Self-Narrative Elicitation in Counseling: An Exploration of the Usefulness of Selected Interview Methods

Abstract

An important element of many forms of counseling is the narrative articulation of the client experience. This article aims to define self-narrative elicitation methods, to explore their use in counseling, and to present a quantitative empirical examination of narrative interview instructions. It examines whether the self-narrative inclination and selected situational factors influence the narrativity level of the utterances when elicited by different types of self-narrative instructions. The results show that the utterances produced by three different types of instructions (open-ended question; photo-elicitation; life-as-book metaphor) do not differ in narrativity level. The narrativity of utterances measured micro-analytically on the lexical level remains independent from the external factors (sequence, topic, type of instruction). Given the level of narrativity and length of response, the three instructions are close to each other. At the same time the narrativity is significantly influenced by self-narrative inclination. It is worth acknowledging personal features that can change the way the story is told in interviews and thus affect the counseling practice.

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“…The use of narratives is valuable in various fields and subjects as they provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of individuals' beliefs and encounters. Whether it's in education (Danko, 2019), medicine (Halloy et al, 2022), counseling (Soroko, 2021), or social sciences that incorporate a narrative perspective, throughout the research process.…”

Reflective Activity as a Promoter of Awareness Processes in College Students: A Study

“…An elicitation interview is a non-inductive technique that supports people in the process of becoming aware. Recent studies have used specific narrative elicitation methods (Soroko, 2019;Naldemirci et al, 2020). Soroko's (2019) study drew on self-narrative elicitation methods, which are based on a type of in-depth psychological interview in which the subject's self-reflection appears.…”

“…Recent studies have used specific narrative elicitation methods (Soroko, 2019;Naldemirci et al, 2020). Soroko's (2019) study drew on self-narrative elicitation methods, which are based on a type of in-depth psychological interview in which the subject's self-reflection appears. These approaches consist of a narrative stimulus (elicit self-narrative instruction, verbal stimulus, and visual stimulus) that helps the person produce an open narrative statement about their biography and structure experiences narratively (Soroko, 2019).…”

“…Soroko's (2019) study drew on self-narrative elicitation methods, which are based on a type of in-depth psychological interview in which the subject's self-reflection appears. These approaches consist of a narrative stimulus (elicit self-narrative instruction, verbal stimulus, and visual stimulus) that helps the person produce an open narrative statement about their biography and structure experiences narratively (Soroko, 2019). Narrative elicitation has been used in an internal medicine department specializing in cardiology in a Swedish hospital (Naldemirci et al, 2020); this study focused on narrative elicitation observations conducted with nurses.…”