Overall Theme Emerging theme cluster Emerging theme
Managing emotional distress Ongoing emotional difficulties Ongoing emotional difficulties Lack of alternatives when people feel it isn’t
working
Lack of alternatives when people feel it isn’t working
Managing expectations and engagement The description of STEPPS felt like it was relevant
Curious about STEPPS potential for being helpful
STEPPS sounded manageable and relevant Apprehensive about attending group Apprehensive about group therapy as
previously unhelpful
Apprehensive about engaging socially in a group environment
Persevering in the face of emotion dysregulation
Frustration with slow progress Frustrating to see others progress quickly when this is not shared
Felt frustrated and guilty about slow progress as felt like hadn’t worked hard enough
Sometimes difficult to apply skills learning to real life situations
Ending as emotionally crucial Attending the friend and families evening made the ending easier
Attending the friend and families evening made the ending easier
Reassuring to know there is further help if needed
Reassuring to know there is further help if needed
A loss of routine/ having a group to go to A loss of routine/ having a group to go to Further challenges ahead Prepared to persevere with skills to see
further improvements
Prepared to persevere with skills to see further improvement
Developing trust with group members Felt comfortable in the group First session felt gentle without a pressure to talk
126 Being with other socially confident group members made her feel more comfortable and confident
Spoke up when she felt the need to Difficulties sharing personal issues Found it difficult to know when to share
experiences
Found it difficult to share personal issues in a group
Coping with difference Appreciated the range of people affected by emotional intensity
Appreciated the range of people affected by difficulties in similar ways
Developing trust with facilitators Trusted the facilitators Facilitators were respectful of individual differences
Facilitators were caring towards group members
Trusted the facilitators Shared experience helped understanding of
self
Found it easier to understand emotional intensity when shared through people’s stories
Found it easier to understand concepts of feelings embedded in embedded in peoples’ stories
Reassuring to find shared experience Reassuring to be with a group of people with similar struggles every week
Felt like the group was in the situation together
Shared experience of emotional intensity helped feeling ‘regular’
Feels like a regular person rather than a broken person
Felt she fitted in as other people were nervous too
Developed awareness and ability to manage emotion dysregulation
Developed the ability to manage behaviours and life despite intense emotions
Given names for abstract feeling helped her own understanding and ability to explain it to others
Don’t catastrophize feelings despite them still being intense
127 Helped her ability to communicate with
partner
Being able to communicated about feelings has helped them not taking over
Been able to cope with stressful work and life Developed skills in managing relationships Became socially more confident Attending the group has made it easier to talk
to people on the internet
Hearing other people sharing experiences helped overcome anxiety about speaking up Developed the ability to be assertive Dad’s noticed she’s more assertive and
positive
Terrifying to challenge others but prevents emotional difficulties
Been able to challenge other people’s negative thoughts
Developed agency and capacity to change A framework that values lived experience Liked the idea of STEPPS as a framework supported by people’s lived experience Found the group more comfortable and easier to speak up with equal facilitators
Liked the facilitators were presented as equals
Facilitators directed the group but allowed the group to experience the course on their own terms
The individuals existing skills are values Liked the concept of having the means to help herself but not knowing how
Feel empowered to manage her emotions Felt empowered by knowing she has the skills to manage, she just has to learn how
Felt empowered to support others Feel more confident in supporting other people with difficulties
128 Developed hopefulness through noticing
change in self and others
Felt hopeful when seeing other people progress
Felt hopeful when hearing other people’s abilities to persevere through adversity Reassuring to see people work through the therapeutic process at different stages Hopeful about the opportunity for further + progress
Feels hopeful about her ability to continue to progress
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Appendix J: Summary of results for respondent validation
The experience of taking part in brief group therapy (STEPPS-EI) when living with emotional intensity
Dear Participant,
I am writing to give a summary of the findings of the research project you kindly gave an interview for back in 2016/2017. Your participation has been invaluable and thank you again for taking the time to share your experiences with me. Below, I give a very brief summary of the findings. You are welcome to comment on these or ask questions if you should wish to and my contact details can be found at the end of the summary.
Summary of findings
The interviews were typed up and read multiple times to find themes within them. There were three overall themes for participants, which were as follows: an emotional journey,
developing and understanding self, and developing relationships. Within the themes a further 18 subthemes were identified and these are listed in the summary below.
An emotional journey
There was a theme around the emotional journey with participants coming from a place of distress when seeking help, then engaging and persevering with therapy, followed by looking to the future. The following seven subthemes came through the participants’ description of this journey:
Managing emotional distress Managing shame and stigma Managing expectations of therapy
Persevering in the face of emotional intensity Revising understanding of emotional world Ending as emotionally crucial
Further challenges ahead
Developing and understanding self
Through their journey, most participants began understanding and developing a sense of themselves living with emotional intensity. Within this theme there were three subthemes about the way in which people felt they changed through STEPPS-EI:
Shared experience helped understanding of self
Developed awareness and ability to manage emotional intensity Developed understanding of own ability to change
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Developing in relationships
The emotional journey took participants through STEPPS-EI alongside other group members. This led to a theme around participants’ experiences with relationships with group members, facilitators and people in their lives outside of the group, which were covered in the following five subthemes:
Developing trust with group members Coping with difference in the group
Developing trust with facilitators (people running the group) Questioning facilitator competence
Changes to relationships with people outside the group
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to share your thoughts about these themes or if you have any more questions about this study.
E-mail: [email protected]
Address: Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology, 1 Meadow Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 2YG.
Thank you again for your time and attention. Best wishes,
Sabine Harland
Complaints procedure: If you are at all dissatisfied with the conduct of this research please first contact the researcher ([email protected], Tel.: 01227 92 7166). If you still wish to complain about any aspect of the research project, please contact Professor Paul Camic, Research Director, Dept. of Applied Psychology, at [email protected] or on 01227 92 7166. Canterbury Christ Church University is the sponsor of this research and is therefore responsible for its conduct. If you feel that you have been harmed by this research please contact Professor Paul Camic and he will discuss with you the complaints process of the university.
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Appendix K: Reflective diary and bracketing interview
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Appendix L: Health Research Authority Approval
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Appendix M: NHS trust Research and Development approval
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Appendix N: Participant consent form