Newman student wins CPCAB Counselling Research Award
The Counselling and Psychotherapy team is celebrating the achievements of their MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling student Elaine Moore who recently won the CPCAB Counselling Research Award.
Elaine tells the story of her research journey and fantastic achievements:
‘Talk with me outside’ is a piece of qualitative research that I conducted in 2022 as part of my MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling at Newman University. It is about the psychotherapeutic relationship and the possibilities that arise from it when venturing beyond the traditional clinical indoor therapeutic environment into outdoor public spaces like parks, footpaths, and community gardens. The interest was inspired by my own phenomenological experience of talking and walking outside with my therapist. The aim was to better understand the experiences of therapists who have gone outside with their clients to identify how the outside environment impacts the therapeutic relationship.
Elaine Moore – CPCAB Counselling Research Award Winner
It was my dissertation supervisor Faisal Mahmood, head of the Counselling and Psychotherapy department, who suggested I submit my research project for selection to present at the annual BACP Research Conference held in Leeds in May 2023. I never expected my submission to be chosen by the peer review panel. I was even more surprised that to learn that my research had been selected as the winner of the CPCAB Counselling Research Awards.
The experience of presenting my research to a live and virtual audience at the BACP Research Conference and winning the award from the CPCAB has been exciting and affirming for me. I have now completed my studies and I am running my own private practice where I offer therapy outdoors to my clients. I am also considering taking my research further which I never thought I would do, especially when I was in the midst of my training. I would encourage anyone training to be a therapist to consider the possibilities that the natural outdoor environment has to offer as it is my belief that it is rich with resources to inspire growth and change. Perhaps begin where I did and ask your therapist if you could go outside and see what unfolds for you both.