Articles

Therapists in the Post-Pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic drove an unprecedented transformation in the delivery of psychological therapies. This study investigates practitioners who transitioned to online modalities.

‘You are an Oddity’

Research specifically focusing on men struggling with binge eating disorder (BED) is limited. This qualitative study explored men’s experiences and understanding of BED.

When two bodies meet in the therapy room

This study is the first hermeneutic phenomenological exploration of cisgender male therapists’ embodied experiences when working with male clients presenting disordered eating behaviours.

Navigating Foreignness and non-nativeness in post-Brexit UK

An IPA study, stimulated by the lead author’s own personal experiences, explored how foreign and non-native therapy trainees experience life in the UK after Brexit.

Editorial - Volume 15

‘They Got It’: How professionals can support the emotional wellbeing of parents of a child with a learning disability, or who are autistic.

Studies suggest that parents of children with a learning disability or who are autistic are at greater risk of poorer mental health.

Why do therapists work in prisons, and what is their lived experience of doing so?

The aim of this study is to uncover the lived experience of psychotherapists and counsellors working in prisons and their motivations for doing so.

Exploring service users, families, and professionals’ experiences with Open Dialogue in a Portuguese psychosocial rehabilitation unit

Open Dialogue is a collaborative approach that emphasizes the involvement of the person at the center of concern, their family, and professionals in network meetings.

Creative engagement with the voices of person-centred therapists: Using poetic illuminations to overcome data fragmentation and to highlight the nuances of lived experience

Increasingly, creative forms of data representation are being utilised within qualitative research as a way of gaining deep, varied and nuanced knowledge of a phenomenon.

Self-definition issues may veil relational needs and fears in negotiations of the alliance: A new way to conceptualize rupture and repair

Needs for self-definition and relatedness in psychotherapeutic interaction have been described in theory and research but their role in rupture-repair episodes is still not well understood.

Reflecting on qualitative survey psychotherapy research: A feminist phronetic case study

This reflective commentary offers a case study of being an experienced qualitative researcher conducting psychotherapy research as a novice practitioner.

Facilitating Emotion Focused Skills Training for parents online (EFST-O): Insights about self-disclosure, group dynamics and culture

The Emotion Focused Skills Training (EFST) is a program for parents who want to promote the mental health of their children, and their own.

“It’s not me anymore, it’s him” A hermeneutic-phenomenological analysis of matrescence with implications for counselling and psychotherapeutic practice

Little explains what is typically experienced mentally when an individual becomes a mother. This article aims to better understand the experience of matrescence and its implications for practice.

How female therapists and their patients deal with being a disputable, unimaginable, or occasional Swede: Explorations of similarity of nonprivilege

In this qualitative study, conducted in Sweden, the authors investigated therapists' experiences of therapeutic dyads in which both therapist and patient identified with a non-normative ethnicity or migration experience.

Exploring the experience of Racialisation and subsequent experiences of psychological therapy for Black and Multi-ethnic clients in Ireland

Research suggests pervasive disparities in mental health diagnoses, levels of care and treatment outcomes for Black or Multi-ethnic service users compared to white service users. This study explores the mental health implications of being racialised and…

Framing and Transforming Shame: Exploring shame from a person-centred perspective

Shame is a key emotion requiring understanding in therapeutic practice. This study explored shame as understood and experienced by person-centred counsellors and psychotherapists.

“Feeling at home” or not? A qualitative investigation into therapists’ experienced congruence between their personal self and their professional role

Research suggests that conducting psychotherapy successfully involves an integration of professional and personal knowledge on the part of the psychotherapist.

Falling into Glăveanu’s Gap: A lyric essay searching for resilience through creativity

This paper is in two parts comprising a literature review and a creative, non-fiction, lyric essay format to explore interplay between ambivalent emotions, creativity, and resilience.

Conducting psychotherapeutic research with Free Association Narrative Interview

This is a reflexive, first person account of a doctoral journey addressing key junctions and critical decisions in choosing methodology.

A comparison between the concepts of Heuristic Enquiry and Tazkiyat-un-nafs

This article offers a comparison between concepts of heuristic enquiry and tazkiyat-un-nafs, the Islamic concept of self/soul purification and/or reformation of the spiritual heart (qalb).

