Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Distinguished Master of Science

Not even sure if that is a real title but it has a certain ring to it.  Results are in and I got a distinction for both my dissertation and the overall Masters...yipeeeee!

Working on publishing as a summary article in an international journal.

After that I am going to work on my PHd proposal.

'who dares wins...'

Friday, October 15, 2010

Time Travel...

Can't believe that I haven't posted since March 2010...time also flys when one isn't having fun.  After hitting about 7 'walls' along the way I finally completed and submitted my dissertation. What a journery...

Results out in November...

'Long is the road from conception to completion...'

Friday, March 19, 2010

Ethics...

So since the birth of my second son, the madness that is Christmas, and all that jazz I have been completing the construction of the questionnaire; testing and transposing onto surveymonkey.com.

Surveymonkey is an amazing piece of kit, seems so simple to begin with but actually has many layers of potential research depth and analyses. I particularly like the way you can rigorously test it and or create different capture points for the sample.

I have now submitted my application to the ethics committee. Now I am awaiting approval to a ‘low risk’ study.

In the meantime I am trying to finalise the mind blogging/bogging literature search before attempting the literature review write up in earnest.

‘Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.’
Jane Addams

Friday, October 30, 2009

Scores on the doors

Completed the last taught module and the scores on the doors are looking pretty good. A distinction is achievable if I can crack the dissertation. Feels as though as I am at the bottom of a mountain looking up. A period of fairly unstructured (externally) self motivated commitment is required.

Proposal accepted and currently working on quite a complex literature review.

‘Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.’

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Is there anybody out there..?

Hard to believe I am currently half way through my last taught module – conflict management?! Still haven’t had the final results in from the other modules but believe all is well.

Have requested some feedback on my dissertation idea on integrated psychotherapy but may need to scream in order to get a response. One main complaint of an otherwise exceptionally worthwhile learning experience...some of the faculty seem overstretched which means response time can be frustratingly lengthy.

Also need to have the dissertation wrapped by September 2009 as I have re-applied to Manchester for the PhD... (check of the PhD Madness Blog)

Total masochist – I know!

‘It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.’ W.Edwards Deming

Friday, January 16, 2009

The Courage to Be...

So the next module has started and what a relief I am only studying one and not two like last semester. The subject is existential and human issues and is 100% my area of interest. Heavy mind bending stuff but I cannot help feeling that it is more relevant than ever.

Due to receive the results from the first two assignments in February so fingers and toes crossed.

Meanwhile Manchester have offered to defer my PhD place until Oct 2009 which keeps that possibility open.

I must say Sheffield is an extremley funky uni.

'Since every day a little of our life is taken from us - since we are dying every day - the final hour when we cease to exist does not of itself bring death, it merely completes the death process. The horrors connected with it are a matter of imagination. They vanish when the mask is taken from the image of death.' Paul Tillich

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

First Semester Completed..!

Incredibly I have finished 2 modules bar submitting the assignments. The course thus far has been extremely intense a rather unexpected twist. The online learning environment demands focus, discipline and highly effective communicate in order to avoid ambiguity and unnecessary conflict with fellow students.

Digby Tantam who wrote much of the material has some very interesting takes on a lot of areas of psychotherapy. My views and beliefs have been stretched quite beyond where I thought I could go. I have discovered a whole new language to describe some psychoanalytical concepts or at least what they may be pointing to.

The focus on the concept of Subject Well-Being (SWB) and Positive psychology has been enlightening and has given me a renewed enthusiasm for the contribution longer-term psychotherapy can make to society.

I now have two 3k assignments to submit by January and it is not without challenge due to the vastness of the material that we covered over the 10 weeks.

In the words of Master Yoda: ‘do or do not, there is no try’.