The lived experience of healing touch with cancer patients

The recent use of complementary therapies by cancer patients has prompted the study of the use of Healing Touch, an energy based therapy, to learn the meaning of the experience. By using Ray's Caring Inquiry, a phenomenologic-hermeneutic process, the lived experience of receiving Healing Touch was elicited from three cancer patients. Through the interactions of the Healing Touch practitioners, the cancer patient participants, and the energy in and around them, specific themes were expressed: body-physical, emotion-feeling, mental-knowing, and spirit-essence. Further abstracting lead to the metathemes sensation and perception. Through a change in consciousness, a oneness/wholeness was experienced. The unity of meaning elicited was the Rhythm of Oneness Through Energy which is the connecting, opening, and cocreating through caring, the wholeness of each to become one through rhythms of energy. ^

A qualitative analysis of the lived experience of nursing staff developers in the process of changing to a new educational model

The purpose of this study was to document and critically analyze the lived experience of selected nursing staff developers in the process of moving toward a new model for hospital nursing education. Eleven respondents were drawn from a nation-wide population of about two hundred individuals involved in nursing staff development. These subjects were responsible for the implementation of the Performance Based Development System (PBDS) in their institutions.^ A purposive, criterion-based sampling technique was used with respondents being selected according to size of hospital, primary responsibility for orchestration of the change, influence over budgetary factors and managerial responsibility for PBDS. Data were gathered by the researcher through both in-person and telephone interviews. A semi-structured interview guide, designed by the researcher was used, and respondents were encouraged to amplify on their recollections as desired. Audiotapes were transcribed and resulting computer files were analyzed using the program "Martin". Answers to interview questions were compiled and reported across cases. The data was then reviewed a second time and interpreted for emerging themes and patterns.^ Two types of verification were used in the study. Internal verification was done through interview transcript review and feedback by respondents. External verification was done through review and feedback on data analysis by readers who were experienced in management of staff development departments.^ All respondents were female, so Gilligan's concept of the "ethic of care" was examined as a decision making strategy. Three levels of caring which influenced decision making were found. They were caring: (a) for the organization, (b) for the employee, and (c) for the patient. The four existentials of the lived experience, relationality, corporeality, temporality and spatiality were also examined to reveal the everydayness of making change. ^

Gaining insight into teaching: A phenomenological exploration of the lived experience of Teachers of the Year

What qualities, skills, and knowledge produce quality teachers? Many stake-holders in education argue that teacher quality should be measured by student achievement. This qualitative study shows that good teachers are multi-dimensional; their effectiveness cannot be represented by students' test scores alone. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of quality in teaching by examining the lived experiences of 10 winners or finalists of the Teacher of the Year (ToY) Award. Phenomenology describes individuals' daily experiences of phenomena, examines how these experiences are structured, and focuses analysis on the perspectives of the persons having the experience (Moustakas, 1994). This inquiry asked two questions: (a) How is teaching experienced by recognized as outstanding Teachers of the Year? and (b) How do ToYs feelings and perceptions about being good teachers provide insight, if any, about concepts such as pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions? Ten participants formed the purposive sample; the major data collection tool was semi-structured interviews (Patton, 1990; Seidman, 2006). Sixty to 90-minute interviews were conducted with each participant. Data also included the participants' ToY application essays. Data analysis included a three-phase process: description, reduction, interpretation. Findings revealed that the ToYs are dedicated, hard-working individuals. They exhibit behaviors, such as working beyond the school day, engaging in lifelong learning, and assisting colleagues to improve their practice. Working as teachers is their life's compass, guiding and wrapping them into meaningful and purposeful lives. Pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions were shown to be relevant, offering important insights into good teaching. Results indicate that for these ToYs, good teaching is experienced by getting through to students using effective and moral means; they are emotionally open, have a sense of the sacred, and they operate from a sense of intentionality. The essence of the ToYs teaching experience was their being properly engaged in their craft, embodying logical, psychological, and moral realms. Findings challenge current teacher effectiveness process-product orthodoxy which makes a causal connection between effective teaching and student test scores, and which assumes that effective teaching arises solely from and because of the actions of the teacher.

