I ve been bulding up this blog for a few weeks now but have noticed a resistance in me about making it public. Is there something around self-disclosure that provokes that? Although, as a counsellor having gone through therapy, am used to ‘revealing’ aspects of myself, so it’s something often taken for granted in the counselling world…

I think, it’s time for the blog to get public and for me to overcome my kind of ‘reserved’ side…or have I become ‘too English’ by now? … Read more »

This week I have set up the goal to complete writing up the two papers for publication I have put on hold for a couple of months now. One will be around the use of focus groups in counselling research (to be sent to the BJGC) and the other one will be around the content/findings drawn from my pilot MSc study (to be sent as a book chapter for WW’s forthcoming book. (at the same time I shouldnt forget working on the book chapter with C.L.!). As I go back into my files and books to warm up my thinking so as to get into ‘writing mode’ for those papers, I came accross an email that I received from Dr. Mary Fukuyama in September, responding to my email. Interesting points to take into account: … Read more »

As Moustakas (1994:11) states: “From the beginning and throughout an investigation, heuristic research involves self-search, self-dialogue and self-discovery“. This process has been very intense during a period of months now and it often brings out either the hopeful or inspirational sides of the self or other, darker or more negative ones. As I engage in this self-dialogue and since I am a self-reflexive practitioner, seeing myself and all of us in that ‘journey of becoming’, it is often that more than one roles operate inside me, including that of the client, the counsellor, the researcher. Demonstrations of such a process come out either in a shift within relationships or through writing text or even in more creative ways (important part of the heuristic process) like in a form of a poem, dream, drawing etc. In addition to that, there is a hope for self-healing or coming closer to a more integrated whole, as a result of being on the research field. There was a momnet during a rainy evening in autumn that I wrote the following poem: … Read more »

A fellow traveller in the PhD group has sent me a demonstrative account of how she views the heuristic journey towards the desired ‘creative synthesis’ as described by Moustakas (1994). This story shows vividly the impact that the heuristic journey may have on the researcher…as for me, I often feel that I am sinking into deep waters, due to my personal involvement with the research topic…but I do hope that, given I grew up in a country all surrounded by sea, am a good swimmer and won’t end up saying “never again”. Here it is (with thanks and acknowledgements to Ann) … Read more »

There is a coference coming up in March, wrestling with the philosophical question on “What is Truth?”. Am thinking of doing a presentation around the heuristic perspective towards this question and arguing for the subjective experience and its value instead of an objective reality or dogma…

 W.W offered me the following extract around the “Speaking truth to power”, as Quakers see it. Here it is: … Read more »