Hermeneutic Existential Phenomenology as a psychotherapeutic and philosophical attunement to educate novice researchers

This paper develops a hermeneutic existential phenomenological (HEP) approach to the research education of novice researchers.

Learning from embodied tension: A naturalistic multimodal single case study of nonverbal expressions and interactions in a psychotherapy training process

This multimodal single case study explored how nonverbal communication was handled in a psychodynamic training process.

Reflexivity woven through qualitative health research: A researcher's experience

Engaging in a qualitative, autobiographical research project as a nurse researcher provided a place and space to explore reflexive ways of being.

Qualitative Research: The “good,” the “bad,” the “ugly”

This article explores what constitutes “Good,” “Bad,” and “Ugly” qualitative research towards more fully appreciating the nature and vision of its project.

Editorial

Reflecting on my reflexivity within a constructivist grounded theory study on team coaching: A short report

This short report shares my experiences as a doctoral student when engaging reflexivity in my research and, in particular, when grappling with constructivist grounded theory methodology and carrying out data generation.

Researching experiences of skin cancer patients: An intersubjective reflexive exploration of learning to feel comfortable in my ‘skin’ as a practitioner-researcher

This paper offers two parallel explorations, the first an expression of my experience of becoming “seen” as a practitioner-researcher.

A balancing act – Therapists’ experiences of conducting psychotherapy with psychosis clients

This study aimed to explore therapists’ experiences of providing therapy for people with a history of psychosis and examine the role played by psychotic symptoms in therapy. Interviews with 10 therapists were conducted and analyzed thematically using…

Exploring fathers' experience of their first child's early years: Representations versus reality

This qualitative study explored fathers’ lived experience and meanings of being a first-time father in the United Kingdom. Seven fathers were interviewed, and the data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

Literature review applying therapeutic theory and practice in the field of domestic abuse and coercive control

This literature review introduces the issue of domestic abuse and coercive control to psychotherapists and considers how to work therapeutically with survivors.

How storytelling impacts students in their psychotherapy training

The use and impact of storytelling in counselling and psychotherapy training was explored using a mixed-methods approach. An online survey completed by 30 therapists and 12 counselling tutors produced both quantitative and qualitative data.

Learning to end: Trainee therapists’ experiences of imposed therapeutic endings

The aim of the study was to explore trainee therapists’ experiences of imposing therapy endings with their clients, where endings were imposed by the conclusion of training.

Competency model of training in psychotherapy integration

This study aimed to develop a competency model for the Training in Psychotherapy Integration program in the Czech Republic.

Editorial

A Heuristic Inquiry into my use of Theraplay® with children experiencing the impact of relational and developmental trauma

In this paper, I share my process of conducting doctoral research using Heuristic Inquiry as a practising Theraplay® counsellor working with children experiencing relational and developmental trauma.

Shared Visibilities: An exploration of the client’s use of imagery on the road to UPSR

This article presents findings from research on the interaction between client imagery and Unconditional Personal Self-Regard (UPSR).

Therapist experiences of congruence in school-based counselling

Congruence is a key counselling concept. Whilst literature on congruence is rich, there is a lack of research in school-based counselling.

The qualitative evidence-base of relationally-orientated therapy: A critical celebration

In this article, I celebrate and critique the evidence base for relationally-orientated therapy.

Views about mixed methods research from counselling and psychotherapy research students and supervisors

How do students and supervisors who are actively involved in the process of research view and experience mixed methods research? This study explores their views, based on a survey reaching 125 respondents.

“Disclosing the innermost part”: Exploring therapists’ constructions of shame using a story completion method

Previous research on shame has indicated that it can benefit or hinder the therapeutic process, depending on how it is understood and managed by therapists.

Personal and relational ideologies of master therapists

This original study used a descriptive and interpretative qualitative approach to analyse interview data from twelve world renowned master therapists and academics.

A story of psychotherapy

A story of psychotherapy.

The therapist’s personal therapy: What influence does it have on their clinical practice?

This study explores the impact of therapists’ own personal therapy on their clinical practice.

Processing of Self-concept and Identity in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder: Findings from a Content-Analytic Follow-up Study

We explored how five individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) perceived their self-concept over the 12 months after attending a psychoeducational intervention at a community mental health care centre.