Hearing the Child's Voice: Their Lived Experience in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Background: More than 200,000 children are admitted annually to Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) in the US. Research has shown young children can provide insight into their hospitalization experiences; child reports rather than parental reports are critical to understanding the child’s experience. Information relating to children’s perceptions while still in the PICU is scarce. Aims: The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate school age children’s and adolescents’ perceptions of PICU while in the PICU; changes in perceptions after transfer to the General Care Unit (GCU); differences in perceptions of school age children/adolescents and those with more invasive procedures. Methods: Interviews were conducted in PICU within 24-48 hours of admission and 24-48 hours after transfer to GCU. Data on demographics, clinical care and number/types of procedures were obtained. Results: Participants were 7 school age children, 13 adolescents; 10 Hispanic; 13 males. Five overarching themes: Coping Strategies, Environmental Factors, Stressors, Procedures/Medications, and Information. Children emphasized the importance of peer support and visitation; adolescents relied strongly on social media and texting. Parent visits sometimes were more stressful than peer visits. Video games, TV, visitors, and eating were diversional activities. In the PICU, they wanted windows to see outside and interesting things to see on the ceiling above them. Children expressed anticipatory fear of shots and procedures, frustration with lab work, and overwhelming PICU equipment. Number of child responses was higher in PICU (927) than GCU (593); the largest difference was in Environmental Factors. Variations between school age children and adolescents were primarily in Coping Strategies, especially in social support. Number of GCU procedures were the same (8 children) or greater (2 children) than PICU procedures. Discussion: Admission to PICU is a very stressful event. Perceptions from children while still in PICU found information not previously found in the literature. Longitudinal studies to identify children’s perceptions regarding PICU hospitalization and post-discharge outcomes are needed.

The Lived Experience of People with Mental Health and Substance Misuse Problems: Dimensions of Belonging

Introduction: People with co-occurring mental health and substance misuse problems are among the most excluded in society. A need to feel connected to others has been articulated in the occupational science literature although the concept of belonging itself has not been extensively explored within this paradigm. This paper reports findings from research that explored the meaning and experience of belonging for four people living with dual diagnosis in the United Kingdom. Method: Researchers employed an interpretative phenomenological approach to the study. Four semi-structured interviews were carried out. The interviews were guided by questions around the meaning of belonging, barriers to belonging and how belonging and not belonging impacted on participants’ lives. Data analysis facilitated the identification of themes across individual accounts and enabled comparisons. Findings: Data analysis identified four themes – belonging in family, belonging in place, embodied understandings of belonging and barriers to belonging. Conclusion: The findings add further insights into the mutable nature of belonging. A link between sense of belonging and attachment theory has been proposed, along with a way to understand the changeable and dependent nature of belonging through ‘dimensions of belonging’.

An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the lived experience of suicidal behaviour

Background: In Scotland, suicide prevention is a major public health challenge, with two people, on average, dying every day due to suicide. Any efforts to prevent suicide should be aided by research. Existing research on suicide is dominated by quantitative research that has largely focused on providing explanatory accounts of suicidal phenomena. Research providing rich and detailed accounts of suicidal behaviour among individuals who have directly experienced it is growing but remains relatively embryonic. This study sought to supplement existing understanding of attempted suicide specifically by exploring the processes, meaning and context of suicidal experiences among individuals with a history of attempted suicide. Methods: The study used a retrospective qualitative design with semi-structured in-depth interviews. Participants were patients (n=7) from a community mental health service in Glasgow, Scotland who had attempted suicide within the previous 12-month period. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and were analysed for recurrent themes using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: Three super-ordinate themes, each with inter-related sub-themes, emerged from the analysis. 1) “Intentions”: This theme explored different motives for suicide, including providing relief from upsetting feelings; a way of establishing control; and a means of communicating with others. 2) “The Suicidal Journey”: This theme explored how individuals’ thinking can change when they are suicidal, including feeling overwhelmed by a build-up of distress and a narrowing of their perspective. 3) “Suicidal Dissonance”: This theme explored how people can feel conflicted about suicide and can be fearful of the consequences of their suicidal behaviour. Conclusion: Participants’ accounts were dominated by experience of significant adversity and psychological suffering. These accounts provided valuable insights into the suicidal process, highlighting implications for clinical practice and future research.

