Jerome Carson

This paper describes the experiences of three psychologists during the Covid-19 lockdown in the UK.
The authors use a collaborative autoethnographic approach.
Not surprisingly life changed dramatically for all three individuals. One experienced extreme poverty for a few months, with subsequent effects on their mental wellbeing. One was completely socially isolated, apart from digital connectivity. The other found she was forced to develop her inner resilience. None of the three experienced posttraumatic stress, and neither did they experience posttraumatic growth. There was evidence of benefit finding, which the researchers refer to as post adversarial appreciation.
So much of the research on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been large quantitative studies. While this qualitative autoethnographic approach features only three individuals, it provides some fascinating insights into how individuals coped during lockdown. Predictions that Covid-19 would lead to a mental health epidemic were not found, however it would be incorrect to say that the individuals’ mental health was unaffected.
These three narratives were all different. This shows even with such a small sample the diversity of responses to the pandemic.
In the UK as elsewhere in the world, researchers have learned much about responses to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. These lessons will hopefully prove helpful when we experience the next pandemic.
These accounts written by three psychologists, are not surprisingly grounded in the wider psychological literature. Covid-19 left no one untouched. The authors encourage the reader to think while these were our experiences, ‘How was it for you?’

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to advise recovery protection, a novel and contrasting conceptual proposition to relapse prevention. Recovery protection advocates that in addiction recovery, instead of people working to a level of preventing what they do not want, they elevate this toward acting to protect what they do. This translates to living an effective recovery lifestyle where ongoing personal growth can continue to make it a more valuable prospect. It is argued that this altered perspective would help promote addiction recovery as a positive and beneficial lifestyle choice, challenging some of the barriers that people with SUD face when accessing professional services. Research limitations: This paper commentates on recovery protection, drawing knowledge from the recovery model as applied to mental health generally and work exploring recovery from SUD as a positive process involving change and life improvement. As a theoretical position, it is in its infancy, requiring greater study to establish it as a valid prospect in drug and alcohol treatment services. Originality/value: Recovery protection is a novel proposition that seeks to align recovery from SUD with the recovery model in mental health generally. It recognizes recovery from SUD as a process of growth and positive change.

Purpose.
The purpose of this work is to analyse 20 individual addiction recovery stories to find evidence for the G-CHIME model (Growth, Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning in life and Empowerment) for analysing addiction recovery. It also shows that addiction recovery is a unique process.
Design/methodology/approach.
This research combines the findings from 20 individual addiction recovery stories, each having been reported separately using the same methodology for the purpose of publication in a book, or as part of a journal series. Patterns seen across the disparate narratives have been codified against the components in the G-CHIME model to produce a larger gestalt of the aggregated findings.
Findings.
Whilst each of the addiction recovery stories is unique, collectively they illustrate that recovery is a process which can be understood through the components of the G-CHIME model.
Originality/value.
This is the first paper to analyse the G-CHIME model by extracting the common features of the model from 20 addiction recovery stories.

Purpose
This paper aims to highlight the arduous journey of becoming a clinical psychologist.

Design/methodology/approach
The two authors provide autoethnographic accounts of their respective journeys to become clinical psychologists.

Findings
A year after graduation, neither author had succeeded in their goal. They talk about the danger of getting stuck in “the doctoral rut”, where the ambition of becoming a clinical psychologist can take over the applicant’s life to the exclusion of other career options.

Research limitations/implications
This is of course only the story of two clinical psychology applicants, yet it will resonate with the thousands of people who apply for clinical psychology training each year. Of the five mental health professions, there are more people wanting to become clinical psychologists. This represents a reservoir of talent wanting to enter the field of mental health.

Practical implications
There needs to be other pathways for psychology graduates who want to work in the mental health field than just clinical psychology but which offer attractive career pathways.

Social implications
Given the stigma attached to people with mental health problems, it is interesting that so many psychologists want to work in this field.

Originality/value
This paper highlights the commitment that many young psychologists have towards working in mental health services. While it reports on the stories of just two individuals, these accounts are typical of many clinical psychology applicants.

Preliminary research suggests that in addition to negative experiences, many individuals experienced positive outcomes connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, most research has studied posttraumatic growth, which can only account for cognitive positive change, which is a limitation. Therefore, this study aimed to explore experiences of benefit-finding, which includes both practical and cognitive positive changes, relating to living through the COVID-19 pandemic in England within a general population sample.
230 participants were recruited via non-randomised convenience sampling. Experiences of benefit-finding were assessed by qualitative self-report via an online questionnaire, distributed as part of a larger mixed methods pandemic study. Results were analysed via inductive content analysis.
Approximately 70% of participants reported perceiving at least one benefit because of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. The most commonly reported perceived benefit was having more time to oneself, followed by having more time with family. Other benefits reported included changes to working and education styles, life slowing down and benefits of nature. Overall, the results presented that many individuals felt that the COVID-19 pandemic presented a greater opportunity to make decisions more in line with personal wants/goals. In this way, the COVID-19 pandemic may have presented a unique opportunity for life-crafting.
This research provides unique evidence of both benefit-finding and life-crafting in the otherwise negative circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Such evidence presents use for understanding factors to support wellbeing in challenging circumstances and for the formulation of potential wellbeing interventions.

