A descriptive case study approach was used to learn more about the transitions experienced by
women counsellor trainees. The transitions that counsellors-in-training face are multi-faceted and
challenging. Information was sought about the ways counsellor trainees adapted to these challenges,
particularly any methods that helped them be resilient or to grow during the transitions.
Three women graduate students in the Masters program were interviewed in depth at three points in
their counsellor Training- program entry, after pre-practicum, and end of practicum. The interviews
used the “lenses” of narratives, self-defining memories (SDMs), and possible selves to understand the
influence of the past, present and anticipated future on the women’s transition process. Using inductive
analytic techniques, transcripts of the interviews were analyzed on a case-by-case basis, cumulating in a
detailed narrative account of each woman’s unique experience in the transition over time. The bulk of
the study is a description of the three very different journeys of the women participants. In addition,
common themes and patterns across the cases were briefly noted and described.
The case studies revealed a complex interaction between the women’s SDMs, current experiences,
and possible selves. Their unique personal histories, strengths, and unresolved issues from the past were
found to influence the types of challenges they faced or chose within the transition. The women’s
possible selves and projected SDMs often reflected their current concerns, and foretold upcoming
developments in their lives. Overly strong feared selves (imbalanced possible selves), which were
associated with a feeling of threat and low self-confidence, interfered with one woman’s readiness to
respond to the challenges presented by the transition.
SDMs generated richly detailed narratives, were responsive to change and could, themselves,
facilitate change. The research interview unintentionally also facilitated change. Participants welcomed
the opportunity to discuss their experiences in greater detail than they had elsewhere; they felt supported
during the interview, and found it helpful to create a context that they could use to make meaning of
their experiences.
Overall, participants found counsellor training more overwhelming, intense, and time-consuming
than they had anticipated. At the start of training, these strongly motivated women, accustomed to
independence and feeling competent, suddenly found themselves in a new environment being watched
and assessed as they tried to acquire new skills. Their self-confidence dropped dramatically and they
became uncomfortably focused on external direction and feedback. Initially, perseverance,
determination and the strength of their dream to become a counsellor kept them pushing onwards with
their graduate work. Gradually, as they began to accumulate successes in their training environment,
and they reached out to peers for support (or their peers approached them for help), their fear of not
belonging and their unreasonably high expectations for performance began to abate. The women’s
confidence rebuilt as they came to realize they did belong, and could acquire the basic skills to be a
counsellor.
Once the women became more assured that they could handle the academic and counselling skills of
the program, their efforts tended to shift from perseverance, survival, and meeting external demands to
developing a more internal focus. They began to integrate the material in more personally meaningful
ways and to sculpt more personal visions of their counselling goals. There was also a shift towards
integrating the academic material with their practical counselling experiences, their values and their
lifestyle choices.
Although general patterns were observed across the case studies, the individual variations in the
women’s experiences were far more striking than their commonalities. The unique personal histories,
strengths, preferences, values, life circumstances, and perspectives of the women significantly influenced
the type of transition they experienced. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/9762 |
| Date | 23 July 2018 |
| Creators | Jardine, Kathryn Frances |
| Contributors | Knowles, Don |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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