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Dr Victoria Clarke's Outputs (128)

“Being really confidently wrong”: Qualitative researchers’ experiences of methodologically incongruent peer review feedback (2024)
Journal Article

Although peer review is one of the central pillars of academic publishing, qualitative researchers’ experiences of this process has been largely overlooked. Existing research and commentary have focused on peer reviewers’ comments on qualitative manu... Read More about “Being really confidently wrong”: Qualitative researchers’ experiences of methodologically incongruent peer review feedback.

“Difficulty mentioning the M word”: Perceptions of a woman disclosing negative menopause symptoms in the workplace (2024)
Journal Article

Purpose
This qualitative study explores general perceptions of a woman experiencing negative menopausal symptoms in the workplace. It examines the socio-cultural understandings informing the responses of a mixed participant group, including those un... Read More about “Difficulty mentioning the M word”: Perceptions of a woman disclosing negative menopause symptoms in the workplace.

Supporting best practice in reflexive thematic analysis reporting in Palliative Medicine: A review of published research and introduction to the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG) (2024)
Journal Article

Background: Reflexive thematic analysis is widely used in qualitative research published in Palliative Medicine, and in the broader field of health research. However, this approach is often not used well. Common problems in published reflexive themat... Read More about Supporting best practice in reflexive thematic analysis reporting in Palliative Medicine: A review of published research and introduction to the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG).

“One dead bedroom”: Exploring the lived experience of sex and sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder (2024)
Journal Article

This study explored lived experiences of sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with a particular focus on the felt impact of OCD on their sexual identities, practices and relationships, and their experiences of h... Read More about “One dead bedroom”: Exploring the lived experience of sex and sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Music therapy is the very definition of white privilege": Music therapists' perspectives on race and class in UK music therapy (2024)
Journal Article

The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd highlighted, once again, the racial and socioeconomic inequities permeating western countries, and galvanised music therapists in the UK and e... Read More about "Music therapy is the very definition of white privilege": Music therapists' perspectives on race and class in UK music therapy.

Being a mother with anorexia: A phenomenological study of seeking and receiving professional support for white heterosexual women in the UK (2023)
Journal Article

Mothers are currently under-represented in the literature on anorexia, including research on treatment, with most research focussed on female adolescents. This raises questions about how adult women and particularly those who are mothers, experience... Read More about Being a mother with anorexia: A phenomenological study of seeking and receiving professional support for white heterosexual women in the UK.

Qualitative story completion: A creative and novel method for psychotherapy and counselling psychology research (2023)
Journal Article

Story completion (SC) – where respondents are presented with the start of a story (the story ‘stem’ or ‘cue’) and asked to complete it – originally developed as a projective technique for clinical and research assessment. While SC continues to be use... Read More about Qualitative story completion: A creative and novel method for psychotherapy and counselling psychology research.

Is thematic analysis used well in health psychology? A critical review of published research, with recommendations for quality practice and reporting (2023)
Journal Article

Despite the persistent dominance of a ‘scientific psychology’ paradigm in health psychology, the use of qualitative research continues to grow. Qualitative approaches are often based on fundamentally different values from (post)positivistempiricism,... Read More about Is thematic analysis used well in health psychology? A critical review of published research, with recommendations for quality practice and reporting.

Towards good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher (2022)
Journal Article

In response to the increasing use of thematic analysis (TA), and particularly the TA approach we have developed, in qualitative and mixed methods research published in IJTH, the editors of the journal have invited us to provide a commentary on good p... Read More about Towards good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher.

‘Sunshine’, ‘angels’ and ‘rainbows’: Language developed by mothers bereaved by perinatal loss (2022)
Journal Article

Background A perinatal loss is a life-changing event that can have psychological consequences for a mother both after the loss and in a subsequent pregnancy. Aims This qualitative study aimed to examine mothers' lived experiences of the holistic jour... Read More about ‘Sunshine’, ‘angels’ and ‘rainbows’: Language developed by mothers bereaved by perinatal loss.