The Reflective Online Practitioner Survey: The value in harvesting both qualitative and quantitative data

Two research projects are reported which describe how carefully designed online surveys can generate considerable quantities of both quantitative and qualitative data.

“Are you analysing me?” A story completion exploration of having a friend who is becoming a psychotherapist

Many assumptions and myths about the role and identity of counsellors and psychotherapists persist. In this article, I explore how the therapist role may be viewed by a friend.

Exploring whiteness in the context of anti-racist practice: A mixed methods survey

A growing body of evidence exposes the persistence of racism and inequality within the psychological professions.

Editorial

The transformative experience of finding a relational home with a psychotherapist

We explored the lived experience of finding a relational home in psychotherapy using a relational-centred, reflexive approach.

Who are we protecting? Exploring counsellors’ understanding and experience of boundaries.

The concept of boundaries is a term often used within counselling and psychotherapy literature. This study researched how counsellors understand and experience boundaries within their counselling practice.

Being a therapist, becoming a researcher: A collaborative autoethnography on the experiences of novice researchers

The aim of this study was to explore how four professionals, both therapists and academics, experienced the transition to becoming a researcher.

Therapists’ experiences with mentalization-based treatment for avoidant personality disorder

Recent research points to significant mentalizing difficulties in individuals with avoidant personality disorder (AvPD). This study contributes to an understanding of the therapeutic issues such work might entail.

Facilitating psychotherapy with patient-made videos: A qualitative study of patient experiences

We have developed a method utilizing video material to facilitate the psychotherapeutic process, called VideoTalk, using schema therapy as a theoretical framework.

The implications of psychotherapeutic discourses for victims and offenders of female perpetuated child sexual abuse

Research studies have often failed to contemplate the female child molester or to initiate specific protocols for psychotherapeutic treatment.

Editorial

Editorial to Volume 11 (2021) of European Journal for Qualitative Research.

Thematic Analysis: The ‘Good’, the ‘Bad’ and the ‘Ugly’

Thematic analyses can take multiple forms, some of them systematic, others intuitive. In practice, published research that involves thematic analysis comes in all sorts of shapes and styles.

A roadmap to recovery and a life worth living: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of adolescent experiences of dialectical behaviour therapy in child and adolescent mental health services

This research explores adolescents’ lived experience of 24 weeks of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) within child and adolescent mental health services.

Therapists’ lived experience of self-disclosure

The impact and challenges of therapist self-disclosure on the disclosing therapist was explored using Reflexive Thematic Analysis of five interviews with integrative psychotherapists.

The novice researcher and the phenomenological pilgrimage

The journey of a novice researcher can be a long and lonely road. This paper draws parallels between engaging in phenomenological research and psychotherapy practice.

Spontaneous clarity - a new reality dawns: Psychotherapists’ lived experience of epiphany moments

This article presents findings from the author’s doctoral research into psychotherapists’ perceptions of their moments of self-awareness and epiphanies, using a reflexive, hermeneutic phenomenological approach.

The power of Presence: Exploring experiences of therapy with a client suffering from a chronic neurological condition

This article explores the applicability of the Gestalt paradigm in therapy involving clients with chronic and/or progressive physiological illnesses, through a case study.

The emotional impact of research: A reflexive account of a counsellor-turned-PhD researcher’s experience of vicarious trauma

This article presents a personal and reflexive account of a counsellor-turned-researcher who experienced vicarious trauma and its impact on counselling-related PhD research.

Reflexivity and an Arts-based Inquiry during Covid-19 times

This paper examines the role of reflexivity and arts-based activities as a medium for reflexivity during Covid-19 times.

Stepping into the clearing: A researcher’s challenge to make sense of phenomenological philosophy

Philosophical texts have much to offer the phenomenological researcher, but can appear remote to novice researchers who are not versed in philosophy.

“Much more than second best”: Therapists’ experiences of videoconferencing psychotherapy

This study employs phenomenologically-orientated Thematic Analysis to explore the lived experience of integrative psychotherapists using videoconferencing for psychotherapy.

Self-harm as an attempt at self-care

This reflective and layered, interdisciplinary paper makes a space to think of self-harming as an attempt at self-care, drawing on published memoirs and young people’s personal accounts.

