The TPI research team introduced research weekends in 2013 at which staff and students presented short papers representing current work in progress. TPI graduates are also encouraged to produce short accounts of their MSc research similar to the one written by Charlotte Colchester which is available on the student publications section on the Research & Development website. Connected with these developments, in order to open up some of the excellent work produced by students to a wider audience, Kay Conroy has formed an agreement with Arlen House (arlenhouse.blogspot.com) publishers to produce a monograph series of student research work represented in the MSc theses completed over the years. The first monograph – by Virginia Kerr on the use of psychotherapy by classical singers, Stage Fright, was published in May 2014 and is currently available from Turning Point – Price €10.00.

Vision

The Research and Development Centre at Turning Point™ Institute (TPI) shares this vision of education and research as a personal journey. The notion for us is that research allows us to connect pieces of knowledge and understanding in an effort to create a big picture. Depending on the type of question being asked and the manner in which we seek our answers, the big picture is always evolving. The notion that we can reach absolutes through research in counselling and psychotherapy is misleading. In fact, what we are doing is building a pathway of knowledge that is never ending. This is what makes the journey so worthwhile: there is always something new to learn.

Mission

The mission of the Research and Development Centre.

• To foster a research ethos which develops and enhances the theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy.
• To assist in the development of knowledge, skills and practice in counselling and psychotherapy.
• To equip counsellors and psychotherapists with the necessary research skills for effectiveness in practice.
• To encourage the engagement of practitioners in research activity in their fields.
• To build a portfolio of research publications by TPI staff and students for use by all colleagues in the field.

The Committee

Purpose:

To oversee the achievement of the TPI Research & Development Centre research objectives and its principal mission. More specifically the committee will review and monitor progress in the key areas of research activities, publications and projects and advise on future developments in the area.

People:

The committee is made up of a range of psychotherapists, academics, researchers and psychotherapy trainers.

Dr. Eve Watson -is the Director of Research at TPI