Expressive art-based autoethnography: a study of counsellor identity

This autoethnography was designed to examine the meaning created when a counsellor and art therapist in training reviewed the qualitative interviews of other mental health practitioners in order to gain insight into her own counsellor identity. The method for gathering data was conducted through a self directed art-based process that accessed the kinesthetic-sensory, aesthetic-emotional, or cognitive-symbolic dimensions of the mind and body. Art making was used as a modality to express the meaning derived from the interviews in combination with the researcher's existing worldview and experiences with counselling thus far. The art making was followed by an aesthetic analysis of the process and product in order to maintain an exploratory stance and extract deeper meaning from the work. Through this personalized process, the researcher was able to pull themes from the lived experiences of others that related to herself while, at the same time, developing her personal and professional identity. --P. ii.