The impact of masculine ideologies on heterosexual men’s experiences of intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration (2022)
Journal Article

The subject of female-perpetuated intimate partner violence (IPV) against men remains poorly understood and in need of further research. Exploration of societal expectations surrounding masculinity and male victimization may enhance understanding of... Read More about The impact of masculine ideologies on heterosexual men’s experiences of intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration.

Everything changes… well some things do: Reflections on, and resources for, reflexive thematic analysis (2022)
Journal Article

In this short piece, we respond to an invite from QMiP Bulletin to signpost the resources we have created for learning about and doing (and teaching and supervising) TA; we also briefly signal some the things that have changed in our thinking. Our ne... Read More about Everything changes… well some things do: Reflections on, and resources for, reflexive thematic analysis.

Qualitative story completion for counseling psychology research: A creative method to interrogate dominant discourses (2021)
Journal Article

Qualitative story completion (SC) research involves the novel qualitative application of a technique previously used in quantitative research and clinical assessment, in which participants write stories in response to a story “stem” designed by the r... Read More about Qualitative story completion for counseling psychology research: A creative method to interrogate dominant discourses.

‘Thematic analysis has travelled to places that we’ve never heard of’: Astrid Coxon meets Victoria Clarke and Virginia Braun, to hear about using thematic analysis (2021)
Journal Article

Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke first wrote about thematic analysis – a technique for analysing qualitative data – in 2006, in a paper entitled Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Thematic analysis focuses on exploring patterning and meaning in... Read More about ‘Thematic analysis has travelled to places that we’ve never heard of’: Astrid Coxon meets Victoria Clarke and Virginia Braun, to hear about using thematic analysis.

"Surprisingly helpful": An exploration of trainee and registered music therapists' perspectives on the current role of personal therapy in music therapy training in the United Kingdom (2021)
Journal Article

Music therapy training programmes in the United Kingdom are accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC requires registered music therapists to have experience and understanding of the value of therapy for developing insigh... Read More about "Surprisingly helpful": An exploration of trainee and registered music therapists' perspectives on the current role of personal therapy in music therapy training in the United Kingdom.

Men’s experiences of help-seeking for female-perpetrated intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration (2021)
Journal Article

The subject of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) against men has been one of controversy, with well-rehearsed arguments surrounding both the nature and existence of female-perpetrated abuse against men. The aims of this study were to... Read More about Men’s experiences of help-seeking for female-perpetrated intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration.

“I was just fed up of not being myself”: Coming out experiences of white British divorced and separated gay fathers (2021)
Journal Article

Before the so-called “gayby boom” in the 1990s the most common pathway to parenthood for gay men was heterosexual marriage. Since the 1990s most research on gay parenting has focused on intentional gay fathers–those parenting after coming out as gay–... Read More about “I was just fed up of not being myself”: Coming out experiences of white British divorced and separated gay fathers.

Exploring therapists' and psychology students' constructions of sexual refusal in heterosexual relationships: A qualitative story completion study (2021)
Journal Article

Anxieties about sex and sexual problems are widespread and are often brought to counselling and psychotherapy. Research has found that even practitioners without specialist training often work with sexual difficulties because of the prevalence of suc... Read More about Exploring therapists' and psychology students' constructions of sexual refusal in heterosexual relationships: A qualitative story completion study.

Staying strong: Exploring experiences of managing emotional distress for African Caribbean women living in the UK (2021)
Journal Article

The ‘strong Black woman’ (SBW) is a Western cultural stereotype that depicts African heritage women as strong, self-reliant, independent, yet nurturing and self-sacrificing. US research indicates that this stereotype negatively impacts the emotional... Read More about Staying strong: Exploring experiences of managing emotional distress for African Caribbean women living in the UK.

