Personal development of psychology consultant: Narrative as a method of research

Abstract

The history of development the issue about the consultant personality is described, the existing directions of empirical research in Russian and non-Russian psychology are presented. It is stated that the concept of "effective consultant" is domineering in contemporary psychology; it is based on identifying various personality traits that contribute to effective professional activity. It is noted that the main limitation of existing theory and research is the lack of systematization of identified personality qualities, static look at the consultant identity, lack of understanding of how it is formed and develops. In the article, a special attention is paid to the analysis of the models and research of consultant personality development. General conclusion is made that the existing works use mainly quantitative approach to the data collection and description, as for the consultant identity, so for its development. As an alternative for the study and description of the consultant individuality, it is proposed to use the narrative method, which gives an insight into the inner world of the person, allows seeing formation of personal meanings system, tracing its transformation over time. The source of the narrative may be a personal diary of the consultant which is kept during the training, and which describes the experience of meetings with the clients. The article presents a specific method for obtaining a narrative, so called “tutorial diary”, as well as its purposes and practice of application. Narrative methodologies are shown to be very promising to study the process characteristics that reflect the course of consultant’s development. In conclusion, the need for discussion and understanding of issues related to the consultant personality and its development is pointed out.