School of
Health
Professions

Counselling Research


Research is an integral part of the Counselling program at Murdoch. Reading and critiquing the research of others helps to inform our practice. Conducting our own research helps make us accountable in our practice.

The staff in Murdoch’s Counselling program are active researchers. Hearing about staff research projects provides another entrée for students into the important contribution that can be made as well as an appreciation of the trials and tribulations of the research process. Students are encouraged to be always curious and reflective in their practice, to notice areas in which there are questions to be answered and to discuss their interests with staff.

Our staff and students are active in researching a number of counselling issues using a range of different methodological approaches. Several research projects involve studying the different aspects of therapeutic work to find out ‘what works’. Others cover a diverse range of broader interests in human nature spanning child development to the neuropsychological effects of substance use.

Students' projects are practice-relevant, ethical in method and intent, accountable to our clients as well as involving our clients as collaborators in the research process. We encourage reflective practice and an emergenic framework, allowing the research process to unfold and change over time. Our methodology is responsively qualitative and quantitative, and qualities of experiential process and relationship are prominent data types in our research.

Some of the specific staff and student interests and projects are outlined in more detail below:

Angela Ebert Recovery from complex trauma, resilience in adults, adult development in terms of identity and self-concept, and the assessment of psychological interventions in the treatment of health issues such as chronic pain and cancer.
Marieke Ledingham Worked with adolescents, adults, couples and families, including community agencies and educational settings.  My research and passion focuses on stress and burnout in the Australian mental health workforce.
Godfrey Barret-Lennard Theory and measurement of helping and other relationships; self-concept theory and study; inquiry into experiential group processes, adult life events and change, community and identity.