‘Rarely discussed but always present’: Exploring therapists’ accounts of the relationship between social class, mental health and therapy (2021)
Journal Article

With a few exceptions, the subject of social class has rarely been addressed in counselling and psychotherapy research. This study seeks to contribute to redressing this omission by exploring therapists’ accounts of how social class operates within t... Read More about ‘Rarely discussed but always present’: Exploring therapists’ accounts of the relationship between social class, mental health and therapy.

Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches (2020)
Journal Article

Thematic analysis methods, including the reflexive approach we have developed, are widely used in counselling and psychotherapy research, as are other approaches that seek to develop ‘patterns’ (themes, categories) across cases. Without a thorough gr... Read More about Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches.

To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales (2019)
Journal Article

The concept of data saturation, defined as ‘information redundancy’ or the point at which no new themes or codes ‘emerge’ from data, is widely referenced in thematic analysis (TA) research in sport and exercise, and beyond. Several researchers have s... Read More about To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales.

Being both narrative practitioner and academic researcher: A reflection on what thematic analysis has to offer narratively informed research (2019)
Journal Article

What opportunities are there for narrative practitioners to engage in academic research whilst retaining an alignment with poststructuralist ideas, feminist commitments and narrative practice principles? This paper considers Virginia Braun and Victor... Read More about Being both narrative practitioner and academic researcher: A reflection on what thematic analysis has to offer narratively informed research.

Exploring attachment incoherence in bereaved families’ therapy narratives: An attachment theory-informed thematic analysis (2019)
Journal Article

Attachment theory predicts that family bereavement leads even securely attached individuals to experience temporary attachment insecurity. This paper explores how incoherence, a narrative marker of attachment insecurity, is displayed in the talk of f... Read More about Exploring attachment incoherence in bereaved families’ therapy narratives: An attachment theory-informed thematic analysis.

Breaking gendered boundaries? Exploring constructions of counter-normative body hair practices in Āotearoa/New Zealand using story completion (2018)
Journal Article

© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Do women with body hair continue to evoke disgust? Are men without body hair read only as athletes and/or gay? To explore contemporary sense-making practices around apparently counter-normative gendered b... Read More about Breaking gendered boundaries? Exploring constructions of counter-normative body hair practices in Āotearoa/New Zealand using story completion.

How can a heterosexual man remove his body hair and retain his masculinity? Mapping stories of male body hair depilation (2018)
Journal Article

© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This study explores the gendered body hair removal norm and the meanings of male body hair by examining young people’s sense-making around male body hair removal. The novel technique of story completion w... Read More about How can a heterosexual man remove his body hair and retain his masculinity? Mapping stories of male body hair depilation.

Therapists’ and non-therapists’ constructions of heterosex: A qualitative story completion study (2018)
Journal Article

© 2018 The British Psychological Society Objectives: Little research has examined the discourses that shape therapists’ sense-making around heterosex. This paper explores the discourses of sexuality and gender underpinning therapists’ and non-therapi... Read More about Therapists’ and non-therapists’ constructions of heterosex: A qualitative story completion study.

Receiving, or ‘adopting’, donated embryos to have children: Parents narrate and draw kinship boundaries (2018)
Journal Article

Existing research suggests that embryo donation (ED) may be seen as similar to adoption by those who donate or receive embryos, or it may not. Our qualitative study explored whether having a child via embryo donation initiated kinship connections bet... Read More about Receiving, or ‘adopting’, donated embryos to have children: Parents narrate and draw kinship boundaries.

“Some university lecturers wear gay pride t-shirts. Get over it!”: Denials of homophobia and the reproduction of heteronormativity in responses to a gay-themed t-shirt (2018)
Journal Article

© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This article explores an incident involving a gay pride T-shirt, printed with the slogan “Some people are gay. Get over it!,” that I wore during a university lecture, and students’ predominantly negative... Read More about “Some university lecturers wear gay pride t-shirts. Get over it!”: Denials of homophobia and the reproduction of heteronormativity in responses to a gay-themed t-shirt.

