title: Should personal therapy be mandatory for psychologist trainees? Perspectives from Australian practicing psychologists

authors: Raga, MF

subjects: personal therapy

abstract: There is a growing focus on the training needs of future psychologists and exploring methods to support their professional development and ensure long-term sustainability in their careers and practice within the field. Whether or not personal therapy could be relevant for trainee psychologists has been considered in the clinical literature; however, empirical research examining this topic within psychology as a distinct professional group is limited. Drawing upon a qualitative design, the present study conducted semistructured interviews with a sample of 20 Australian practicing psychologists who had engaged in personal therapy. The aim was to explore their perspectives on personal therapy during training and, in addition, their views on mandatory personal therapy for trainees. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews resulted in several unique themes. First, therapy during training was perceived as an optimal and critical period for learning before entering the profession. Second, personal therapy was perceived as offering unique value to trainees in its capacity to reach beyond the scope of supervision. Psychologists also reported that personal therapy can facilitate unique learning/development opportunities in areas of self and professional development and in promoting self-care with a focus on future sustainability. Views on whether personal therapy should be mandated during training varied across psychologists; however, most supported the idea that educators and training institutions play an important role in normalizing and promoting personal therapy usage among trainee psychologists, particularly to reduce stigma around utilization. These findings are informative for future practice and training recommendations for psychologists.

text: Should personal therapy be mandatory for psychologist trainees? Perspectives from Australian practicing psychologists There is a growing focus on the training needs of future psychologists and exploring methods to support their professional development and ensure long-term sustainability in their careers and practice within the field. Whether or not personal therapy could be relevant for trainee psychologists has been considered in the clinical literature; however, empirical research examining this topic within psychology as a distinct professional group is limited. Drawing upon a qualitative design, the present study conducted semistructured interviews with a sample of 20 Australian practicing psychologists who had engaged in personal therapy. The aim was to explore their perspectives on personal therapy during training and, in addition, their views on mandatory personal therapy for trainees. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews resulted in several unique themes. First, therapy during training was perceived as an optimal and critical period for learning before entering the profession. Second, personal therapy was perceived as offering unique value to trainees in its capacity to reach beyond the scope of supervision. Psychologists also reported that personal therapy can facilitate unique learning/development opportunities in areas of self and professional development and in promoting self-care with a focus on future sustainability. Views on whether personal therapy should be mandated during training varied across psychologists; however, most supported the idea that educators and training institutions play an important role in normalizing and promoting personal therapy usage among trainee psychologists, particularly to reduce stigma around utilization. These findings are informative for future practice and training recommendations for psychologists.

year: 2025

title: Willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet in China and New Zealand: Applying the theories of planned behaviour, meat attachment and food choice motives

authors: Wang, Ou

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the significant factors that drive consumers’ willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet, in both an Asian developing country (China) and a Western developed country (New Zealand), on the basis of three theories: meat attachment factors, the theory of planned behaviour and food choice motives. The data were collected through online surveys in China (n = 604) and New Zealand (n = 581). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used for the data analysis. Consumers’ willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet was significantly linked to all the four meat attachment factors (Hedonism, Affinity, Entitlement and Dependence), four factors based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Subjective norms, Personal norms, Perceived behavioural control and Attitudes), and one food choice motive (Environmental concern). There were differences between China and New Zealand in the impact of the meat attachment factors and the theory of planned behaviour factors on the willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet.

text: Willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet in China and New Zealand: Applying the theories of planned behaviour, meat attachment and food choice motives The purpose of this study is to explore the significant factors that drive consumers’ willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet, in both an Asian developing country (China) and a Western developed country (New Zealand), on the basis of three theories: meat attachment factors, the theory of planned behaviour and food choice motives. The data were collected through online surveys in China (n = 604) and New Zealand (n = 581). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used for the data analysis. Consumers’ willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet was significantly linked to all the four meat attachment factors (Hedonism, Affinity, Entitlement and Dependence), four factors based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Subjective norms, Personal norms, Perceived behavioural control and Attitudes), and one food choice motive (Environmental concern). There were differences between China and New Zealand in the impact of the meat attachment factors and the theory of planned behaviour factors on the willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet.

year: 2021-05-23

title: Land/seascapes of exclusion: social order on the coastal margins

authors: Ryks, John

abstract: The hegemonic discourse of coastal planning and development has an impact on the social ordering of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s coastal communities in a number of ways. One way in which social order is controlled and maintained is through the (ab)use of boundaries. Boundaries constructed and maintained under the authority of government and/or funded by development dictate where people may or may not live. In many cases these boundaries are used as instruments of exclusion. Boundaries constructed by hegemonic groups exclude those who define the coast according to other criteria. The hegemonic deployment of boundaries and the domination of coastal people and place generally is explored through an analysis of discourse. This analysis is structured according to differences in social order, coded as places of Otherness (heterotopia), Euclidean coasts, and places in transition reflecting images of both the former and the latter.
Drawing on a number of coastal communities, including the Northland community of Otia (otherwise known as the Seaweed Pickers), Taylor’s Mistake, Whitianga and the wealth enclave of Pauanui, it is shown that the land/seascape of coastal Aotearoa/New Zealand is gradually being disciplined through the design of coasts that are accommodating of a particular patronage. These ‘exclusive’ coasts appear in stark contrast to those places where an alternative social ordering takes place. Here, in the absence of a Euclidean spatiality, uncertainty and liminality feature in the social construction of the coast. Residents of these places mark out and define the coast in a way that is quite different from the accepted norm, a fact that determines a particular ‘cartographic anxiety’ on the part of the dominant. This anxiety is instrumental in the construction of Otherness and the (re)production of exclusion.

text: Land/seascapes of exclusion: social order on the coastal margins The hegemonic discourse of coastal planning and development has an impact on the social ordering of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s coastal communities in a number of ways. One way in which social order is controlled and maintained is through the (ab)use of boundaries. Boundaries constructed and maintained under the authority of government and/or funded by development dictate where people may or may not live. In many cases these boundaries are used as instruments of exclusion. Boundaries constructed by hegemonic groups exclude those who define the coast according to other criteria. The hegemonic deployment of boundaries and the domination of coastal people and place generally is explored through an analysis of discourse. This analysis is structured according to differences in social order, coded as places of Otherness (heterotopia), Euclidean coasts, and places in transition reflecting images of both the former and the latter.
Drawing on a number of coastal communities, including the Northland community of Otia (otherwise known as the Seaweed Pickers), Taylor’s Mistake, Whitianga and the wealth enclave of Pauanui, it is shown that the land/seascape of coastal Aotearoa/New Zealand is gradually being disciplined through the design of coasts that are accommodating of a particular patronage. These ‘exclusive’ coasts appear in stark contrast to those places where an alternative social ordering takes place. Here, in the absence of a Euclidean spatiality, uncertainty and liminality feature in the social construction of the coast. Residents of these places mark out and define the coast in a way that is quite different from the accepted norm, a fact that determines a particular ‘cartographic anxiety’ on the part of the dominant. This anxiety is instrumental in the construction of Otherness and the (re)production of exclusion.

year: 2002