Further Researching Beneath the Surface ― Psycho-social Research Methods in Practice

Contributions in this volume cover ways of knowing, the dynamics of research encounters, new methods of psycho-social inquiry, and the first-hand experience of being a researcher. Since the first volume of Researching Beneath the Surface was published by Karnac in 2009, psycho-social research has become more established but is also more scrutinised by a new generation of researchers, practitioners, and clinicians. This volume offers a timely exploration of the latest developments in psycho-social research, bringing together a series of papers in which both longstanding contributors to the field and new researchers explore tensions, possibilities, and innovations in psycho-socially inspired research.

Showcasing advances in psycho-social research methods, the book focuses on methodological dilemmas, innovations in method and methodology, and on experiences of conducting psycho-social research in challenging contexts. It also focusses on the contested but pivotal role of psychoanalysis in psycho-social research and explores what can be added by transdisciplinary use of deep ecology, continental philosophy, and relational approaches as alternative or supplementary ways of knowing.

Further Researching Beneath the Surface: Psycho-social Research Methods in Practice offers fresh insight into the practical and emotional issues of conducting oneself as a psycho-social researcher and learning from experience. It will be of great interest to psycho-social, qualitative, organisational, and psychoanalytically-oriented researchers, as well as postgraduate students in these fields.

Anne-Marie Cummins is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of the West of England, a founder member of the Centre for Psychosocial Studies (now the Psychosocial Studies Research group) and former UK editor of the journal Organisational and Social Dynamics. She has taught on and co-led the UWE Psychosocial Doctoral programme. Anne-Marie has a background in Group Relations, Group Analysis and Organisational Consultancy.

Nigel Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, and a member of the Psycho-Social Studies Research Network at the University of the West of England. He is engaged in Psycho-social research that reaches across boundaries to deepen and inform professional practices. He lectures in Psycho-social and Beneath the Surface Methodologies, Systems and Complexity Theory, Groups and Organisations, and Intergenerational Memory. He is an organisational consultant and is a registered psychotherapist and supervisor with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.