An exploration of bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women's body dissatisfaction, and body hair and make-up practices (2017)
Journal Article

Body image pressures for heterosexual women are well established. However, lesbian body image is less well understood, while bisexual women have largely been overlooked with the psychological literature. Further, women's investment in ‘traditional’ a... Read More about An exploration of bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women's body dissatisfaction, and body hair and make-up practices.

Reflecting on qualitative research, feminist methodologies and feminist psychology: In conversation with Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke (2017)
Journal Article

Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke met as PhD students at Loughborough University where their research was supervised by pioneering feminist psychologists Professors Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger. They began writing collaboratively about qualitat... Read More about Reflecting on qualitative research, feminist methodologies and feminist psychology: In conversation with Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke.

(Mis)conceptualising themes, thematic analysis, and other problems with Fugard and Potts’ (2015) sample-size tool for thematic analysis (2016)
Journal Article

One of us (VC) was having a conversation with a student recently about the origins and history of thematic analysis (TA). The student had read Qualitative Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy (McLeod, 2011), a text which presents TA as a variant... Read More about (Mis)conceptualising themes, thematic analysis, and other problems with Fugard and Potts’ (2015) sample-size tool for thematic analysis.

New frontiers of family - Naomi Moller and Victoria Clarke explore embryo donation and voluntary childlessness, ahead of their Society seminar series (2016)
Journal Article

March sees the first of four seminars on ‘New Frontiers of Family’, a British Psychological Society sponsored series that aims to examine the psychological implications of emerging forms of family in the UK – those beyond genetic relatedness, and tho... Read More about New frontiers of family - Naomi Moller and Victoria Clarke explore embryo donation and voluntary childlessness, ahead of their Society seminar series.

'Eating disorders are not about food, they're about life': Client perspectives on anorexia nervosa treatment (2015)
Journal Article

© SAGE Publications. Poor success rates and high levels of dropout are common features in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Using semi-structured interviews, this study elicited the views of 12 women who were recovered, or in recovery, for anorexia... Read More about 'Eating disorders are not about food, they're about life': Client perspectives on anorexia nervosa treatment.

Thou shalt not covet another man? Exploring constructions of same-sex and different-sex infidelity using story completion (2015)
Journal Article

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This study explores conceptualisations of same- versus different-sex infidelity in the context of a heterosexual marriage using story completion. A convenience sample of 57 female and male participants completed one o... Read More about Thou shalt not covet another man? Exploring constructions of same-sex and different-sex infidelity using story completion.

An Examination of the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image: Does Women’s Sexual Identity Make a Difference? (2014)
Journal Article

© 2014, © The Author(s) 2014. According to the tripartite influence model of body image, appearance pressures from family, friends, partners, and the media lead to body dissatisfaction and restrained eating behaviours. There is strong support for thi... Read More about An Examination of the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image: Does Women’s Sexual Identity Make a Difference?.

A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are 'protected' from sociocultural pressure to be thin (2014)
Journal Article

Heterosexual women in Western cultures are known to experience body image concerns, dieting and disordered eating as a result of intense social pressures to be thin. However, it is theorised that lesbian and bisexual women belong to a subculture that... Read More about A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are 'protected' from sociocultural pressure to be thin.

Resisting and conforming to the 'Lesbian Look': The importance of appearance norms for lesbian and bisexual women (2014)
Journal Article

Appearance is one way in which lesbian and bisexual identities and affiliation to lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) subculture can be demonstrated. 'Butch' and 'androgynous' styles have been used by lesbian women to communicate a non-heterosexual identity... Read More about Resisting and conforming to the 'Lesbian Look': The importance of appearance norms for lesbian and bisexual women.

