This thesis explored carers’ experiences of holding compassion in the fostering role. A systematic literature review provided a synthesis of carers’ perceptions and experiences of successful fostering. This identified that successful fostering was conceptualised in different ways by carers, including the emotional bonds they formed with children, and their ability to manage relationships with professional support systems and use informal supports. It also considered how different strengths supported carers’ resilience. The review concluded that future research is needed to examine how these different processes combine in successful fostering.
The empirical paper used thematic analysis to explore carers’ experiences of holding compassion in their role. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten carers and the analysis identified three overarching themes which related to carers experiences of compassion satisfaction, or were perceived to contribute to, and alleviate compassion fatigue. The findings identified the importance of support from professional systems for sustaining carers’ compassion in fostering, and a need for future research to evaluate different models of supporting carers.
The final paper discussed clinical practice implications which were highlighted in the first two papers and considered how specialist clinical psychology input could complement existing services in promoting carers’ capacity for providing compassionate “therapeutic parenting” to traumatised children. The paper ends with the author’s personal reflections about conducting this research.