How does it make you feel? Understanding the affordances of the Many Minds psycho-social analytic model in child protection research

Recently there has been a growing interest in psychosocial research methods based on psychoanalytically-informed clinical practice. This paper reports on the introduction of the Many Minds approach, a research method for analysing research data, to a group of Norwegian academics. Following an account of the historical and theoretical roots of Many Minds, we explore how the research ‘data’, or research ‘story’ as we refer to the material presented, was selected and analysed. We reflect on three particular responses to the story: our curiosity about the choice of story and its significance; the embodied nature of the Many Minds space; our attention to each other in the storytelling process. In conceptualising these responses, we suggest that the approach: encourages inter-subjective authenticity and trust; values embodied responses as counter-transferential knowledge; promotes inter-connected and polyvocal ethical research. We conclude by highlighting the contribution that psycho-social methods make to humane and ethical research practice.