Grieving Through Humour: The Experience of Humour and Grief in Counsellors' Therapeutic Work

We are postgraduate students completing an MSc in Counselling at Bangor University. As part of our final dissertation, we are conducting an interview research study exploring the role of humour in grief counselling from the perspective of qualified and trainee counsellors.

To participate in our study, you must be:

  • Located in the UK Either qualified or studying a qualification in counselling at a minimum of diploma level
  • Member of a counselling organisation in the UK which is listed on the Professional Standards Authority’s accredited register (e.g., BACP, UKCP, NCPS, etc.)
  • Currently attending a minimum of one hour of supervision per month
  • Currently working with at least one client
  • Have worked with at least one client experiencing bereavement

The study will involve a video call interview. You will first be asked to complete a short survey and consent form, and email these to the researchers. Eligible participants will then be selected in order of sign-up. You will be contacted by email with an invitation to take part in a semi-structured online interview discussing your experiences of using humour in therapeutic grief work. This will take no longer than 60 minutes. Those who agree to participate will be free to skip any questions or withdraw at any time.

All interviews will be recorded, and all data will be transcribed and anonymised, with recordings stored securely on the University OneDrive. You will have an opportunity to check the transcript for accuracy before it is analysed. The findings will be used as part of a dissertation for the MSc in Counselling.

This study has been approved by the School of Psychology and Sport Science Academic Research Ethics committee (AREC 1813).

If you are willing and able to participate in this study, please follow this link to complete an initial interest questionnaire: https://www.psytoolkit.org/c/3.7.6/survey?s=2dUn2

Thank you for considering our request.

This research study is led by Prof Fay Short and Dr Suzy Clarkson. If you have any concerns about this study, please email Prof Fay Short at f.short@bangor.ac.uk.

Please see the poster here.