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Acknowledgements
I feel very honoured when I think of all the people who have contributed to this thesis in
different ways.
I want first to acknowledge my fellow participants in the study, both the students and
particularly my colleague Judi Blumenfeld Hoadley, as well as my colleagues at
Auckland Family Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre Incorporated, for their
willingness to enable me to undertake this research. I thank all of them for their
generosity, and would like to add that any comment or judgement should be applied
solely to my own work, for I have put theirs out of context and it is not available for
evaluation.
I would like to express my deep appreciation to my supervisor Steve Appel, who
became involved in this work shortly after me. Without Steve’s wisdom, inspiration,
patience and encouragement I doubt that I would have completed the project. Jo Walton
was my second supervisor for nearly four years, and her unique combination of wisdom,
experience, enthusiasm and challenge was also a major contribution.
I am grateful to all my colleagues and friends who have read drafts and listened to me at
various times, particularly Marion Jones and Mark Thorpe who both read a complete
draft. I also want to thank Marion Jones and her colleagues in the Faculty of Health and
Environmental Sciences at AUT for financial support with fees and for their patience
and encouragement.
Finally, I owe a great debt to my family, Mary and Josh, for tolerating the absence of
my person and my energy for so long. Mary was also my best reader. I dedicate the
thesis to them, and also to my mother and father, with the wish that they had been here
to be part of it.
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