Accomplishments in Social Constructionist Counseling: Micro-analytic and Retrospective Analyses

Abstract

Social constructionist interventions in counseling have seldom been evaluated using theoretically compatible research methods. In this exploratory study, 11 clients participated in 1-hour lifestyle consultations conducted by narrative, solution-focused collaborative language systems counselors. The interventions (co-constructing shared understandings, inviting reflections, and introducing new discourses) were primarily evaluated using conversation analysis. Clients and counselors were also asked to retrospectively comment on their experience in videotaped passages where they had been participants. An example of each analyzed intervention, along with corresponding client and counselor commentary, is presented. The results are discussed in relation to training and supervision in social constructionist approaches to counseling, and for contributions this approach to research can make in widening the evidence base for counseling interventions.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Don Zeman and the University of Calgary for funding this research.

Special thanks to Don Zeman, Shari Couture and Mirjam Knapik and to the University of Calgary for funding this study.

Notes

Kagan, N. 1975: Interpersonal process recall: a method for influencing human interaction. Unpublished manuscript.