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60 seconds with Tara Shea

Posted by Alenka Daniel

Name: Tara Shea

Professional Role: Hospital Play Specialist Team Leader

Study Title: Exploring trauma experiences in children with chronic constipation and faecal incontinence.

University: Queen Mary University London

Programme:PhD

Funder: Barts Charity

What drew you to research?

I have always been interested in the ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions.  Why do we do things the way we do, and how do we know to do them. I have always seen research as a way of answering these questions. Research has supported me throughout both my academic and clinical career. I advocate for evidence based practice for my team and rely on research to provide a foundation is to our work, and helping support the best outcomes for our patients. I have am passionate about my field and wanting to develop it further. I feel that one the limitations is due to the lack of strong research and evidence base. I believe that research will help to further support this area of work, and hopefully pave the way for future Hospital Play Specialist to be more involved in research and complete PhD’s. 

What impact do you hope your research will have?

My specific research is exploring trauma experience of children with chronic constipation and faecal incontinence. I hope the research will directly impact the children and families suffering. This area has not been researched within this patient group and hope that this will help to shape and change treatment outcomes and hospital related experiences.

What advice would you give to someone considering undertaking this programme?

I am just about to start so don’t have any advice for the programme…but looking for some!

What are your future plans?

Complete the PhD and start a career within clinical academia.

Comments

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  1. Antonia Payne-Cheney Friday, 24 December 2021 at 05:01 AM

    Interesting topic. I somewhat agree, however children think of and took at play therapists/specialists as non medical ‘safe’ and comforting people and usually (bar 1) play specialists that I have dealt withIn My life have been one of the only normal and non clinical professional that is there helping you through a very abnormal and scary time.
    I worry that making the idea of play ‘clinical’ could have a seriously harmful effect on patients and their parents. Have you looked at the possibility of breeding the perfect place for children to become physically fearful of play, to take it a step further- PTSD induced by negative experiences of ‘clinical play’.
    I feel that when children are ill, it becomes a great opportunity to look at them as a body, or number, basically a Guinea pig.
    Children are children and all of them should have the right to play without someone looking over their shoulder and analysing what is going on.
    Previous dealings with professionals in play have been demeaning and as an adult it’s easy to reflect.
    The team leader degraded their junior staff, and children naturally then gravitated to the most powerful person because that is of course instinctual, when actually the person better at the job and would’ve helped the child significantly more was cast away. These are the issues you have when you bring adults into play which is something pretty unique to children, and they climicalise it, taking away all the natural actions and realisms of play as a whole.
    This is a very tangled web.
    My advice, and previous patient advice is if you want to be a psychologist or psychiatrist do that. Allow children to play, leave it alone.

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