Becoming a Research Practitioner: A meta-synthesis

Psychotherapy plays a significant role in generating new knowledge in the field. This study offers a metasynthesis of earlier published practitioner research.

Art-based activities and adverse events: An autobiographical inquiry

This critical arts-based, autobiographical inquiry shares how participation in art therapy contributed to the author’s health and wellness.

“You’ve got children haven’t you…?”: Involuntary childlessness as a neglected aspect of therapist diversity in the professional context

In a previous article we detailed the findings of a qualitative research project into the lived experience of qualified involuntary childless therapists and showed how this connected to work with clients in the therapy room.

Dissertation to published article: A journey from shame to sharing

This paper describes my experiences of re-presenting my research from a master’s degree in Integrative Psychotherapy into a paper suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Editorial

Wounded healer therapists: A legacy of developmental trauma

My research asks, 'what impact might a personal history of complex developmental trauma have on a counsellor’s experience of, and work with, traumatised clients?' Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 experienced therapists.

How to write a journal article: Top tips for the novice writer

This paper aims to examine and de-mystify the process of writing a journal article. It recommends a structured, systematic approach involving four stages: thinking, planning, writing, and manuscript creation.

RE-writing the Pain: A Lyric Essay

The creative, non-fiction approach of ‘lyric essay’ is used to flesh out my heuristic experience, building on earlier heuristic research about my experience of musculoskeletal pain.

Being large: An investigation into the lived world of problematic weight in women

There is still a limited amount of UK based phenomenological research undertaken with large women about their experiences.

Therapists and Academic Writing: “Once upon a time psychotherapy practitioners and researchers were the same people”

The views and feelings of psychotherapists around academic writing were explored using a mixed methods approach.

“I’ve got this hole…”: Experiences of therapist involuntary childlessness with clients in therapeutic practice

Little has been written on how therapists experience their practice in relation to involuntary childlessness.

Integrative therapists’ subjective experiences and understanding of emotional connection in their practice

Despite abundant literature on the therapeutic relationship, the experience of emotional connection in therapy from psychotherapists’ perspective remains under-explored.

An exploration of the unassisted gravity dream

Flying dreams are termed ‘gravity dreams,’ along with dreams that include falling, climbing, descending and floating. Phenomenological studies looking at flying dreams are scarce.

Two-eyed seeing, arts-based reflection and collaboration: Reflexivity tools for nursing practitioners working across cultures

This paper explores how the use of reflexivity provided a structural framework for a doctoral student as she conducted a literature review and worked across cultures.

The case of the disappearing twin: How writing brought me closer to my self

Using writing as a means of inquiry, I aim to analyse a change over time in my creative writing and consider what this change tells me about myself.

Emotional labour and the practicing psychologist: When the psychologist’s professional emotions go awry

The present study considers practicing psychologists’ accounts when their own emotional reactions within the therapeutic relationship are troubling and unwanted.

I’m human too: Person-centred counsellors’ lived experiences of therapist self-disclosure

Therapist self-disclosure (TSD) is an issue shrouded in debate, risk, and uncertainty. This study explores person-centred counsellors’ lived experiences of it.

Separated Motherhood: Exploring the experience of mothering premature twins and psychotherapeutic implications

The experience of giving birth prematurely presents a stressful and challenging time for new mothers, who often spend extensive time with their children in specialist intensive care hospital settings.

Editorial

Editorial for Vol. 9, 2019.

Gestalt Psychotherapy, Conflict and Resolution: An Autoethnography

This article is based around my experiences as a gestalt psychotherapist who became a full-time mediator.

Therapeutic work in the midst of grief: A literature review

This article offers a brief review of the theory and existing literature in the psychotherapy field which explores the nature of therapeutic work while in the midst of grief.

Being seduced: Trainee therapists’ reactions to and handling of client sexual attraction in therapy

This study explored how trainee therapists react to and handle client sexual attraction in their work. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 trainees.

Forming an Integrative Training Concept: A case study of the training in psychotherapy integration

The literature on the nature of integrative psychotherapy training is patchy. This study aimed to explore how integrative elements are conceptualized and taught.

How Therapists Change: What motivates therapists towards integration?

Many therapists embrace an integrative perspective in their practice. The aim of this study is to explore what motivates therapists’ development towards integration.

