Dr Sofie Bager-Charleson

BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD

Senior Fellow

Director of Studies

Faculty of Post-Qualification and Professional Doctorates

E-mail: sofie.bager-charleson@metanoia.ac.uk

Telephone: 07906599119

Biography

Dr Sofie Bager-Charleson works as Director of Studies on the MPhil/PhD in Psychotherapy and on the DPsych by Public Works at Metanoia Institute. She chairs the research group Therapists as Research Practitioner (TRP) and is co-founder of the Metanoia Research Academy, held annually for practitioners interested in research. Sofie has published widely in the field of research methodology including academic journals and text-books like Enjoying Research in the field of Therapy (Palgrave 2021, in press) and Practice-based Research in Therapy: A Reflexive Approach (Sage, 2014). She has guest edited journals like the CPR journal around Mixed methods (2021) and ‘Therapists and Knowledge’ (2018, 2019) and the Psychotherapist (2016) journal into ‘Creative Use of Self in Research’. Sofie specialises on research methodology and professional development of psychotherapists. She is UKCP and BACP registered psychotherapist and supervisor, and holds a PhD from Lund University in Sweden, about attachment issues within families and reflective practice amongst teachers.

Fields of special interest:

•        Research methodology. Qualitative and mixed methods research

•        Professional Development in Psychotherapy; Research training, reflexivity, reflective practice and personal development

Current research:

•        Research supervision

•        Psychotherapists and Academic writing

Institute Roles

•  Director of Studies PhD in Psychotherapy

• Director of Studies DPsych by Public Works

• Module Leader and Academic Adviser, DPsych Doctorate in Psychotherapy by Professional Studies

• Metanoia Research Committee, Vice Chair

• Metanoia Ethics Committee, Member

• Metanoia Student and Staff Committee, Member

Published recent research output. Peer reviewed journals, guest edited academic journals and text-books:

Bager-Charleson, S., McBeath, A. & Vostanis, P. (2021 in Press) Guest editors: Special Issue on Mixed Methods. Research, for Counselling and Psychotherapy Research (CPR) October https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/17461405/homepagecallforpapersmixedmethods

Bager-Charleson, S. &  McBeath, A. (2021 in Press) Enjoying doing Research in Counselling Psychotherapy. Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed methods Research. London: Palgrave-MacMillan

Bager-Charleson, S. (2020) Reflective Practice and Personal Development in Counselling and Psychotherapy. 2nd ed. London: Sage

Bager-Charleson, S., du Plock, S., McBeath, A.G. (2020) Therapists as Research Practitioners. Transitions through the lenses of Access, Identity and Opportunity. European Journal Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy. EJQRP (2020) Vol. 10, 93-109 Spring issue

Bager Charleson S. (2019) “She was on my side, and grounded me when I needed it:” Research supervision in the field of therapy, based on counsellors’ and psychotherapists’ views on their engagement with research. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. 2019;19:358–365. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12258

Bager-Charleson, Du Plock & McBeath (2019, September and October) Guest editors: What core knowledge is needed to be a therapist? Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Journal (CPR) Volume19, Issue3. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/capr.12246 . The special issues include collaboration with Helge Ronnestad, Orlinsky & Skovholt and Carla Willig a range of other contributors.

Bager-Charleson, S., McBeath, A., du Plock, S. (2018) “The Relationship Between Psychotherapy Practice and Research: A Mixed-Method Exploration of Practitioners”, CPR Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal Winter 2018: 1-11  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/capr.12196

Bager-Charleson, S., du Plock, S., McBeath, A (2018) “Therapists have a lot to add to the field of research, but many don’t make it there”. A narrative thematic inquiry into counsellors’ and psychotherapists’ embodied engagement with research. Journal for Language and Psychoanalysis, (7) 2018, http://www.language-and-psychoanalysis.com/article/view/2603

Bager-Charleson, S., Dewaele, J., Costa, B. & Kasap, Z. A Multilingual Outlook: Can Awareness-Raising about Multilingualism Affect Therapists’ Practice? A Mixed-Method Evaluation. Language and Psychoanalysis, 2017, 6 (2), 56-75 http://www.language-and-psychoanalysis.com/article/view/1900