Gaining Insight into Teaching: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Lived Experience of the Teachers of the Year

What qualities, skills, and knowledge produce quality teachers? Many stake-holders in education argue that teacher quality should be measured by student achievement. This qualitative study shows that good teachers are multi-dimensional; their effectiveness cannot be represented by students’ test scores alone. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of quality in teaching by examining the lived experiences of 10 winners or finalists of the Teacher of the Year (ToY) Award. Phenomenology describes individuals’ daily experiences of phenomena, examines how these experiences are structured, and focuses analysis on the perspectives of the persons having the experience (Moustakas, 1994). This inquiry asked two questions: (a) How is teaching experienced by recognized as outstanding Teachers of the Year? and (b) How do ToYs feelings and perceptions about being good teachers provide insight, if any, about concepts such as pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions? Ten participants formed the purposive sample; the major data collection tool was semi-structured interviews (Patton, 1990; Seidman, 2006). Sixty to 90-minute interviews were conducted with each participant. Data also included the participants’ ToY application essays. Data analysis included a three-phase process: description, reduction, interpretation. Findings revealed that the ToYs are dedicated, hard-working individuals. They exhibit behaviors, such as working beyond the school day, engaging in lifelong learning, and assisting colleagues to improve their practice. Working as teachers is their life’s compass, guiding and wrapping them into meaningful and purposeful lives. Pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions were shown to be relevant, offering important insights into good teaching. Results indicate that for these ToYs, good teaching is experienced by getting through to students using effective and moral means; they are emotionally open, have a sense of the sacred, and they operate from a sense of intentionality. The essence of the ToYs teaching experience was their being properly engaged in their craft, embodying logical, psychological, and moral realms. Findings challenge current teacher effectiveness process-product orthodoxy which makes a causal connection between effective teaching and student test scores, and which assumes that effective teaching arises solely from and because of the actions of the teacher.

From absolutes to aesthetics : John Dewey and the art of experience /

In this thesis I sought to capture something of the integrity of John Dewey's larger vision. While recognizing this to be a difficult challenge, I needed to clear some of the debris of an overly narrow reading of Dewey's works by students of education. The tendency of reducing Dewey's larger philosophical vision down to neat theoretical snap shots in order to prop up their particular social scientific research, was in my estimation slowly damaging the larger integrity of Dewey's vast body of work. It was, in short, killing off the desire to read big works, because doing so was not necessary to satisfying the specialized interests of social scientific research. In this thesis then I made a plea for returning the Humanities to the center of higher education. It is there that students learn how to read and to think—skills required to take on someone of Dewey's stature. I set out in this thesis to do just that. I took Dewey's notion of experience as the main thread connecting all of his philosophy, and focused on two large areas of inquiry, science and its relation to philosophy, and aesthetic experience. By exploring in depth Dewey's understanding of human experience as it pertains to day-to-day living, my call was for a heightened mode of artful conduct within our living contexts. By calling on the necessity of appreciating the more qualitative dimensions of lived experience, I was hoping that students engaged in the Social Sciences might begin to bolster their research interests with more breadth and depth of reading and critical insight. I expressed this as being important to the survival and intelligent flourishing of democratic conduct.