Editorial

I am delighted to announce the re-launch of the online European Journal for Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy. It has not appeared since 2015, following the sudden death of Dr Ken Evans, the journal’s founder and senior editor.

Editorial (2015)

The contributory articles in this issue are written by therapists drawn from integrative psychotherapy, existential psychotherapy, counselling psychology and gestalt therapy.

‘Moving forward’: Honouring Ken’s legacy; Welcoming the new Board

Ken Evans founded the European Journal for Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy in 2006. Initially it was an Anglo/Norwegian collaboration.

Group Supervision: A reflective and creative space

In this article, I enquire about the perception and use of creativity and innovation in group supervision, taking into account the setting and culture one works in.

Walking in Quicksand: An exploration of trainee’s experience of a five day residential training workshop

In June 2013, sixteen Integrative psychotherapy trainees attended a five day residential training workshop to introduce them to qualitative research.

Research Project

As I began planning my research project as part of my Gestalt psychotherapy training, my initial interest centred around the question of ‘what works in therapy?’

Patients’ thoughts on effective psychotherapy

Earlier studies identify relationship factors as significant for patients. This grounded theory study explored in depth patients’ thoughts on effective psychotherapy.

Editorial

In this 7th issue of the research journal we begin with a follow up to the article in issue 6 that focussed on the therapist’s exploration of what is considered effective in psychotherapy.

Falling Down a Deep Hole: The Experience of an Identity Crisis as a Gestalt Therapist

In February 2012, around thirty Gestalt Therapists from five European nations gathered to engage in an experientially based learning weekend on research.

A Model Combining Psychotherapy with Spirituality and Religion in the area of Palliative Care and Bereavement

This paper presents a model for working with the dying and the bereaved within the Maltese context, arising from years of practice in oncology and palliative care.

Addiction as a defence against relationship? Relationship as an antidote to addiction? A phenomenological exploration of the significance of relationship in recovery

This paper is a joint project undertaken by an Integrative psychotherapist and a Gestalt psychotherapist working together as co-researchers.

Clients’ experiences of psychodynamic therapies: A phenomenological study

This study aimed to explore clients’ experiences of psychodynamic therapies. Six adults were interviewed about their experiences of psychodynamic/brief psychodynamic therapy at varying stages of the process. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with peer…

Renewing Experience - Therapists’ Thoughts on What is Effective in Psychotherapy

In this qualitative study, nine psychotherapists with different theoretical approaches were interviewed about their thoughts on what is effective in their work. Data was analyzed according to Grounded Theory.

Editorial

In each of the five articles in this December 2012 issue of the research journal relationship features strongly in one way or another.

Supervision and Training of Psychotherapists in an Indian Therapeutic Community

The process of getting therapy supervision while working in a therapeutic community setting with persons suffering from chronic mental illness differs from those working in other clinical settings.

“It’s because of what we did that I’m going to university”: A qualitative exploration of the experience of growing through a school’s therapeutic programme

This study aimed to ‘give voice’ to the lived experience and perceptions of seven students who have used a therapeutic service in school.

The Value and Cost of Mandatory Personal Therapy

Counselling psychology trainees in the UK are obliged to undertake a minimum of 40 hours of personal therapy. This paper is part of a wider doctoral study on how this mandatory therapy is experienced.

A Phenomenological Exploration of Tattooing: A Personal and Meaning-filled Experience

This paper explores what one woman’s tattoos subjectively mean to her in the context of her life, merging a dialogical-relational Gestalt theoretical base with a relational-hermeneutic approach.

‘Life After Delivery’: a phenomenological enquiry into one woman’s experience

This research explores one woman’s experience following the birth of a child using a phenomenological, relational-centred research approach.

Lived Experience of a Permanent Rupture Between Mother and Daughter

This research explores the lived experience of the rupture in the relationship between Jenny (a pseudonym) and her mother. In a relational-centred research interview, Jenny shares her experience of the rupture and her relationship after it.

Writer’s Block: a reflective literature review

For a significant proportion of therapists, the mere thought of writing up research academically and then publishing is anxiety provoking.

Celebrating new ‘voices’

The articles in this issue are diverse in terms of their focus, style and substance. The authors come from different fields of psychotherapy and vary in their experience.

