ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. This book is divided into three parts, though the reader will find that, as is to be expected in a field like this, these divisions are somewhat artificial given the unity of theory, practice, and experience. In Part I, some of the epistemological and ontological questions which are raised in psycho-social research, whether this be from explicitly psychoanalytic or non-psychoanalytic approaches, are explored. In Part II, a series of psycho-social interventions are described. The final section presents a series of theoretically informed reflections on the vicissitudes of being a psycho-social researcher and the way in which examination of this process can lead to academically rigorous theory as well as a re-thinking of “third spaces” in the research journey.
