This study is aimed at elucidating the meaning of therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story. The author believes that delineation of therapeutic change within this context may help to overcome the incongruence among counselling theory, research, practice, and the experience of counselling clients. After reviewing the traditional literature on therapy outcome and change, the new options coming from narrative approaches were considered. The qualitative method of a multiple-case study was chosen as the most appropriate for the posed question. Three participants in this project completed either individual (1 woman) or group (1 woman and 1 man) therapy, and believed that they achieved a substantial therapeutic change; all of them had written their autobiography in the beginning of their therapy. In each case study, the autobiography was interpreted, the interpretation refined in the Life story interview, and validated in another interview with the participant. Then the Current life interview and the Interview with a significant other were conducted, and the Portrait of change was construed; again, the product was reviewed and validated with the participant. All interpretations, and the videotapes of interviews were reviewed by two independent judges. The three Portraits of change were mutually compared, and the working delineation of the therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story was abstracted from this comparison. In all 3 cases, the change seemed to be connected with a substantial reinterpretation of the individual's life story. This reinterpretation seemed to be based on the change of the individual's fundamental beliefs about self and others in-the-world, on greater and more flexible acceptance of self and others in their relational complexity, and on positioning one's Self as an agentic hero in his or her own life story. These changes were also reflected in the genre, the formal structure, and the explanatory reasoning of the new stories the participants told about their current lives, and lived by. The limitations of this study, and the implications of the findings for counselling theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

This study is aimed at elucidating the meaning of therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story. The author believes that delineation of therapeutic change within this context may help to overcome the incongruence among counselling theory, research, practice, and the experience of counselling clients. After reviewing the traditional literature on therapy outcome and change, the new options coming from narrative approaches were considered. The qualitative method of a multiple-case study was chosen as the most appropriate for the posed question. Three participants in this project completed either individual (1 woman) or group (1 woman and 1 man) therapy, and believed that they achieved a substantial therapeutic change; all of them had written their autobiography in the beginning of their therapy. In each case study, the autobiography was interpreted, the interpretation refined in the Life story interview, and validated in another interview with the participant. Then the Current life interview and the Interview with a significant other were conducted, and the Portrait of change was construed; again, the product was reviewed and validated with the participant. All interpretations, and the videotapes of interviews were reviewed by two independent judges. The three Portraits of change were mutually compared, and the working delineation of the therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story was abstracted from this comparison. In all 3 cases, the change seemed to be connected with a substantial reinterpretation of the individual's life story. This reinterpretation seemed to be based on the change of the individual's fundamental beliefs about self and others in-the-world, on greater and more flexible acceptance of self and others in their relational complexity, and on positioning one's Self as an agentic hero in his or her own life story. These changes were also reflected in the genre, the formal structure, and the explanatory reasoning of the new stories the participants told about their current lives, and lived by. The limitations of this study, and the implications of the findings for counselling theory, practice, and future research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate