Narrative Therapy in Walk-In Counselling: A Discourse Analysis of Counsellors’ Conversational Practices During Intersession Break Consultations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how counselling teams draw on narrative therapy during intersession break consultations in walk-in counselling. Walk-in counselling is a form of single-session therapy (SST) that allows an individual, couple, or family to meet with a counsellor on a drop-in basis. Walk-in counselling clinics are becoming increasingly popular in Canada and globally, with a particularly high number operating in Ontario. Sessions in walk-in counselling typically involve a break partway through, during which the counsellor meets with a team of colleagues for a brief consultation; this is referred to as the “intersession break”. Narrative therapy is a postmodern therapeutic approach commonly used in walk-in counselling. Data collection occurred at two Ontarian walk-in counselling clinics and involved recording and transcribing a total of six intersession break consultations. Transcripts were examined using discourse analysis as a methodological approach. My analysis process identified four conversational practices counselling teams engaged in that drew on various aspects of narrative therapy theory. These practices are as follows: (a) counsellors engaging in externalization, (b) counsellors orienting to possible alternative narratives, (c) counsellors centring the person visiting the clinic, and (d) counsellors demonstrating tentativeness. This research is most directly relevant to counsellors working in walk-in counselling clinics and agencies offering SST involving intersession breaks. For mental health practitioners interested in postmodern therapeutic approaches, it provides a detailed account of how narrative therapy is being applied within a particular context. Finally, it may be of interest to people accessing walk-in counselling services who are curious about intersession break processes.