narrative‐based career counseling perspectives in times of change: an analysis of strengths and limitations

Abstract

There is an ongoing movement in the career development counseling field that focuses on narrative-based approaches. The purposes of this article are to analyze the factors that led to a turn to narrative career counseling, to examine the strengths of narrative, and to outline potential limitations. The literature review examined scholarly work in the career development field. Contributions from other disciplines (e.g., medicine) were integrated to provide complementary perspectives. The author contends that there is an appropriate place for narrative in career and employment counseling. Suggestions for addressing limitations and applications for career and employment counselors are highlighted.Personal stories identify and shape individuals. Stories inform life; they hold people together and keep them apart (Mair, 1988, p. 127). Career and employment counselors assume unique positions of privilege as listeners of these stories that are filled with the complexities of clients' human experiences. More specifically, these clients in need bring career-related stories of loss; of transition; of belonging; and of indecision; as well as of hope, creativity, and optimism. Narrative career counseling represents an innovative perspective that has received significant recent attention in the career development literature (Amundson, 2006;Brott, 2005;Bujold, 2004;McMahon & Watson, 2008, 2009). Yet, the narrative career counseling perspective can still be considered a work in progress (Reid, 2006). What are the strengths of using narrative-based counseling approaches, and why might career development practitioners opt to integrate these strategies into their practice? What might be the potential limitations of narrative-based perspectives, and how might practitioners address these issues?The purpose of this article was threefold: (a) to briefly explore the trends that led to a shift in the interest in narrative-based approaches; (b) to outline the potential strengths and limitations of narrative-based career and employment counseling perspectives; and (c) to discuss practical applications and strategies for career and employment counselors, including possible avenues for addressing the obstacles of using a narrative-based perspective. Although the merits of narrative counseling have been highlighted in the literature (Brott, 2001;Campbell & Ungar, 2004;Chen, 2002), there is a dearth of articles that extensively examine the potential limitations, as well as the benefits, of using narrative-based approaches. With the current article, it is my intent to fill this gap. The objective is not to dissuade career and employment counselors from incorporating narrative perspectives into their work, but rather to consider the factors involved when deciding to integrate narrative approaches. This article includes an analysis of the literature on narrative approaches and provides concrete suggestions for career practitioners who want to use a narrative approach. Moreover, I contend that there is an appropriate place for

Chaotic careers: a narrative analysis of career transition themes and outcomes using chaos theory as a guiding metaphor

“…Using narrative interviews to understand clients: the narrative approach is useful in itself to understand career plots (here marked by a sense of hope, excitement, passion and fun) and individual's overall experiences, eliciting unplanned and chance events that may not be obvious or salient in a more traditional career discussion. Some helpful and practical ideas for practitioners are provided by Stebleton (2010) including: having clients keep journals; developing authentic listening and facilitation; studying narrative-based literature; and practicing articulating personal life-career stories. provide a fascinating and practical illustration of relating career narratives to the seven basic universal story plots identified by Booker.…”

Examining process constructs of narrative career counselling: an exploratory case study

“…It has been claimed that constructivist approaches are a 'work in progress' (Reid, 2006, p. 38) that have an intrinsic appeal to career counsellors. Strengths of narrative approaches include empowering clients to a greater degree than traditional approaches, deriving meaning from experiences, cultural sensitivity, understanding career planning as ongoing and not as a point in time decision, and an emphasis on client strengths rather than deficits (Stebleton, 2010). Central to narrative approaches is an emphasis on listening to clients' stories, which positions career counsellors, clients and the counselling relationship differently from that of traditional approaches.…”

“…Related to their intuitive appeal is a further concern that narrative approaches are frequently portrayed as activities or processes such as metaphors, timelines and reflections that career counsellors may use with clients but that are not necessarily connected to a theory base (McMahon, 2006a). In addition, to date there is little research to support the efficacy of such approaches (Stebleton, 2010).…”

“…Reid questions whether constructivist approaches pay sufficient attention to action and how useful they may be for diverse client groups. Further, it has been suggested that narrative approaches have limitations, including client expectations not being met because of traditional views of career counselling as being expert driven, their time consuming and demanding nature, their lack of structure, and concerns about training and oversimplification (Stebleton, 2010).…”

Reflexos da lógica organizacional na identidade profissional: variações do discurso autobiográfico

“…Esta dimensão do self profissional (Silva, Taveira & Ribeiro, 2011) torna possí-vel aos indivíduos produzir, com base na autorreflexão, um significado sobre a sua carreira, a partir do qual orientam o seu comportamento. Nos últimos anos, diferentes autores (Savickas, 2005;Stebleton, 2010) vêm alertando para o potencial das abordagens narrativas nos processos de orientação profissional, em particular na forma como favorecem o acesso ao universo de referências identitárias dos indivíduos e ao modo subjetivo como perspetivam a sua carreira. O recurso à narrativa autobiográfica no processo de aconselhamento permite perceber as escolhas individuais e os princípios que guiaram essas escolhas.…”