An investigation into the lived experiences of racism among African -American nurses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experience of racism among African-American nurses. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected by interviewing 10 African-American nurses currently practicing in Dade county. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using the seven step method of Colaizzi (1978). The findings of this study indicate that racism encompasses attitudes and beliefs which generate behaviors reflecting ethnocentric ideations. The process of racism creates glass ceilings that hinder the career advancement of African-American nurses. Internalizing these experiences of racism engenders feelings of betrayal and erodes unity and cohesion within the group. This study points out the need to openly confront racism in the nursing profession, from the classroom to the workplace.

The Experience of Dis-placed Communities: Mis-placed Educational Opportunities

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) has a long history of out-migration and internal migration between communities in coastal areas within the province. Resettlement programs initiated by the NL government between 1954 and 1975 accounted for the internal migration of approximately 30,000 people from 300 communities. Modern-day encounters with these abandoned communities are relevant to understanding the loss of place and home, as significant numbers of students in NL today are affected by migration. This dissertation is a phenomenological study of the experiences of educators as they explored the remnants of an abandoned community. The participants of the study were six experienced public school educators with teaching experience at the primary, elementary, intermediate, and secondary levels. The study took place in eight abandoned communities located on the western shore of Placentia Bay, where mainly the remnants of Isle Valen, St. Leonard’s, St. Kyran’s, and Great Paradise were explored. Data collection consisted of two personal interviews and one group hermeneutic circle, with the aim to answer one fundamental question: What is the experience of educators exploring the remnants of an abandoned community? Data in this study are represented by lived experience descriptions, which were interpreted hermeneutically and guided by four phenomenological existentials: temporality, corporeality, spatiality, and relationality. The most prominent themes emerging from the educators’ anecdotes were determined to be attunement, tension, and intensity. The results of this study not only provide deeper insight into communities abandoned through resettlement; they also reveal the significance of place in our lives, place as heuristic teacher, the pedagogical power of place, the need for local, meaningful place-based experiences in a curriculum as lived, and their potential for furthering personal and educational insight no matter where in this world we live or dwell.

A phenomenological study to explore individuals’ experience of depression

Numerous epidemiological findings suggest that we live in an era that can only be described as the “age of melancholy” in that more and more individuals are diagnosed with depression every year. The aim of this study was to gain a phenomenological understanding of how individuals who experienced depression understood and made sense of their experience of depression through a methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis. In-depth semi-structured interviews explored the lived experience of depression for eight individuals and identified how social discourses contributed to their understanding. Following rigorous analysis of twelve interview transcripts, data was broken down into four recurrent superordinate themes which related directly to how individuals made sense of their experience of depression; The Descent; The Worlds Conversations and Me - Engagement with Social Discourses; Broken Self - Transforming the Self; Embracing myself and my Mind - Transformation of the Self. Further interrogative analysis identified how some social discourses communicated by healthcare professionals, the media and academia, contributed to individuals experiencing an additional layer of distress, namely meta-distress which in essence is distress about distress.

MNEMOSYNE: NARRATING A PAKHTUN STUDENT’S FOREIGN CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE

Studying abroad is generally viewed as an opportunity for personal and educational transformation for students. In recent years, various studies have been conducted in the area of study abroad. Most of these studies primarily involve quantitative analyses, and do not fully explore the lived experience of this opportunity. Recently, researchers have started exploring the qualitative aspects and impact of studying abroad, but from an external perspective. This study attends to the phenomenon of a foreign curricular experience from an insider’s perspective and explicates the experience through a personal narrative. Countries usually have educational curricula that serve their particular needs. The rise of the number of students studying abroad has made study abroad a lucrative industry but it has also increasingly exposed foreign students to curricula that are different than those of their countries of origin. Subjecting students to dissimilar, and sometimes competing, curricula interrupts their habitual ways of knowing and being. My study is a qualitative study that explores the foreign curricular experience of one Pakhtun student. Specifically, through an autobiography, this study aims to explore how a foreign curricular experience acts as a ‘transitional space’ for a student and how it deeply affects her learning self and identity. This study contributes to the body of literature on the effects of a foreign curriculum on study abroad students by adding narrative to explain the lived experience of studying abroad.

