Browsing by Author "Pond R"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Client Perspectives of Family Therapy: A Qualitative Systematic Review
    (Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2025-07) Todd E; Pond R; Coomber K
    This qualitative systematic review aimed to synthesize and discuss family members' perspectives of helpful and unhelpful factors in family therapy (FT) sessions, to benefit the application of FT interventions and training. Eleven studies met eligibility criteria and were critically appraised and thematically synthesized. Four themes resulted: therapist qualities contributing to the therapeutic alliance, practitioners' use of therapeutic techniques, intervention delivery, and family engagement with the process. Helpful factors included therapist warmth, kindness, and genuine care; therapist connecting with family in a sensitive, respectful, and nonjudgmental manner; effective use of therapeutic techniques that facilitated self-reflection, emotional expression, communication, and perspective-taking; therapy sessions conducted collaboratively with active family participation; focusing on family strengths and resources; and tailoring format to family needs. Unhelpful factors included participants sharing before ready, therapist siding with a family member, therapy process not matching family needs, and insufficient progress early on. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
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    Effective burnout prevention strategies for counsellors and other therapists: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies
    (Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group., 2024-10-03) Duncan S; Pond R
    Therapists are susceptible to burnout and need strategies to prevent it. This systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative literature examined what practicing therapists (including counsellors, psychotherapists, and psychologists) report being helpful in preventing and minimising burnout. A search by EBSCO Discovery Service across all major article databases and a complementary search using Google Scholar led to the identification of nine eligible studies (with 542 therapists). Studies were critically appraised, data were extracted, and findings synthesised using thematic analysis. Nine themes/helpful factors for preventing burnout in the therapeutic profession were identified: time off, leisure activities, exercise, perspective (having a particular mindset or attitude towards the role), support and connections, boundaries and balance, awareness/mindfulness of one’s internal state and the impact of work, spirituality/meditation, and professional growth and self-use of clinical approaches. Information about these strategies needs to be included and practised during therapist training programmes. Future research needs to investigate culturally preferred strategies for preventing burnout. Importantly, while practitioners are responsible for implementing self-care strategies for their well-being, it is critical that organisations take an active role in burnout prevention by putting policies in place, providing training to increase awareness of burnout, and supporting staff to manage pressures they face.
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    Teacher and Student Well-being in the Covid-19 pandemic - Full report
    (2022-04-30) Dharan V; Pond R; Mincher N; Muralidharan V
    This project sought to understand the perspectives of teachers and students in the lower North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand at the time of the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in March 2020 and during the following several months. Thirteen teachers from seven schools in the Manawatū-Horowhenua and Greater Wellington area and seven focus groups of Year 4 to 8 students from four of the schools participated in this project. This final report includes the findings from teachers and students’ perspectives of the affordances and challenges of lockdown and subsequent return to school, and their perspectives on helpful strategies in the event of similar situations given the unpredictable times. Analysis of teachers’ perspectives highlighted three interrelated themes –Stepping up Ngāwhiringatanga; Building Resilience and Reflecting and Recalibrating. The lockdown provided teachers time for introspection and have some time for their own personal well-being and growth. Although the challenge of adapting to online teaching sessions was stressful, the increased knowledge of the impact of COVID-19 on families and communities, had a profound impact on ongoing pedagogy of teachers. Teachers were resilient to the challenges and supported the resilience and well-being of students both during lockdown and on their return to school. They were supported by their school systems to ease pressure on academic learning and focus on holistic well-being of students such as spending quality time with their families. The lockdown highlighted the importance of work life balance, with teachers experiencing the benefits of having the time and space to focus on their personal well-being, which is critical for the well- being of their students, enabling them to support their students becoming resilient in the face of adversities caused by the ongoing presence of the pandemic. The students’ on the other hand while feeling isolated from their peers and anxious about the effects of the virus on their near and dear ones, appreciated the quality time that they could spend with their families and pets, and more importantly the flexibility that lockdown offered in terms of their learning. The key inter-related themes from their perspectives were: worry about safety and changes; restrictions and isolation; freedom and autonomy; friendship and connection; and quality family time.
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    Young people’s reflections on their experiences of shared care and relationships with their parents
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2023-02-28) Merson T; Tuffin K; Pond R
    Objective: The present study examined young people’s reflections on their experiences of parental and child–parent relationships when raised in shared care with low inter-parental conflict, post-separation. Background: Shared care arrangements are becoming increasingly common. However, little research has been done about children and young people’s perspectives and experiences of it. Method: In-depth interviews of one to three hours were conducted with 12 young people who were living or had lived in shared care arrangements in New Zealand. Transcribed interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The themes identified from participants’ accounts pointed to the importance of each parent being committed to cultivating an emotionally positive relationship with their child in the context of an amicable, cooperative parenting alliance; and the requirement of parents and step-parents’ sensitivity and care when a parent re-partnered. Participants struggled emotionally when these were not achieved. It was evident that participants were sensitive about parental tension and apportioning time fairly. Conclusion: More attention needs to be given to supporting separating parents to achieve quality relationships with their child and a cordial, child-focused parenting alliance. Further qualitative research about children and young people’s experiences will be useful in confirming and extending these findings.