Example psychotherapy dissertation topic 3:

A defence of the boarding school: A survey of so-called ‘boarding school syndrome’.

Joy Schaverien has written a number of articles that dispute the validity of the British tradition of boarding school, describing it as a peculiar form of ‘child abuse and social control’ (2004, p. 683). This dissertation mounts a spirited defence of the boarding school, undertaking primary research with eighty former boarding school pupils, who commenced boarding at ages ranging from six to thirteen, and who are now aged between eighty and eighteen, as well as six boarding school housemasters and mistresses. The respondents will have varying experiences of boarding school and differing opinions on the lasting damage that the system caused; further, group psychotherapy sessions will explore their feelings to ascertain a greater understanding.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Schaverien, J. (2004). ‘Boarding school: The trauma of the ‘privileged’ child’. Journal of Analytical Psychology, vol. 49(5), pp. 683-705.
• Schaverien, J. (2011). ‘Boarding school syndrome: Broken attachments, a hidden trauma’. British Journal of Psychotherapy, vol. 27(2), pp. 138-155.
• van der Westhuizen, P.C., Oosthuizen, I. and Wolhuter, C.C. (2008). ‘The relationship between an effective organizational culture and student discipline in a boarding school’. Education and Urban Society, vol. 40(2), pp. 205-224.