"Hear Us Speak" : listening to women's experiences of perinatal distress and the Transactional Analysis psychotherapy treatment they received
type: CreativeWork
description: This PhD study examines Transactional Analysis (TA) psychotherapy as a treatment for perinatal mental illness, by listening to the experiences of women who have received it within a private practice, psychotherapeutic setting. The study also addresses the gap in research into women’s experiences of perinatal mental illness. In this study, ‘perinatal mental illness’ includes stress, anxiety, depression and puerperal psychosis. Perinatal mental illness is common and has wide-reaching consequences. Historically, research has focused on postnatal depression. However, many women become unwell in pregnancy, and research shows that stress and anxiety could be more prevalent than depression. Significant barriers to treatment are stigma and shame, causing women to silence themselves as a consequence. Engaging women into treatment and subsequent compliancy is difficult. Conventional treatment, of antidepressants, is controversial due to the risk of medication in utero and breast milk. Women say they would prefer psychological therapy, yet there is little research into suitable types. TA psychotherapy offers a plausible, diverse and versatile treatment, which can be shaped towards the client needs, an important factor in perinatal mental illness.A qualitative, narrative approach has been used to facilitate an exploration of women’s experiences. Data collection was by Free Association Narrative Interviewing and a creative methodology, forming a deeper, richer understanding of personal perspective, using the visual and the narrative as a co-creative construction. Data analysis used The Listening Guide Method to highlight difference and hear the multiple voices in one person’s narrative, as well as taking notice of temporal movement within the narrative.Key findings: i) TA psychotherapy was found to be a useful and treatment for the five participants; ii) TA addressed the specificity of illness; iii) TA was found to be a durable treatment; iv) the relational dyad was found to be …
abstract: This PhD study examines Transactional Analysis (TA) psychotherapy as a treatment for perinatal mental illness, by listening to the experiences of women who have received it within a private practice, psychotherapeutic setting. The study also addresses the gap in research into women’s experiences of perinatal mental illness. In this study, ‘perinatal mental illness’ includes stress, anxiety, depression and puerperal psychosis. Perinatal mental illness is common and has wide-reaching consequences. Historically, research has focused on postnatal depression. However, many women become unwell in pregnancy, and research shows that stress and anxiety could be more prevalent than depression. Significant barriers to treatment are stigma and shame, causing women to silence themselves as a consequence. Engaging women into treatment and subsequent compliancy is difficult. Conventional treatment, of antidepressants, is controversial due to the risk of medication in utero and breast milk. Women say they would prefer psychological therapy, yet there is little research into suitable types. TA psychotherapy offers a plausible, diverse and versatile treatment, which can be shaped towards the client needs, an important factor in perinatal mental illness.A qualitative, narrative approach has been used to facilitate an exploration of women’s experiences. Data collection was by Free Association Narrative Interviewing and a creative methodology, forming a deeper, richer understanding of personal perspective, using the visual and the narrative as a co-creative construction. Data analysis used The Listening Guide Method to highlight difference and hear the multiple voices in one person’s narrative, as well as taking notice of temporal movement within the narrative.Key findings: i) TA psychotherapy was found to be a useful and treatment for the five participants; ii) TA addressed the specificity of illness; iii) TA was found to be a durable treatment; iv) the relational dyad was found to be …
author: Haynes, E
language: en
date published: 2019
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:26:23Z
provider: U. of Salford
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: U. of Salford