The Power Threat Meaning Framework: interest group for EPs and education professionals
Aims, vision and purpose
The aim of this group is to come together as educational professionals to explore ways in which the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF; Boyle & Johnstone, 2018; 2020) might be applied within education.
The aim of this Special Interest Group is to explore the following questions and ideas:
- How is the PTMF relevant to our roles in supporting children and young people, families and school systems?
- How could the PTMF inform our practice?
- In what ways is the PTMF currently being used, applied, and adapted to support children and young people, families and school systems?
- How could the PTMF be explained in accessible language, from an education perspective?
- What future directions could we envisage?
About the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF)
The original PTMF was a co-produced document with Clinical Psychologists Lucy Johnstone and Mary Boyle as lead authors. The PTMF was offered as a conceptual alternative to more traditional medical models based on psychiatric diagnosis. The PTMF argues for a shift of focus from ‘What is wrong with you?’ to ‘What has happened to you?’ We are curious about how the PTMF might be used to think about educational experiences.
The PTMF offers a perspective on why people sometimes experience distress, confusion, fear, despair, and troubled or troubling behaviour. The PTMF looks at how we make sense of these difficult experiences and it gives us tools to create new hopeful narratives, which we hope to apply to education. Therefore we would like to invite anyone with an interest in education and the wellbeing of children and young people to join this special interest group to see how the PTMF can inform and transform our work.
Group coordinators
- Dr Hayley Prickett
- Dr Joanne Yeoman
- Dr Sarah Sivers
Meet up arrangements
Our next meeting is Tuesday 12th July, 3.15 – 4.45pm
Please find a list of associated resources and materials (below) that you might wish to take the opportunity to review prior to the meeting.
Please email us to receive the Zoom link. The agenda for the meeting will be circulated closer to the date.
Suggested preparation, background and reading materials
- The PTMF section of the BPS website
- The January 2019 issue of Clinical Psychology Forum: focuses on applied uses of the Power Threat Meaning Framework within human services and beyond
- Webinar – Jigsaw
References
Johnstone, L. & Boyle, M. with Cromby, J., Dillon, J., Harper, D., Kinderman, P., Longden, E., Pilgrim, D. & Read, J. (2018). The Power Threat Meaning Framework: Overview. Leicester: British Psychological Society.
Boyle, M., & Johnstone, L. (2020). A Straight Talking Introduction to the Power Threat Meaning Framework: An Alternative to Psychiatric Diagnoses. PCCS Books Limited.
