Alive moments as an invitation to spiritual discourse: co-research between client, therapist, and consultant within ongoing therapy

This study was approached from a social constructionist perspective where meaning is negotiated between individuals in relationship. Focusing on the counselling relationship, this study explored how inviting people to engage in a spiritual discourse relevant to their lives may bring forth new possibilities for self understanding. The researcher's definition of "spiritual" was purposefully open-ended and it was the participants' perspective of "spiritual" that was emphasized in the interview. 3 Five clients and their therapists were invited into a conversation of which the researcher was a participant-researcher. The clients and therapist videotaped a counselling session and the client took the video home to choose from the tape, a moment that they would call an "alive moment". The client, therapist, and researcher then met at a later date to engage in a conversation around the significance of the chosen "alive moment" and any spiritual relevance to the client's life experiences. The therapist was present in reflection and was invited to comment on the interview conversation. The meanings constructed from the interview conversation, were a product of the researcher's interaction with the participant. This research, then, exemplifies action research in that the researcher participated in the construction of meanings or the data of the study. At a later date, a follow up discussion with participants served to cross-verify the themes with their experience. Two main themes were interpreted from the analysis of the data, that of "process" and that of "content". The process of the interview conversation brought forth the content of the meanings that the participants and researcher together created. The further sub themes were presented individually but were interrelated within the context of the experience of the interview conversation. This thesis explored what can occur when people engage in a conversation that invites an alternative form of discourse, that of the spiritual. This study is about participating in a meaning-making process that creates within the practice of relating, a new way of "being together" which offers new opportunities for self understanding and for perceiving the spiritual in our lives.