Pulling the Trigger: A Systematic Literature Review of Trigger Warnings as a Strategy for Reducing Traumatization in Higher Education

In the academic context, trigger warnings can be defined as explicit statements that alert a group of learners that certain content explored or discussed in a learning environment may contain potentially distressing material. Extant research highlights a relationship between traumatization and trigger warnings; however, the extent to which trigger warnings constitute a method of best practice for reducing traumatization in higher education has not been addressed. Thus, a systematic literature review was conducted to explore this relationship. A search conducted across academic databases to locate peer-reviewed articles published between November 2010 and November 2020, combined three areas of interest: (1) "trigger warnings," (2) "best practice," and (3) "higher education." Database searches and further manual searches yielded a total of 194 journal articles. Of these, 20 studies satisfied all inclusion criteria. Following the data extraction process, thematic analysis was employed to identify, analyze, and report patterns within data. The key themes identified through the review include trigger warnings as inclusive practice, as part of trauma-informed pedagogy, as ineffectual practice, and as harmful practice. The evidence suggests that when embedded as part of a broader, holistic, and trauma-informed approach, trigger warnings can be a valuable tool for assisting with the effective reduction of traumatization in the higher education context.

Exploring Phase Progression Throughout the Therapeutic Process: The Case of Eva

This study intends to clarify how Eva [a good-outcome case] developed a more differentiated and integrated sense of herself and her experience, and how the therapist facilitated this developmental process. It aims to deepen our understanding of the processes of change throughout the therapeutic process by analysing a longitudinal case study integrating a phase-by-phase map-the sequential phases of the Paradigmatic Complementarity Metamodel [PCM]-with a moment-by-moment tracking method-the Developmental Analysis of Psychotherapy Process [DAPP] Method. A team of three researchers analysed the sessions from the first year of therapy, identified phase transitions and consolidations, and discussed what in the process appears to have fostered them. The results suggest that Eva evolved in accordance with the sequence of phases proposed by the PCM, which we illustrate and explain with therapeutic interactions representative of Eva's development within the evolving therapeutic process. This case study is one of a series intended to contribute to the optimization of clinical decision making by identifying markers of phase progression and assessing the usefulness of the therapeutic interventions offered. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE

Integrating moment-by-moment and phase-by-phase guiding maps facilitates the understanding of therapeutic processes. Therapists' attunement and responsiveness to patients' assimilation capacities supports therapeutic progress. Being aware of both phase-by-phase and moment-by-moment movements in psychotherapy helps lead to better clinical decisions.

Narrative research in psychotherapy: a critical review

PURPOSE

This paper is a review of studies which utilise the notion of narrative to analyse psychotherapy. Its purpose is to systematically present this diverse field of research, to highlight common themes and divergences between different strands and to further the development and integration of narrative research in psychotherapy.

METHODS

The paper reviews studies which employ an applied textual analysis of narratives produced in the context of psychotherapy. Criteria for inclusion of studies are, firstly, the analysis of therapeutic and therapy-related texts and, secondly, the adoption of a narrative psychological perspective. The studies were examined on the basis of the notion of narrative they employ and the aspects of client narratives they focus on, and were grouped accordingly in the review.

RESULTS

The majority of the studies reviewed assume a constructivist approach to narrative, adopt a representational view of language, focus primarily on client micro-narratives and relate to cognitive-constructivist and process-experiential psychotherapeutic approaches. A smaller group of studies assume a social constructionist approach to narrative and a functional view of language, focus on micro-narratives, highlight the interactional and wider social aspects of narrative and relate to postmodern trends in psychotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The range of conceptualisations of narrative in the studies reviewed, from a representational psychological view to a constructionist social view, reflects tensions within narrative psychology itself. Moreover, two trends can be discerned in the field reviewed, narrative analysis of therapy, which draws from narrative theory and utilises the analytic approaches of narrative research to study psychotherapy, and analyses of narrative in therapy, which study client narratives using non-narrative qualitative methods. Finally, the paper highlights the need for integration of this diverse field of research and urges for the development of narrative studies of psychotherapy which employ a broader social understanding of narrative production and transformation.