Meaning Coconstruction in Group Counseling: The Development of Innovative Moments

Abstract

This study discusses a model of group counseling, the narrative mediation path (NMP), which is a unique narrative, multimodal approach that combines four narrative modes (metaphoric, iconographic, writing, and bodily) and the narrative group. The purpose of the NMP is to foster reflexive processes with underachieving university students and to improve their academic performance. The study analyzes a single case of group counseling for seven underachieving economics students at an Italian university and the process of meaning construction among NMP narrative modes and the follow-up session. It applies the innovative moments coding system, a reliable method for studying change by tracking narrative innovations in sessions. More specifically, we focus on how innovative moments (IMs: action, reflection, protest, and reconceptualization) evolve during the four different narrative modes and the follow-up session. The findings suggest that the NMP fosters narrative innovations, mainly of a reflexive nature (reflection and reconceptualization). Moreover, during counseling and the follow-up session, the pattern of change is primarily characterized by reconceptualization IMs, the most complex form of narrative innovation

Studying psychotherapy change in narrative terms: The innovative moments method

“…There have been some efforts to establish an IM coding for groups (e.g. Esposito, Ribeiro, Alves, Gonçalves, & Freda, ) which are setting a new ground for a coding manual for groups. Likewise, replication efforts are being made with bigger samples and different therapeutic models such as Barlow's UP (ongoing study) and psychodynamic therapy (Nasim et al, ).…”

Mirroring in Group Counseling: Analyzing Narrative Innovations

“…Previous outcome measures (Esposito, Ribeiro, et al, 2016) suggested that the group was effective in improving students’ academic performance, as there was a significant increase in the ECTS ( Z = −2.201, p = .028) and the number of examinations passed ( Z = −2.214, p = .027) one year after the counseling concluded.…”

Italian Community Psychology in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Shared Feelings and Thoughts in the Storytelling of University Students

“…The aim was to investigate young people's experience because they are the most fragile group due to their difficulty staying home and apart from their peers and because they are, at the same time, the most potentially dangerous people due to their urge to gather in groups. Therefore, storytelling was used as a tool to collect their stories and to probe their meaning and symbolization, developing their reflectivity (Esposito et al, 2017 ; Salvatore et al, 2018 ). In fact, in our case, in line with the mission of community psychology to give voice to young people, among the most affected people by the pandemic's social implications, we asked our students to freely express their thoughts and emotions related to their lockdown experience.…”