LE3 .A278 1998

1998

Shields, Carmen

Acadia University

Master of Education

Masters

Counselling

Education

This thesis is a personal journey: in these pages I speak about my life, and question how my past experience informs my work as a counsellor. This thesis is also about my participant's life and his parallel but different journey to become a counsellor. My purpose is to inquire into how counsellors know, understand and empathize with others, and to look at how personal lived experience impacts on counselling practice. My methodology is narrative. I believe that social science is the study of human experience which is recovered and embodied in narrative form. My method is to gather autobiographical material on my participant and myself, and to reconsider these reconstructed experiences in the present. I gathered my participant's life story in a series of open-ended, conversational, taped interviews; and I wrote my own stories of lived experience. This material became the data for my inquiry. This thesis is the story of how two counsellors make sense of their lived experience and how they translate that experience into an ability to work with people. For me, the sharing of our stories is a celebration of our dialogue, interaction, and connection. The insights for other counsellors are found in the stories.

The author retains copyright in this thesis. Any substantial copying or any other actions that exceed fair dealing or other exceptions in the Copyright Act require the permission of the author.

https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2873