When I first read Savickas’s narrative approach I thought it was ridiculous – he created the ‘Career style interview’ where the client is asked about their favourite book, tv character, childhood hero etc. I found his questions irrelevant to careers guidance. However, I’ve since changed my mind about narrative counselling. I can see how story telling allows the client to reveal what is important to them and ensures that the conversation is set in the context of their world view. I think in other types of career counselling it’s possible for the counsellor’s perceptions and values to dominate over those of the client, simply because those of the client are never sought.
In class: Life space maps
I think drawing a life space map can be powerful. It offers a holistic approach to career guidance as it lets you see the bigger picture of your life and how work fits into this. (Life space maps might therefore be a good activity to use for career education based on ‘how to be idle’). It celebrates what you’ve achieved, identifies what you want to change and motivates you for the future. It’s a focused activity which helps to order to your thoughts. It also reveals your beliefs, values and aspirations – the things that define you. I think the visual nature of it operates in the same way as ‘reflecting back’ does in interviews – they both hold up a mirror.
However I not sure how confident I am about using life space maps. It wouldn’t work with everyone and I’d be nervous that clients might scoff at the suggestion! I asked my friend to draw one so I could get an outsider’s impression of how they found it. I thought it would be too removed from the norm but he was receptive to it and definitely found it helpful. I can see how it might be a great tool for working with young people. At an age when they might find it difficult to speak with adults or to express themselves, this would help them to articulate their thoughts. The encoded nature of the maps would also give them control over how much they disclose. Knowing their privacy was protected might encourage them to explore deeper.
…… But I still think Savickas can get carried away. For example, he encourages clients to convert childhood recollections into newspaper-type-headlines in order to examine their meaning.
Example
Clients recollection: While in a campervan as a child, her grandparents tell her to stop moving around.
Headline: ‘Little girl annoyed because she must sit still’
Message: Powerful individuals have stopped her from pursuing her dreams, she must now move on and speak up for herself.
(Kidd, P.68)
Based on the above example I think there is the potential to manufacture problems. For example, it might have been for safety that she was told to sit still. It is also perfectly normal for every child to be told to sit still! I think that by turning this into a story of the ‘client as oppressed’ it is undermining the experiences of real victims who have genuinely had to endure difficult circumstances.
