This thesis presents a discursive analysis of clients’ and counsellors’ metaphorical talk in counselling sessions. Permission was granted for access to, and the research use of, existing data originally collected from the Pluralistic Therapy for Depression Clinic at the University of Strathclyde. This data took the form of audio recordings of counsellors’ and clients’ oneto- one counselling sessions. Of the data obtained, a total of thirteen counselling sessions from the therapy of three client-counsellor pairs’ were transcribed using a modified version of Jeffersonian notation. Transcriptions were then coded to distinguish occasions of metaphorical talk. Subsequently they were analysed using a discursive psychology approach which drew on conversation analytic and ethnomethodological principles. This method considered the consequentiality of metaphorical talk on the surrounding interaction, how metaphorical constructions were assembled, and what actions were performed with metaphorical talk in the situated context of the therapeutic discourse. This was followed by a critical revisiting of some of the findings. The analysis found clients’ and counsellors’ uses of metaphor within the data related to three spheres of activity. The first related to constructions of identity through metaphorical talk – in particular a) the construction of relationships by both clients and counsellors using metaphors related to familial role categories, and b) clients’ metaphorical constructions of past versus present identities. The second involved clients’ use of metaphor to do topic management and resistance. The third involved the use of metaphor as a discursive resource in the construction of shared-meaning. Following this the implications of these findings for counselling psychology practice and other psychological therapists were discussed. In particular, a greater awareness of the possible impact of metaphorical talk and claims, and reflection on their impact in both limiting and freeing what is possible in the discourse was suggested.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:749395 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Kasozi, Alexandra |
| Contributors | Dickerson, Paul ; Hayes, Jacqueline |
| Publisher | University of Roehampton |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/studentthesis/A-discursive-exploration-of-clients’-and-counsellors’-metaphorical-talk-in-counselling-sessions(a9073a1f-7054-413b-af34-4ec9dc253505).html |
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