Processes of enhanced self-understanding during a counselling programme for parents of children with disabilities.

BACKGROUND: The stress and burden on parents of children with disabilities are well documented, and the parents' way of handling the situation is crucial to the health and well-being of all family members, including the child with special needs. We conducted a group-based counselling programme for parents, based mainly on Gestalt education and personal construct theories, aiming at increasing the parents' ability to handle the situation. AIMS: To explore the parents' experiences from processes of change after the counselling programme. METHOD DESIGN: This qualitative study is based on modified grounded theory. METHOD: The study conducted in Norway examines the experiences of 67 parents (of whom 29 fathers) of children with disabilities. Information was collected through focus group discussions after finishing their sessions of the counselling programme. FINDINGS: From the parents' experiences, the following categories were developed: feeling motivated to communicate, describing oneself in new words, being inspired to experience one's own emotions, being more present and in charge and making a difference by taking new steps. The core category in our analysis turned out to be Improved handling of the situation by enhanced self-understanding. The parents seemed to redevelop their self-understanding through new experiences of themselves. They emphasized the importance of a secure setting of peers with similar experiences and skilled counsellors to feel free to explore one's own emotions with connecting thoughts and bodily reactions. Discussion of existential issues as one's own values also contributed to enhanced self-understanding, which strengthened the parents to find new possibilities and priorities in handling the situation. CONCLUSIONS: The parents described subjective processes of awareness and self-reflection as important for being able to start a process towards enhanced self-understanding, which helped to detect one's own values and new ways of acting. These experiences may be relevant for the parents and for the conduction of future counselling.

Increased self-awareness in the process of returning to work.

BACKGROUND: A group of employees on sick leave, living in the Oslo area, Norway, was offered participation in a counselling programme, based on Gestalt theory, mindfulness and phenomenological understanding of the body. AIMS: To explore the participants' processes of change related to their increased ability to work. METHOD DESIGN: This qualitative study is based on modified grounded theory. METHOD: A total of 12 female employees, all who had increased work ability 1 year after the programme, participated in open focus-group interviews at the end of the programme. FINDINGS: The participants' experiences from processes of change are described through the following categories: becoming more aware of one's own thoughts, emotions and bodily reactions; taking oneself seriously and accepting oneself; being secure enough to face being challenged; realizing new possibilities and choices and trying out new ways of acting. The participants further described what had been helpful in these processes. Experience of a secure setting and open-minded listening seemed important for getting the courage to open up to all reactions. Then, they could explore new ways of thinking, communicating and behaving. Discussing existential issues such as their core values was important. This, together with being allowed to take their own emotions seriously and being challenged by the counsellors, had encouraged the processes of change. CONCLUSIONS: The women described how experiences of increased awareness contributed to reconstruction of their self-understanding and opened up for new possibilities. This seemed to have provided them with new ways of communicating and acting, which enhanced participation in work. The context of the learning programme, the existential issues and counselling challenges appeared as essential in these processes of change. The findings give insights into aspects that may be important when designing rehabilitation programmes.

[Could persons on sick leave learn to think differently about themselves and increase their participation in the workplace?]. / Kan sykmeldte endre selvforståelse slik at arbeidsevnen øker?

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate an empowerment programme for improved quality of life and ability to work. At two places of work, a total of 112 employees with frequent sick-leaves over the last six months were invited to participate; 19 women attended. After the intervention the participants reported better coping and quality of life, and they worked more hours per week than previously. In their opinion, the improvement was due to the intervention. This paper relates their experiences and gives an account of their work participation one year later. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Questionnaires by the start of and soon after the intervention, telephone interviews and focus group interviews. RESULTS: Only minor differences were found after one year compared to just after the intervention. Nearly all the participants expressed more self-esteem and worked more hours per week. They particularly emphasised their new work consciousness and the benefit from the counselling received. INTERPRETATION: The results in this small group indicate that after one year the participants had kept most of the self-reconstruction of life that seemed to be achieved during the intervention.

Young children's grief: parents' understanding and coping.

The grief experiences of young children and the interactional dynamics between parents and children leading to healthy grieving remain comparatively under researched. This article reports a qualitative evaluation of a Norwegian Bereavement Support Program where 8 parents described their young child's grief reactions and coping and how these intersected with their own grief. Successful parental coping with their child's grief involves understanding the child's genuine concerns following the death and an intricately holistic balance between shielding and including, between informing and frightening, and between creating a new life while cherishing the old.

Parenting an overweight or obese child: a process of ambivalence.

Childhood overweight represents a health problem, and research points towards parents as key players. The aim of this study was to deepen the knowledge of how parents of children who are overweight or obese experience their parenthood. Focus group discussions with 17 parents were analysed according to the qualitative method of modified grounded theory. The results expressed the parents' ambivalence between preventing the child's overweight and not negatively affecting the child's self-esteem. The most important issue seemed to be their concern about the child's construction of self-understanding and experiences in interaction with the environment. The parents had become uncertain of their responsibility, priorities and how to act. In conclusion, parenting a child with weight issues could be a process of loving the child the way he/she is while still wanting changes for improved health, resulting in ambivalence. In addition to traditional advice about lifestyle, many parents seem to need counselling assistance with respect to their parental role.