Masters by Research

Jennifer Williamson, supervised by Professor Andy Guppy and Dr Lynne Wood. Jennifer's MRes dissertation looks at the experiences of individuals attending Alcoholic Anonymous.

I studied for a BA (Hons) with the University of Bedfordshire as a mature student, after working previously in the horse industry but gaining an increasing interest in humans rather than horses! For my undergraduate thesis I did a systematic review of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy for At-Risk Youths and Offenders. This thesis is currently being submitted for publication in a social science peer reviewed journal. I received a first class honours with a scholarship to continue with postgraduate study with the University of Bedfordshire and my supervisor Prof Andy Guppy encouraged me to do a PhD, firstly with a Masters by Research to improve my scientific research methods skills. The university has been extremely helpful and instrumental in my wonderful opportunities in research.

My current Masters by Research thesis is a delineation and conceptualisation of therapeutic mechanisms (mechanisms of behaviour change (MOBC)) in recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism, based on the 12-step method of recovery in a non-clinical, community sample. Participant recruitment has been difficult and I've learnt a lot about ethical issues when researching vulnerable groups. As a qualitative study, I've used an open-ended, structured questionaire and then the Framework Analysis method to study the answers. The data I've retrieved is extremely interesting, and I hope to produce one or two journal articles for publication.

Once I have completed my MRes my PhD will be based on a similar topic; covering therapeutic mechanisms and their connection to aetiology. My main interests are complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), attachment theory, addiction, social support mechanisms, and spiritual or existential mechanisms of recovery from mental illness; primarily through qualitative research methods.

Qualifications

• BA (Hons) Psychology and Criminal Behaviour - First Class. University of Bedfordshire (Milton Keynes campus), 2014-2017.

Areas of study

• Applied Social Research.
• Addiction.
• Mechanisms of behaviour change.
• Qualitative research.
• Psychological trauma and social and spiritual mechanisms of recovery.
• Attachment theory.
• All psychotherapeutic and counselling methods.

Supervisors

• Professor Andy Guppy

Contact Details

E: jennifer.williamson@study.beds.ac.uk