Bisexual women's understandings of social marginalisation: 'The heterosexuals don't understand US but nor do the lesbians' (2014)
Journal Article

Drawing on interviews with 20 self-identified bisexual women, this paper contributes to the limited psychological literature on bisexual women by exploring their experiences of social marginalisation. These (mainly white and middle class) British bis... Read More about Bisexual women's understandings of social marginalisation: 'The heterosexuals don't understand US but nor do the lesbians'.

"If I See Somebody. I'll Immediately Scope Them Out": Anorexia Nervosa Clients' Perceptions of Their Therapists' Body (2013)
Journal Article

Although people with eating disorders are known to observe and assess body related stimuli, research has yet to explore these behaviors in the therapy room. Consequently, practitioners do not know if their bodies are having an impact on their clients... Read More about "If I See Somebody. I'll Immediately Scope Them Out": Anorexia Nervosa Clients' Perceptions of Their Therapists' Body.

'I am who I am'? Navigating norms and the importance of authenticity in lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of their appearance practices (2013)
Journal Article

This article explores how lesbian and bisexual women negotiate pressures to look like an authentic lesbian and an authentic individual in their accounts of their clothing and appearance practices. Thirty women responded to a 'paper-and-pen' qualitati... Read More about 'I am who I am'? Navigating norms and the importance of authenticity in lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of their appearance practices.

Special issue: Special feature: Inside/out: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans appearance and embodiment (2013)
Journal Article

The three papers in this special feature all make important contributions to the psychology of LGB appearance and embodiment and extend and develop the existing literature in exciting ways. First, Caroline Huxley contributes to the literature on sexu... Read More about Special issue: Special feature: Inside/out: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans appearance and embodiment.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans appearance and embodiment: A critical review of the psychological literature (2012)
Journal Article

This paper provides a review of the psychological literature on LGBT appearance and embodiment. Research on ‘outsider’ perceptions of LGBT appearance and embodiment has focused on the links between perceptions of physical attractiveness and homosexua... Read More about Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans appearance and embodiment: A critical review of the psychological literature.

"I'd be just as happy with a cup of tea": Women's accounts of sex and affection in long-term heterosexual relationships (2012)
Journal Article

This article reports a feminist analysis of interview data with 10 British women, in which they discuss sex and affection in their heterosexual relationships. We explore the popular cultural notion that women lack sexual desire and are more concerned... Read More about "I'd be just as happy with a cup of tea": Women's accounts of sex and affection in long-term heterosexual relationships.

Money management and views of civil partnership in same-sex couples: results from a UK survey of non-heterosexuals (2011)
Journal Article

Recent legislation in the UK has extended many of the legal and financial rights and responsibilities of heterosexual marriage to same-sex couples who register their partnerships. Prior to the Civil Partnership Act (2004) however, little was known ab... Read More about Money management and views of civil partnership in same-sex couples: results from a UK survey of non-heterosexuals.

"it's a comparison thing, isn't it?": Lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of how partner relationships shape their feelings about their body and appearance (2011)
Journal Article

Women's feelings about their body and their appearance are an important aspect of their lives, yet little is known about the ways in which partner relationships shape these feelings.There has been some debate about whether or not same-sex relationshi... Read More about "it's a comparison thing, isn't it?": Lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of how partner relationships shape their feelings about their body and appearance.

Editors' introduction: Is the personal pedagogical? Sexualities and genders in the higher education classroom (2009)
Journal Article

One area of self-disclosure particularly pertinent to teaching feminist psychology, women’s studies and other university subjects linked to gender and sexuality
relates to sexual and gender identities and practices. Most discussions have centred on... Read More about Editors' introduction: Is the personal pedagogical? Sexualities and genders in the higher education classroom.

From outsiders to motherhood to reinventing the family: Constructions of lesbian parenting in the psychological literature - 1886-2006 (2008)
Journal Article

This article provides a feminist critical psychological analysis of the psychological literature on lesbian parenting. Rather than offer an overview of the findings and methods and an evaluation of the scientific merit of the literature, the aim of t... Read More about From outsiders to motherhood to reinventing the family: Constructions of lesbian parenting in the psychological literature - 1886-2006.