Bager-Charleson & Kasap, Z. (2017a) Embodied Situatedness and Emotional Entanglement in Research. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, Volume 17, Issue 3, pp 190–200, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/capr.12122/full

Bager-Charleson, S. (2017) Countertransference in Reflective Practice. An integrative approach to monitor self-awareness in clinical practice. In Valerio, P. (ed) Introduction to Countertransference in Therapeutic Practice: A Myriad of Mirrors. London: Routledge pp. 145-167

Bager-Charleson, S. (2017) Countertransference in Research: An intersubjective reflexive approach. In Valerio, P. (ed) Introduction to Countertransference in Therapeutic Practice: A Myriad of Mirrors. Londo.  pp. 167-185

Bager-Charleson, S (ed) (2016) Guest editor for a spring issue of the Psychotherapist Journal: Creative and Effective use of self in research. Issue 62:16. UKCP: The Psychotherapist https://issuu.com/ukcp-publications/docs/the_psychotherapist_spring_web

Bager-Charleson, S. (2015) Reflective Practice, Sage Video http://sk.sagepub.com/video/reflective-practice

Bager-Charleson, S. (2015) Relational reflexivity in therapy-based research’, in Goss, S. and Stevens, C. Making Research Matter. London: Routledge

McBeath, A., Bager-Charleson, S., and Avigail Abarbanel (2019) Therapists and Academic Writing: “Once upon a time psychotherapy practitioners and researchers were the same people”. European Journal Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy, Volume 9, 103-116. Vol. 9, 103-116

Priest, A. Hollins-Martin, C., Bager-Charleson, S, (2015) Exploring clients’ responses to changing pronoun use from second person (you) to first person (I) during therapy: a constructivist qualitative approach. Counselling Psychotherapy Research Journal

Earlier public output:

Bager-Charleson, S. (2014) Practice-based research in therapy – a reflexive approach. London: Sage

Bager-Charleson, S. (2012) Personal Development in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Exeter: Learning Matters

Bager-Charleson & Van Rijn, B (2011). Assessment in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Exeter: Learning Matters

Bager-Charleson, S. (2010) Why Therapists choose to be therapists. London: Karnac

Bager-Charleson S. (2010) Reflective Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Exeter: Learning Matters

Bager-Charleson, S. (2003). The Parent’s school? Narrative research about parental involvement in education. Lund: Student literature

Recent Conference Presentation

July 2020 Seminar speaker: Therapists as Research Practitioners. Transitions through the lenses of lenses of Access, Identity and Opportunity. UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) http://www.ukcge.ac.uk/events/ac2020-155.aspx

March 2019 Seminar speaker, Professional Knowledge Seminar: Academic Writing

March 2019 Seminar speaker, Metanoia Research Academy; Research Methodology

March 2018. Keynote speaker, Metanoia research Academy. Therapists and Research – and Ambivalent Relationship?

21-22 March 2018. Metanoia Institute. Keynote speaker (and organiser) at Metanoia Research Academy. http://www.metanoia.ac.uk/research/research-academy/

13 June 2016. Birkbeck University of London. Research Presentation: ‘Can Awareness-raising About Multilingualism Affect Therapists’ Practice? A Mixed-method Evaluation’, by Bager-Charleson & Costa. Bloomsbury round table on communication. Cognition and culture; multilingualism, multiculturalism and emotion.

14 June 2016. Birkbeck University of London. ‘Reflexivity in Research’, by Bager-Charleson. Bloomsbury round table on communication. Cognition and culture; multilingualism, multiculturalism and emotion.

8 July 2016. International Association for Counselling IAC conference, Malta University. Research Presentation “Research training for counsellors and psychotherapists - an international exploration" by Professor Wright and Dr Bager-Charleson.

30 March 2017. Metanoia Research Seminar. Research Presentation: ‘Can Awareness-raising About Multilingualism Affect Therapists’ Practice? A Mixed-method Evaluation’, by Bager-Charleson & Costa. Metanoia Institute, London

5-7 June 2017. ‘Emotionally Attuned Research. Hands-on seminars for therapists to enhance practice through research’. Organiser and presenter. http://www.metanoia.ac.uk/research-publications/research/research-academy/research-approaches/research-academy-2017-day-1/