The aim of this case study is to demonstrate how an innovative group counseling method, the narrative mediation path, promotes reflective mirroring in a group of underachieving university students. We used an adaptation of the innovative moments coding system, a reliable method for studying change by tracking narrative innovations throughout the intervention. The transcripts of the seven sessions of a single narrative mediation path counseling group were analyzed, and three types of innovative moments were identified: self-directed innovative moments (those directed at the participants themselves), other-directed innovative moments (those directed at another group member), and group-directed innovative moments (those directed at the group as a whole). To study the narrative sequences containing both other-directed or group-directed innovative moments and self-directed innovative moments, a microgenetic approach was adopted. Results suggested that across the narrative mediation path counseling sessions, different types of reflecting mirroring emerged, based on supporting, interpreting, and connecting members’ experiences.
Innovative moments and narrative change in career counselling: a case study
