommended that future school based interventions that bridge sports clubs and formal curriculum provision, should consider a more broad approach to the delivery of programmes throughout the academic year, school week and school day. Finally, changes in the school curriculum can be successful once all parties are involved (community, school, families).

My Ideal School: A Personal Construct Psychology Approach to Understanding the School Constructs of Children Described as Anxious

This research explores the school constructs of children described as anxious. Little research exists that looks at understanding children’s school-related anxiety through the lens of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP). This qualitative research design includes semi-structured interviews that followed a PCP theoretical framework. The interviews were carried out with five children aged between 7 and 11, who attended state schools in Malta, and who were experiencing school-related anxiety. Participants were asked to comment and produce drawings about the kind of school they would like to attend (their ideal school), and the kind of school they would not like to attend. The children’s constructs were organised according to whether they related to adults in school, their peers, the school and classroom environment, and the participants themselves in each of these two imaginary schools. Participants were also asked to think of how the school they currently attend can become more like their ideal school. Findings indicate the importance of relationships between teachers and pupils, relationships amongst pupils themselves, a positive learning environment within the classroom and the belongingness to a common value system and school ethos to which anxious children can relate. This research aims to shed light on the responsibility of professionals working with children with school-related anxiety to look beyond within-child factors and understand possible stressors in the child’s environment as potentially contributing to heightening their anxiety.