Review of Jeffrey P. Dennis, Queering teen culture: All American boys and same-sex desire in film and television (2008)
Journal Article

In Queering Teen Culture, Jeffery Dennis displays an encyclopaedic knowledge of US television shows and films that foreground teenage characters. Focusing on representations of teenage boys, Dennis aims to ‘queer’ US teen culture. Citing Foucault and... Read More about Review of Jeffrey P. Dennis, Queering teen culture: All American boys and same-sex desire in film and television.

Men not included? A critical psychology analysis of lesbian families and male influence in child rearing (2007)
Journal Article

This paper explores debates about male presence and influence in lesbian families from a critical psychology standpoint. Critical psychology encompasses a variety of radical approaches to psychological research that reject traditional psychological a... Read More about Men not included? A critical psychology analysis of lesbian families and male influence in child rearing.

LGBT psychosocial theory and practice in the UK: A review of key contributions and current developments (2007)
Journal Article

This paper outlines the recent history of LGBT psychology and psychotherapy in the United Kingdom, focusing on key publications, and the current terrain, highlighting similarities and differences between the UK and the US contexts. The paper is divid... Read More about LGBT psychosocial theory and practice in the UK: A review of key contributions and current developments.

Slippery slopes and the queer parenting Armageddon: normalising and radical responses to arguments about the importance of maternal and paternal influences in childrearing (2007)
Journal Article

In this commentary, I respond to Sir Mark Potter’s assertions about the importance of marriage as an institution and of maternal and paternal influences in childrearing. These are well-worn justifications for the denial of lesbian and gay rights, par... Read More about Slippery slopes and the queer parenting Armageddon: normalising and radical responses to arguments about the importance of maternal and paternal influences in childrearing.

‘Gay men, gay men and more gay men’: traditional, liberal and critical perspectives on male role models in lesbian families (2006)
Journal Article

The argument that children require role models of both sexes is a central theme in opposition to lesbian parenting. Challenges to this opposition have emphasised the ways in which children in lesbian families are compensated for the alleged deficit o... Read More about ‘Gay men, gay men and more gay men’: traditional, liberal and critical perspectives on male role models in lesbian families.

Just a piece of paper? A qualitative exploration of same-sex couples’ multiple conceptions of civil partnership and marriage (2006)
Journal Article

This paper explores 22 same-sex couples’ views on civil partnership and marriage. The data are drawn
from the qualitative phase of a larger study of money management and relational practices in same-sex
relationships. Twenty-seven participants indi... Read More about Just a piece of paper? A qualitative exploration of same-sex couples’ multiple conceptions of civil partnership and marriage.

'We're not living on planet lesbian': Constructions of male role models in debates about lesbian families (2005)
Journal Article

The notion that children (especially boys) need male role models has been used in the past to attack lesbian parents in custody cases, and more recently in debates about donor insemination, adoption and fostering. We are interested in how lesbian par... Read More about 'We're not living on planet lesbian': Constructions of male role models in debates about lesbian families.

'Marriage' Special Issues (2003)
Journal Article

This is the first of two special issues of Feminism & Psychology focusing on marriage. Significant portions of the special issues are two special features (edited by Sara-Jane Finlay and Victoria Clarke) that consider the personal and political exper... Read More about 'Marriage' Special Issues.

‘Stereotype, Attack and Stigmatize those Who Disagree’: Employing Scientific Rhetoric in Debates about Lesbian and Gay Parenting (2000)
Journal Article

In this paper, I explore the controversy surrounding lesbian and gay parenting within psychology, focusing on the rhetoric with which ‘authoritative’ accounts of lesbian and gay parenting are produced. Both ‘advocates’ and ‘enemies’ of lesbian and ga... Read More about ‘Stereotype, Attack and Stigmatize those Who Disagree’: Employing Scientific Rhetoric in Debates about Lesbian and Gay Parenting.