“It’s like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party!” Exploring experiences of mindful interbeing mirror therapy and its contributions to meaningful change amongst participants who have previously sought therapy.

Taylor, Ross ORCID: 0009-0002-4106-3414 (2023). “It’s like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party!” Exploring experiences of mindful interbeing mirror therapy and its contributions to meaningful change amongst participants who have previously sought therapy. University of Birmingham. Clin.Psy.D.

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Abstract

The thesis contains two chapters, followed by two press releases:

Chapter One is a meta-analytic review of the reliability of the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ). The ITQ is a self-report measure of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex-PTSD. Since its publication, the ITQ has been used exponentially within clinical and research settings worldwide, yet no study has meta-analysed the ITQ’s reliability. This study synthesised the internal reliability coefficients of 98 published papers. Across various modulations of the data set (for example language version of the ITQ used or study design), the ITQ’s reliability for total scale and PTSD/C-PTSD subscales remained high. The findings of this study provide confidence in the ITQ’s reliability to assess for PTSD and C-PTSD.

Chapter Two is an empirical research paper which explored service users’ experiences of Mindful Interbeing Mirror Therapy (MIMT), a new trauma-focused psychotherapy. MIMT incorporates various psychotherapeutic techniques but uniquely involves the service user and therapist sitting in front of and interacting through a large mirror. Six participant accounts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants described MIMT as an intensely emotional and hopeful experience, magnified through the presence of the mirror. The mirror was also cited to make ‘visible' internal processes, including metaphorical self-parts (suffering, critical and compassionate parts), which could be balanced. Across accounts was the importance of the therapist and therapeutic relationship in containing the experience. As the first empirical study into MIMT, the findings of this paper open new avenues for the therapeutic literature.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Clin.Psy.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Clin.Psy.D.

Supervisor(s):