Research Summary:
Literature on the enactment of privilege in group therapy sessions is scant. In this research I am exploring group therapists’ experiences of how social privilege manifests in groups, how it affects group processes and relationships, how these processes are discerned, and how potential challenges and tensions are resolved.
Participation Criteria:
I am inviting psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, and counsellors who have been registered for at least three years and currently lead and have led group therapy sessions for at least two years to take part..
Research Request:
Who is conducting this research?
Kia Ora. My name is Charlotte Peace. I am undertaking this research project in partial fulfilment of a Master of Arts (Psychology), at Massey University’s School of Psychology, Albany, Auckland. This research project will be completed under the supervision of Dr Amanda Young-Hauser and Dr Clifford van Ommen from the School of Psychology, Albany, Massey University
What is this research about?
Literature on the enactment of privilege in group therapy sessions is scant. In this research I am exploring group therapists’ experiences of how social privilege manifests in groups, how it affects group processes and relationships, how these processes are discerned, and how potential challenges and tensions are resolved.
Who can take part?
I am inviting psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, and counsellors who have been registered for at least three years and currently lead and have led group therapy sessions for at least two years to take part.
What will participants be asked to do?
The focus of this research is on therapists’ experiences of social privilege in group therapy sessions, although you do not need to be actively considering and working to manage social privilege in your groups to take part in this study. During an interview (1 to 1.5 hours), I invite therapists to share their understanding of social privilege, how it impacts therapeutic relationships and how potential tensions are resolved. The interview will take place at a mutually agreed location and time. I will ask your permission to audio record the interview. A $40.00 grocery voucher is offered as a token of appreciation.
How are participants’ identities and information, as well as that of their clients protected?
To ensure your anonymity, I will use pseudonyms, not name your organisation, or identify the location. The recordings and transcripts will be stored on a password protected device with direct access to this data only Page 2 of 3 available to the researcher and secondary access to my supervisors, Dr Amanda Young-Hauser, and Dr Clifford van Ommen. I welcome the use of valuable examples from your practice and will work with you to protect your client’s identities as you describe any examples, or incidents. This includes changing names and other identifying characteristics of your clients as you describe the examples.
What will happen to the information given in the interview?
The interview transcripts will be the basis for my master’s thesis with the possibility of also writing and publishing a journal article. Recordings will be stored by me, Charlotte Peace, the primary researcher during the period of developing and finalising my research thesis. They will be secured in password protected files, in a digital storage space that is secured with two-factor authentication. When the research is complete, the recordings will be stored by my primary supervisor, Amanda Young-Hauser secured in password protected files, in a digital storage space that is secured with two-factor authentication. In line with Massey University Ethics requirements, transcripts will be destroyed five years after the completion of the study. A summary of the research findings can be provided.
What are participants’ rights?
If you decide to participate, you have the right to:
- decline to answer any question;
withdraw from the study at any point until six weeks after your interview without reason or penalty;
- ask any questions about the study at any time during participation;
- provide information on the understanding that your name will not be used;
- be given access to a summary of the project findings when it is concluded;
- ask for the recorder to be turned off at any time during the interview.
Project Contacts
I, Charlotte Peace, am the primary researcher for this study. I am a 46-year-old Pākehā female. I grew up in the UK and New Zealand, in Wellington. I spent a lot of my adult life in London and have lived in Auckland for the past twelve years. Before returning to study in 2021, I worked as a communications and then corporate responsibility manager for large financial services providers, designing and managing their communications and then ethical and sustainability programmes. More recently I realised I wanted to serve people, not profits and I focused on psychology, where I see great potential for improving the lives of New Zealanders. I currently practice as a health coach, supporting lifestyle behaviour changes to protect and restore health through primary care.
You may contact me or my supervisor at any point if you have any questions about this project, or to discuss concerns, or give feedback. Contact details are provided below:
Primary researcher:
Charlotte Peace,
Postgraduate Student at Massey University
Phone: 021 901 296,
Email: charlotte.e.peace@outlook.com
Primary Supervisor: Dr Amanda Young-Hauser, Lecturer, Massey University
Phone: 6492127010
Email: A.Young-hauser@massey.ac.nz
Secondary Supervisor: Dr Clifford Van Ommen, Senior Lecturer, Massey
University
Phone: +6492136114,
Email: C.VanOmmen@massey.ac.nz
We invite participants to contact the researcher and/or supervisor(s) if they have any questions about the project.
LOW RISK NOTIFICATIONS
This project has been evaluated by peer review and judged to be low risk. Consequently, it has not been reviewed by one of the University’s Human Ethics Committees. The researchers named above are responsible for the ethical conduct of this research. If you have any concerns about the conduct of this research that you wish to raise with someone other than the researcher(s), please contact Prof Craig Johnson, Director, Research Ethics, telephone 06 356 9099 x 85271, email humanethics@massey.ac.nz.