PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET

Research Title: WHAT COLOUR IS YOUR RAINBOW? A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HOPE IN PERSONAL THERAPY FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY

TRAINEES OF MIXED RACE (SOUTH EAST ASIAN-WHITE)

Before you decide to take part in this research, I would like you to understand why the research is being done and what it involves.

Please take some time to read the following information carefully and if you would like to ask any questions, please get in touch with me using the contact information at the end of the sheet.

• What is the research about?

The research involves talking to mixed race trainee psychotherapists (specifically South East Asian and White) about their experiences of hope in their personal therapy.

• What is the aim of the research?

The aim is that this information will help achieve a better understanding of the experiences of hope in individual therapy for people of mixed race. The research is being carried out as part of my Counselling Psychology & Integrative Psychotherapy doctoral degree at Metanoia Institute and Middlesex University.

• Why have I been asked? you’ll also be asked to sign a consent form. If you decide to take part you will be free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason.

• What will happen if I decide take part?

If you agree to take part, I will contact you by telephone for an initial discussion (10-15 minutes) about the research or via email. If you decide to continue after this, we will arrange a time for you to be interviewed: interviews can take place at a number of settings eg your home, my training institutions or at a neutral space convenient to you, depending on what you feel most comfortable with. The interview will last about 90 minutes.

You will be asked questions about your experiences of hope during therapy. The interview will be recorded on a dictaphone and recordings will be kept safe and locked away at all times. Then at a later date you’ll be asked to review the section of the research that includes your input so you can confirm that what has been written represents accurately what you said during your interview.

Please note that, in accordance with the quality assurance process, the project may be selected for audit. This would mean that a designated auditor could request to see your signed consent form. If this were the case, the designated auditor would be the only person to have access to your form.

• What are the possible disadvantages of taking part?

It is possible that during the interview personal and upsetting events may be discussed. Should you wish to talk to someone after the interview, I will help you to arrange this. I will also contact you one month after the interview to debrief your experience.

• What are the possible benefits of taking part?

The aim is to make the process as insightful, collaborative and enjoyable as possible. Whilst I can’t guarantee it, you may find that talking about what you have experienced/are experiencing in therapy will help you to gain further understanding about the process and the insights you had. You may also gain some understanding of how being mixed race affects your experience of hope.

• What will happen if I give my consent and then change my mind?

You are free to change your mind at any stage up to the submission of my thesis for marking. At this point, any information collected will be destroyed.

• Will any information on me be kept confidential?

All data will be stored, analysed and reported in compliance with the UK’s Data Protection Act (1998). Any information about you that is used will have your name and address removed so that you cannot be recognised from it. Information collected in the interview will be recorded and then transcribed. All information that is collected about you or given by you will be kept confidential and any information which I include in the report of the research will be anonymous, meaning no one will be able to tell who you are.

The information gathered will only be used for this piece of research and will not be used by anyone else for any other purpose. The information collected will be kept until my thesis has been marked and will then be destroyed. If you wish, at the end of the research process and prior to destroying my copy, I will give you a copy of the recording of our interview together.

As part of my role, the only time when I would be required to break confidentiality would be if I had any concerns about any potential harm to children, to you or to others.

• What will happen to the results of the research?

The results of the research will be used as part of my training to be a Counselling Psychologist & Integrative Psychotherapist. A copy will be held in the library at Metanoia Institute and at the British Library. The research may also be published in professional journals: if this happens at a later date, I will contact you again for your permission and will give you the chance to review the paper in advance of its publication. You can get a summary copy of the findings if you wish. You will not be identified in the findings or any research report.

• Who is organising and funding the research?

I am personally organising and funding the research. I am not being paid for doing it and it is part of my training.

• Who has reviewed the research?

This research has been reviewed and approved by the Metanoia Research Ethics Committee. The approval process is designed to protect your safety, rights and wellbeing. I am also supervised by Dr Saira Razzaq, whose contact details are at the end of this document.

• What do I have to do to take part in the research??

Please contact me using the details below and/or by returning the detachable slip at the bottom of the letter in the SAE. I will then contact you for a further discussion about the research and to answer any questions you may have. If you then decide to continue, we will arrange an interview time/date and location.

When we meet, we will both sign two consent forms so we each have a copy to keep.

• Further information and contact details Sarah Krantz

[email protected] Tel: 07976 724187 Dr Saira Razzaq [email protected] Tel: 0208 946 5306

Thank you very much for your time and support.