Disruption to higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic caused several challenges for university students, as they were forced to adjust to new teaching and learning styles. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted university students' learning experiences and education. This study took a phenomenological methodological approach in an attempt to understand students' experiences from their own perspective. Semi-structured interviews were then carried out with 19 university students from the UK between 9 May 2022 - 26 June 2022. The main themes that emerged through thematic analysis were: (1) A lack of engagement with online learning; (2) Changes in attitudes towards learning; (3) A lack of practical learning opportunities; (4) Changes to academic support; (5) Limited interaction with peers; (6) Implications for health and well-being. This study provides a deeper student-centred understanding of university students' lived experiences with online learning during the pandemic, revealing underexplored contextual, emotional and relational dimensions of online learning. These rich qualitative findings not only enhance current understanding of higher education during the pandemic but can be drawn upon to shape digitised learning moving forward. As we are progressing in an era of increasing digitised learning, these findings contribute towards laying the groundwork for future policy and practice within higher education.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented many potentially traumatic circumstances. Research continues to investigate pandemic-related Post-traumatic Growth (PTG). However, most studies fail to fulfil the parameters of PTG whereby a triggering event must be of seismic intensity and have ceased before PTG can manifest, producing significant validity and reliability issues. The relationships between PTG, trait resilience and fear are also under-researched, particularly in circumstances where the parameters of PTG are met. This study examined the relationship between PTG, COVID-19-related fear and trait resilience. Participants (n = 229) completed an online questionnaire incorporating the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. The sample participants were moderately traumatised with moderate–low PTG (M = 50.85). Participants reported greater levels of PTG compared to participants from pre-COVID studies, notably in relation to the constructs of Relating to Other (d = 0.29), New Possibilities (d = 0.47), Personal Strength (d = 0.39), and Spiritual Change (d = 0.29). Higher levels of resilience (B = 0.48) and COVID-19-related fear (B = 0.16) were associated with greater overall PTG. Younger participants also reported greater levels of PTG (B = −0.29). The findings advance current knowledge regarding the potential relationship between fear and PTG and demonstrate that trait resilience is a promotional factor, presenting opportunity for future intervention formulation. However, reform is required within the PTG literature pool. Future research investigating PTG must reach both parameters. In circumstances where this is impossible, research concerning newfound positive cognition during adverse circumstances should be re-explored as Post-Adversarial Appreciation (PAA) to maintain validity.

Purpose
Global recidivism rates remain high, with re-offending being a common issue. Traditional offender rehabilitation programmes often rely on the risk-need-responsivity model and cognitive behavioural therapy. However, the emergence of positive psychology and strengths-based approaches, such as the good lives model and desistance-based approaches, have started to challenge this dominant model, offering alternatives for reducing re-offending. Despite growing interest, the literature on positive psychology and compassion-based approaches in offender rehabilitation is still limited. This paper aims to explore the existing literature and assess its impact on offender populations.

Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review was conducted, which initially identified 925 articles. After removing duplicates and applying eligibility criteria, 46 articles were included in the final analysis.

Findings
Four key themes emerged: the effects of compassion and positive psychology on emotions and traits, the role of relationships and identity, the connection between compassion and desistance, and the protective role of strengths in personal growth and reducing offending. The review underscores the potential benefits of integrating compassion and positive psychology into offender rehabilitation. However, the existing research is sparse, and further studies, such as randomised controlled trials or longitudinal research, are necessary to establish the long-term effects of these interventions on recidivism. Incorporating these approaches could signal a paradigm shift towards a more holistic, human-centred approach to offender rehabilitation.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review to explore both compassion and positive psychology-based interventions among people who offend.

Aim
The purpose of this paper was to critically evaluate the use of chatbots as an eHealth resource for substance use disorder. It considers their past, present and future use, including the progression of the new wave of generative chatbots.
Findings
This paper finds chatbots for substance use disorder to be an underutilised resource, noting that there are few solutions and that these have limitations. It identifies that, along with limitations with general chatbot design, there are also serious ethical concerns given the vulnerabilities of the target population.
Discussion
How a collaborative design can address some of the limitations is discussed, as well as the restrictions this could pose to leveraging the latest technological advances. The ethical concerns presented in the applied use of both existing and prospective chatbots are explored, and how there is a need to safeguard users in matters of mental health support.