Managing the monster in the mind: a psychoanalytically informed qualitative study exploring the experiences of people diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Mulhall, K.; O’Connor, John J.; Timulakova, K.

doi:10.1080/02668734.2019.1614087

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Three in‐depth interviews were completed using an open mode of interviewing that is free and non‐directive. This type of psychoanalytic interview process creates a space for meaningful material to arise (Cartwright, 2004; Clarke, 2002; Hesse Tyson et al., 2020; Kvale, 1999; Mulhall et al., 2019). Close observation of changes in the researcher's feeling state, associations, and bodily reactions, facilitates an important source of reflexivity (Clarke, 2002; Holmes, 2013); the researchers' emotional responses are tied up with the participants communication throughout the interview process (Gemignani, 2011; Jervis, 2009).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is an inductive research approach informed by a psycho‐analytic method. The psychoanalytically informed method has been used with mothers who presented with post‐natal depression (Hesse Tyson et al., 2020), individuals with OCD (Mulhall et al., 2019), people who hoard objects (Byrne et al., 2019), and people experiencing somatic symptom disorder (Byrne et al., 2019). The aim of this study was to provide sufficient space for mothers to explore what was meaningful to them in their journey with POCD, with a view to expanding our understanding of the nature of mothers' lived experience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Meehan

O’Connor

Keogh

2021

Appl Psychoanal Studies

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Our understanding of mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder (POCD) is limited. While symptoms of POCD have been documented in the literature, the wider lived experience of people with this condition has received less attention. This study used a psychoanalytically informed research method to explore mothers' experiences of POCD. Five participants each engaged in three unstructured interviews, where participants were given time and space to discuss their personal experience. Three major themes emerged from the interviews conducted: a difficult road to motherhood, which related to the challenges participants faced becoming mothers; protector/aggressor, which described the tension between participants' intrusive thoughts and their desire to protect their baby; and mothers' loss, which described participants' sense of sadness having experienced POCD at this special time in their lives. These themes are discussed in relation to their significance for our thinking about mothers' experience of POCD during pregnancy, postnatally and beyond.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Meehan

O’Connor

Keogh

2021

Appl Psychoanal Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing a psychoanalytically informed interview technique (Cartwright, 2004;Holmes, 2013a; Kvale, 1999). This method aims to explore the inner psychic world, relational processes, and unconscious meanings associated with the research topic through three in‐depth interviews per participant (Cartwright, 2004; Mulhall, O'Connor, & Timulakova, 2019). This is facilitated by employing a relatively free‐associative style during interviews based on the assumption that keeping an open and relatively non‐directive approach facilitates participants moving toward more significant material which may not be achieved using a more structured method (Kvale, 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Becoming needless: A psychoanalytically informed qualitative study exploring the interpersonal and intrapsychic experiences of longstanding anorexia nervosa

Blackburn

O’Connor

Parsons

2020

Appl Psychoanal Studies

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This study explored the interpersonal and intrapsychic experiences of individuals living with longstanding anorexia and considered how such experiences might influence barriers to recovery. Six women, aged between 22 and 44, were interviewed on three occasions using a psychoanalytically informed qualitative research design. Three interrelated themes emerged: “all on our own,” becoming needless and “nobody speaks your language.” Interpersonal experiences were characterized by abusive mistreatment, abandonment, and rejection, which, at times, seemed to be re‐enacted with acute health care staff, mental health professionals, and mental health services. Participants developed a conviction of being undeserving and fundamentally flawed, perhaps in a defensive attempt to establish a sense of control and survive these overwhelming experiences potentially operating as a self‐protective enclave. Ultimately, participants seemed to be describing, defending against the pain of relatedness by striving to have no needs. Participants seemed stuck in this state of self‐protection, hampering their ability to develop trust in the therapeutic relationship. Directions for future research and implications for psychotherapeutic work are also discussed.

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“…Most of the qualitative research on OCD has been done in adult participants. It is focused on exploring subjective experiences [13,14,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], reassurance seeking [43,44], enablers and barriers [45], stigma and labeling [46], family members perceptions [47], impact on partner relationships [48] and user perspectives on interventions [49][50][51][52][53][54]. The sample size in these studies varied depending on the methodology that varied from case study to ethnographic approaches.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lived experiences of children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder: interpretative phenomenological analysis

Sravanti

Kommu

Girimaji

et al. 2022

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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Background Childhood obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is distinct from OCD in adults. It can be severely disabling and there is little qualitative research on OCD in children. The present study aims to explore the subjective experiences of diagnosis, treatment processes and meaning of recovery in children and adolescents suffering from OCD and provide a conceptual model of the illness. Methods It is a qualitative study of ten children and adolescents selected by purposive sampling. MINI KID 6.0, Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale and Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale were administered at the time of recruitment of subjects into the study. Interviews were conducted using an in-depth semi-structured interview guide and audio-recorded. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The study sought to explore participants’ sense-making of their world, their thoughts, feelings and perceptions through interpretative enquiry. The findings were confirmed by a process called investigator triangulation, member check and peer validation. Results IPA yielded five major themes—‘illness perception changes over time’, ‘disclosure on a spectrum’, ‘cascading effects of OCD’, ‘treatment infuses hope and helps’, and ‘navigating through OCD’. A summary of these themes and their subthemes is presented as a conceptual model. The essence of this model is to show the inter-relationship between themes and provide a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of OCD. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore lived experiences of children and adolescents with OCD using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). It was noted that perception of illness and treatment processes evolves over time, and recovery is viewed as a process. Future qualitative research can be carried out with a focus on ‘therapist-related barriers’ or ‘student–teacher dyads’ that can inform clinical practice and school policies respectively. Trial registration NIMH/DO/IEC (BEH. Sc. DIV)/2018, l1 April 2018.

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Managing the monster in the mind: a psychoanalytically informed qualitative study exploring the experiences of people diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Cited by 3 publications

References 30 publications

Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Becoming needless: A psychoanalytically informed qualitative study exploring the interpersonal and intrapsychic experiences of longstanding anorexia nervosa

Lived experiences of children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder: interpretative phenomenological analysis

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