The Multi-Faceted Experience of Empathy in Intellectual Disability Settings: An IPA Study

This research thesis explored the concept of empathy. The specific purpose was to further understand the idea of empathy in relation to the experience of male support workers who provide residential care to adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) and challenging behaviour. The thesis aimed to provide some insights into how support workers develop and extract meaning from their experiences of relationships with clients and the impact of this on their own self-care, namely, self-compassion. Since personal accounts of experience were required, a qualitative methodology was employed, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith, 2004). This methodology was selected as it allows for the exploration and interpretation of idiographic lived experience and meaning making. 8 experienced support workers were interviewed using a semi structured interview. Four superordinate themes emerged from the data. These included: 1. Making sense of the others inner world; 2. Processes that enhance empathic practice; 3. Tensions and conflicts, and 4. Management of distressing feelings. Differing accounts of interpreting the needs of clients were identified which helped participants understand, make sense of their interpersonal experience and participate in their role. These included utilising academic knowledge and senses, particularly sight and hearing, which were seemingly complemented by a level of reflective practice. Additionally, to make sense of the experience of a client, they appeared to put themselves in their position, suggesting a form of empathy. Participants appeared to engage in a process of reflection on their relationships with clients, which helped them think about what they had learned about the person’s needs, moreover, this process enabled them to identify some of their own responses and feelings. However, participants seemed to struggle to recognise the occurrence or impact of distressing emotional experience and to express their feelings, possibly in response to a deep sense of responsibility and fear of transferring emotional distress to others. This dilemma of holding two potentially conflicting views of experience seemed to inhibit self-compassion. Although not specifically testing theories of empathy, from the overall findings, it could be suggested that empathy may be a dynamic, transient process that is influenced by reflexivity, values and context. The context in which participants discussed their practice, and situated within their accounts, suggested a sense of confusion and uncertainty. Consequently, it is suggested this impacted on how participants understood and related to clients, and to themselves. There were some specific implications for Counselling Psychology practice, mostly concerning training and supervision. These included recommendations for staff training and supervision, systemic organisational intervention, policy development, recommendations for revisions to models of specialist care frameworks and clinical training.

Heart transplantation experiences: a phenomenological approach

Aim. The aim of this study was to understand the heart transplantation experience based on patients` descriptions. Background. To patients with heart failure, heart transplantation represents a possibility to survive and improve their quality of life. Studies have shown that more quality of life is related to patients` increasing awareness and participation in the work of the healthcare team in the post-transplantation period. Deficient relationships between patients and healthcare providers result in lower compliance with the postoperative regimen. Method. A phenomenological approach was used to interview 26 patients who were heart transplant recipients. Patients were interviewed individually and asked this single question: What does the experience of being heart transplanted mean? Participants` descriptions were analysed using phenomenological reduction, analysis and interpretation. Results. Three categories emerged from data analysis: (i) the time lived by the heart recipient; (ii) donors, family and caregivers and (iii) reflections on the experience lived. Living after heart transplant means living in a complex situation: recipients are confronted with lifelong immunosuppressive therapy associated with many side-effects. Some felt healthy whereas others reported persistence of complications as well as the onset of other pathologies. However, all participants celebrated an improvement in quality of life. Health caregivers, their social and family support had been essential for their struggle. Participants realised that life after heart transplantation was a continuing process demanding support and structured follow-up for the rest of their lives. Conclusion. The findings suggest that each individual has unique experiences of the heart transplantation process. To go on living participants had to accept changes and adapt: to the organ change, to complications resulting from rejection of the organ, to lots of pills and food restrictions. Relevance to clinical practice. Stimulating a heart transplant patients spontaneous expression about what they are experiencing and granting them the actual status of the main character in their own story is important to their care.