LE3 .A278 2001

2001

Sumarah, John

Acadia University

Master of Education

Masters

Counselling

Education

Beyond theory, strategy, and skill, who is the person of the counsellor? This qualitative study, informed by criteria derived from the interrelation of autobiographical self-study research, phenomenological inquiry, narrative inquiry, arts-informed research, and alternative ethnographic inquiry, seeks to answer certain fundamental questions which arise when considering the self of the counsellor in relation to the practice of counselling: How can one best help another to heal? What is the nature of therapeutic presence? What does a counsellor need to be attuned to within him or herself so to be most present with another? How does one ensure that one is supporting growth and not enabling dependence? How can one be most authentic with oneself and another? How does one deal with one's insecurities, uncertainties, and fears in taking on the privilege of listening to and witnessing the life of another? Drawing on the theoretical traditions of humanistic psychology, transpersonal psychology, zen therapy, spiritual therapy, phenomenological-existential psychology, and feminist counselling, this intentionally self-revelatory thesis seeks to answer the above questions based on an honest and rigorous self-reflective process of the author's experiences as a beginning counsellor. With the process informing the format, the work is represented through the merging of a variety of voices: the poetic inner voice of experience, the academic narrative voice, and the voices of those who inspired and led through their theoretical traditions. This exploration led to several notions: that helping another cannot be done without helping oneself; that cultivating presence with another is dependent on the cultivation of presence with oneself; that the growth of another is supported by allowing the process to lead; and finally that the turn within to inner reflection is a necessary and continual requirement for the counsellor as self-in-relation to the practice of counselling.

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:2979