| Abstract: | Proposes that ideas from phenomenological philosophy and sociology can be helpful in raising questions and devising strategies for research on counseling. A phenomenological version of the philosophy of the social sciences is drawn on to construct methods with which an observer may analyze a counselor and client's management of their social interaction in counseling. As a point of departure, stable concerted action between persons is described as a practical accomplishment, and then remarks about the intellectual tradition of phenomenology and some of its leading concepts are included as a foundation for later argument. Separate typifications of a counselor and client's subjective schemes for interpreting each other and expressing themselves in counseling are provided. These separate schemes are given definition as the working relationship, a counselor's perspective, and the helping relationship, a client's perspective. As well, a set of participant actions that are to be understood as independent of either perspective are identified and labeled as formulations or comments on the interaction itself. It can be observed that counseling participants frequently take the occasion to comment on their conversation itself, as if to attempt a remedy for the indefiniteness of what is being said. Examples of client and counselor interaction in counseling are included to illustrate how an observer may use the definitions of the working relationships to help locate the empirical components of each in an interview. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
