Research News

Meeting the demand for evidenced-based practice

Mick Cooper argues for a strong evidence base if counselling and psychotherapy approaches are to survive in the public sector in this article published in the May 2011 issue of Therapy Today. If you missed the article click here to read it online.

Also visit http://www.therapytoday.net/article/show/2482/ to read Mick Cooper and Colin Feltham in conversation on how we can bridge the chasm between the kind of research therapists feel aligned to and the kind of research that influences policy.

For Mick Cooper’s discussion about the issues around developing a randomised controlled trial of counselling for depression go to: http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/Systematic_Reviews_and_Publications/depressionRCT.php

Next BACP research surgery dates

BACP’s Research department has a regular research surgery to support members who do not have access to research supervision and have a research dilemma, question or problem. Next dates are 17th Aug and 14th Sept. To book, contact Jo Pybis on 01455 206 359 or email joanne.pybis@bacp.co.uk.

The first Research Road show confirmed

The first BACP Research Road show is confirmed for 31st October 2011 at the University of Manchester. Professor John McLeod and Dr Andrew Reeves, editor of CPR, will work with delegates on how to write for publication in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research journal. For more details visit http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/roadshows.php and contact customer services on 01455 883300 or email enquiries@bacp.co.uk to book a place.

BACP Counselling and Psychotherapy Awards 2011

Have you completed a research project within the last three years? The Outstanding Research Project Award aims to reward excellence in counselling and psychotherapy research; enhance awareness of the evidence base and encourage and inspire future generations of researchers in counselling and psychotherapy.
To enter for this award please visit www.bacp.co.uk/awards for full details and to complete the submission form. Deadline for entries is Monday, 12 September 2011

The award is not restricted to research of any particular methodology, group or setting and entries can be submitted by an individual, a research team, or a researcher on behalf of an organisation. Or, you can nominate another party. The winning entrant will be awarded a specially designed award, which will be presented at an annual BACP event in November 2011.

New criteria for PhD bursaries: applications invited from 18 July 2011

Previously, these bursaries were available to BACP Accredited members only. The field is now open to all BACP members.

BACP makes funds available for members who are studying for a doctorate in counselling and psychotherapy. These bursaries cover the full cost of a whole year’s BACP subscription and applicants who qualify may apply for up to three years. There are six PhD bursaries available each year and they are awarded on a first come, first served basis. Should qualifying applications be received on the same day, they will be drawn randomly. To apply, you need to request the bursary in a letter to say where you are studying, together with a confirmation note on signed letterhead from the institution you are studying through; the letter may be signed by a lecturer/course tutor or university administrative staff.

Please send your application to:
Membership
PhD Bursary Application
BACP
BACP House
15 St John’s Business Park
Lutterworth, Leics
LE17 4HB

Seedcorn funding 2012 – call for submissions now open

BACP's research strategy aims to help build research capacity in counselling and psychotherapy. To support this, BACP has seedcorn funding of up to £5,000 for a research project which could be a pilot project that may lead to a larger study in the future, or it could be a small study that can be undertaken within a budget of £5,000. Any individual BACP member is eligible to apply for this research funding and BACP is especially keen to encourage research proposals from practitioners. The deadline for applications is 5 pm on Friday 11 November 2011. For more information visit: http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/seed_corn.php

Effectiveness of counselling

Would you like to know more about the importance of research in counselling and psychotherapy?
BACP's Research Facilitator, Jo Pybis, and Head of Research, Andy Hill, have pulled together research supporting the effectiveness of counselling and psychotherapy to provide a useful guide to what research is already available, what the findings say and how the existing research has contributed to NICE guidelines for depression.  Go to: http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/counselling_effectiveness.php

Research Conference 2012:

"Understanding counselling and psychotherapy: preferences, process and outcomes"
The 18th annual BACP research conference will be held on 11 and 12 May 2012 in Edinburgh and co-hosted by the University of Edinburgh. Submissions are welcomed by 18th November 2011. For more information click http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/conf2012/index.php.

Research Conference 2011

BACP's 17th Annual Research conference was entitled 'Research and practice' and took place on 6 to 7 May 2010 at Liverpool Marriott Hotel, Liverpool. You can view an evaluation and all the digests from the event by clicking http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/conf_archive/2011.php.