Nicknames: A qualitative exploration into the effect of nick-names on personal histories

This piece of qualitative research explores the impact of nicknames upon the researchers, and how nicknames can disturb or benefit contact on the Gestalt Cycle.

Supervisee Experiences of Broadening and Narrowing in Counselling Supervision

This study investigated supervisee perspectives of broadening and narrowing processes in counselling supervision.

Construction of anger in one successful case of psychodynamic-interpersonal psychotherapy: Problem (re)formulation and the negotiation of moral context

This paper provides a worked exemplar of psychotherapy research using conversation analysis inspired discourse analysis, exploring its usefulness for qualitative psychotherapy research.

Embracing researcher subjectivity in phenomenological research: A response to Ann Scott

All researchers experience times of confusion and uncertainty and risk getting lost in the complex ambiguity of the research journey.

To be, or not to be… registered: A relational-phenomenological exploration of what State Registration means to psychotherapists

Little qualitative research has been carried out on psychotherapists’ perspectives on statutory regulation and the personal meanings they bring to the debate about professional registration.

Action research in the light of integrative practice of marital and family therapists and some other research problems

Marital and family therapists are likely to use multiple models or treatment approaches, combine several techniques, theories, or factors in their therapy to address the complexity of the therapeutic situation.

Epiphany Storytelling as a Means of Reinforcing and Embedding Transformational Therapeutic Change

The mental health field has seen a groundswell of interest in user perspectives as a crucial element of research, training and service enhancement.

Feelings of Incompetence among Experienced Clinicians: A Substantive Theory

Feelings of incompetence (FOI) are an ongoing part of the private experience of being a therapist. Although normative, they are often linked to therapist distress and to negative therapeutic processes.

The Effect of Doing Qualitative Research on Novice Researchers

This study investigates the effect of doing qualitative research on novice researchers, applying the heuristic approach to reports given by six novice researchers.

Working with Mistakes in Psychotherapy - A Relational Model

The article deals with the meaning of moment-to-moment mistakes made by the therapist in psychotherapy and how to work with them.

Relational Centred Research: A Work in Progress

This paper is an outline of a presentation first prepared for exploration in October 2006 with a group of doctoral scholars, as part of the ongoing Professional Knowledge Seminar, held at the Metanoia Institute, London.

A Phenomenological Exploration of the Loss of a Parent in Childhood

We investigated how the death of a parent, in childhood, represents a profound psychological insult. Data collection involved a one-time semi-structured interview.

A Study to Explore the Emergence of Shadow Phenomena in Integrative Psychotherapy Training Institutes

This article takes the reader through a process of qualitative research examining the role of shadow, explored from the perspective of psychotherapy training institutes.

An Introduction to the Ethics of Gestalt Research with informants

Gestalt qualitative research is seen as an intersubjective process between researcher and informant, which raises ethical questions about inherent power.

Integration in Practice. How do they do it?

This study examines the phenomenological experience of Christian psychotherapists working with clients in an Integrative Psychotherapy paradigm.

Understanding Black Issues in the Therapeutic Process

For some cultural and ethnic groups availability of services depends on how appropriate services are to their needs and well being.

What Are the Experiences Of Team Leaders Whose Manager Adopts a Dialogic I-Thou Attitude In Relating With Them?

The research project explored the potential for applying the dialogic I-Thou approach to relating between persons in organisations, through the experiences of eight team leaders in a call centre.

An experiential approach to teaching qualitative research

A phenomenological exploration of the experience of teaching research experientially, via an exploration of shame among Gestalt therapists in several European countries.

Before and After: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Impact of a Four-Year Training in Gestalt Psychotherapy on Gestalt Psychotherapists

A phenomenological and qualitative exploration into how a group of gestalt psychotherapists in Norway had been impacted by their training.

Parallel Process in Supervision: A qualitative investigation

This study explored the phenomenon of parallel process as experienced by a group of four Gestalt and integrative counsellors and psychotherapists and four supervisors.

A phenomenological exploration of the impact of a traumatic incident (death of a child) on Social Services Staff

A phenomenological exploration of the effects of a traumatic event on Social Services personnel, the meaning they constructed from it, and their perception of what was missing in terms of support.