Child life-limiting illnesses are those from which there is no reasonable hope of cure and from which children will die. Only recently have these illnesses been recognized as a discrete category and thus relatively little research has focused specifically upon this group of children and their families. This study utilized qualitative methods to investigate the experience of fathers, a group who are often under-represented in child illness research. The research aim was to gain an understanding of fathers' experiences of having a child with a life-limiting illness, its impact upon them, and their perceptions of service provision. The data from eight interviews was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four main themes emerged highlighting the fathers' feeling that their world had been turned upside down, how they lived with the knowledge their child would die, how men perceive themselves as different from women, and the fathers' wish to contribute to changing and improving how other fathers might cope with a child with a life-limiting illness. The results are discussed particularly in relation to gender issues. Various implications for clinical practice and service provision are considered. Suggestions are also made for future research.

For adolescents who flee to the UK seeking asylum, the experience of leaving their home country puts them at risk of developing mental health problems. Although there is a research base exploring the mental health of asylum-seeking children and adolescents who arrive with their families, there is in contrast very little focusing on the mental health needs of children and adolescents who arrive in the UK alone. There has been ongoing debate about whether current theoretical models for understanding reactions to trauma and loss are helpful in supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adolescents with complex psychological and social issues as a result of fleeing their home countries. This article draws on young people's own understanding of their experiences of seeking asylum in the UK using a qualitative semi-structured interview. It attempts to develop a more contextually relevant understanding of their emotional reactions to adversity and to consider the sorts of support required. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to provide an in-depth understanding of six young asylum seekers' experiences, exploring themes of loss, negotiating a new life, psychological distress and the process of adjustment. Psychological interventions and future service provision for this group are discussed.

Greater emphasis is currently being placed on user involvement in shaping the delivery of mental health services and the need for increasing the evidence base for psychotherapeutic interventions such as individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy (IPP). This qualitative study reports on the range of experiences of six young people aged between 16 and 21 years in undertaking IPP. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to develop an in-depth understanding of their experiences. The themes identified the young people's initial expectations and concerns about starting psychotherapy, experiences of learning the ropes of therapy and the process and meaning of ending therapy. The affective relationship with the therapist was of particular importance to the young people concerned. Positive experiences of IPP included being listened to and being accepted, and talking and thinking in depth. The power differentials with respect to being a patient were also evident. The paper concludes by suggesting that paying greater attention to young people's views of psychotherapy may improve their initial engagement and help to develop services in more appropriate ways. Qualitative methodologies provide a useful adjunct to conducting process and outcome research in this context.

No abstract

No abstract