Books and resources from BACP

A range of books on research are available from the BACP. Recently published titles include Case Study Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy by John McLeod and Essential Research Findings in Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Facts are Friendly by Mick Cooper.

Training counsellors and psychotherapists in research skills: a manual of resources
This manual contains a wide range of research training resources that can be used for teaching counsellors and psychotherapists. There are lectures, PowerPoint presentations, information handouts and leaflets and experiential exercises. Some of these resources may be used in routine counsellor and psychotherapist training sessions and others specifically for research methods training.

While much of the material has an academic level of Masters Degree in mind, many of the resources have wide applicability, from undergraduate level to doctoral study. The manual takes an experiential approach to research training, encouraging students to learn by doing rather than listening. It is also firmly rooted in the belief that all counsellors and psychotherapists need to understand and be involved with research in some way.

The manual comes complete with a DVD of additional resources and is available from BACP at £30 for members and £35 for non-members. The manual, which has been extremely well received, was written by John McLeod, Robert Elliott and Sue Wheeler and can be ordered by visiting http://wam.bacp.co.uk/wam/Search.exe?DETAIL=13066

Anthology of Research Information Sheets

Members can access all BACP’s research information sheets in one valuable resource.
The Anthology of Research Information Sheets is available to download free for BACP members. Click http://www.bacp.co.uk/news/index.php?newsId=2063 for more information.  BACP produce a number of Information Sheets that discuss key research methodologies. The titles include:

  • How to Do a Literature Search – Alison Brettle
  • Evidence Based Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy – Peter Bower
  • Using Measures, and Thinking About Outcomes – Tony Roth
  • Research on Counselling Children and Young People – Sue Pattison and Belinda Harris
  • Writing a Practice-Based Study for Publication – John McLeod
  • How to Write a Research Proposal – Sara Perren
  • How to Write a Research Paper and Get it Published – Julia Buckroyd and Sharon Rother
  • Undertaking Systematic Reviews in Counselling and Psychotherapy – Peter Bower
  • Finding Research Funding – Kaye Richards
  • Statistics in Counselling and Psychotherapy – Stephen Joseph, Colin Dyer and Hugh Coolican

These information sheets are available as a free download to BACP members via the BACP website. All information sheets are available to buy as hard copies, £2 for BACP members and £3 for non members.
Forthcoming information sheets

  • How to design a questionnaire - Currently being undertaken by Becky Taylor
  • How to do a survey  - Currently being undertaken by Jo Pybis
  • Practice based evidence and practice research networks - Currently being undertaken by Michael Barkham

Systematic Reviews

Counselling in schools
A report on ‘the Evaluation of the Welsh Government School based Counselling Strategy’ has recently been published to the BACP Research web pages. Click here or visit the BACP’s Research web pages http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/

Also available

Research Networks

Research Network
As a learned society, research should be at the core of BACP and yet its influence is still somewhat limited throughout the counselling and psychotherapy world. By facilitating this Network, BACP is taking a strong lead in seeking to reverse this trend. Many counsellors would like to know more about research; many would like to get involved in it. There are a great many research studies carried out which are seen by far too small an audience and yet there is a strong and consistent demand for information about research. Those engaged in research frequently wish they could contact people working on similar topics. By making this kind of contact easier, the Research Network should avoid 'reinventing the wheel' and going over ground already covered elsewhere, which is all too common among researchers, especially those new to the field.
For more information and to join the network, please go to: http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/research_network.php

Schools based counselling Practice Research Network (PRN) 
This is a new initiative which aims to gather evidence for effective research to promote wellbeing of young people. It hopes to promote awareness and engage in a practice based network and improve quality of service through measuring outcomes. It will also act as a point of contact for schools counselling and support the needs of researchers, practitioners, services, as well as using the research to influence policy makers.  Go to the following link to register your interest: http://www.bacp.co.uk/research/schoolsPRN.php

Supervision research collaborative network (SuPReNet)
Researchers and practitioners who are interested in supervision research are invited to become part of a collaborative network. The network offers the opportunity to share ideas and become involved in collaborative research into supervision. To put your name on the mailing list send brief details of your interests and contact details to suprenet@bacp.co.uk. For more information about the Supervision Practitioner Research Network (SuPReNet), click here.