Hope-narratives as a chaos theory of career intervention for failure

Abstract

This paper is an explication of the conceptual underpinnings of a new, narrative career counselling method: fluttering-hope. The method presents a new approach to addressing repetition compulsion, a condition characterised by repeated career-destructive behaviour and experiences of failure. Fluttering-hope is formulated on the basis of the chaos theory of career (CTC), a theory that explicitly acknowledges failure as a natural event in careers. A transtheoretical argument links failure, optimism, hope, psychodynamics and CTC concepts of attractor and shift. Repetition compulsion is posited as a pendulum attractor and fluttering-hope is posited as a source of perturbation that may induce shift. The method takes a gentle approach to repetition compulsion, and regards it as a psychological mechanism to be treated with great care in career counselling. The paper includes recommendations for future research into the CTC, fluttering-hope and mathematical modelling.

The meaning of difficulties in career narratives: the case of sports graduates

“…On a more general note, the study supports the ideas of the chaos theory of careers. The difficulties and how they are reflected upon in the data of this study accord with the view that career development theories should not heavily rely on the controlled decision-making of individuals (Pryor & Bright, 2003, 2014. Most narratives in the data would undoubtedly be very different if career development was based on individuals' capabilities and goals.…”

“…Over the past decade, however, some advancements in acknowledging difficult experiences in career counselling have taken place and the value of narrative approaches has been recognized in practice. McIlveen (2014), for example, has suggested using hope narratives as interventions for failure, while Toporec and Cohen (2017) have illustrated how individuals with difficult employment histories may benefit from strength-based narrative counselling.…”

Making mavericks: Preparing musicians for independent artistic culture

“…In this regard, personal stories are central to developing more nuanced understandings of work, and the place it holds in people's lives (McIlveen, 2014). The uniqueness of a person's story becomes a fundamental tool for discovering and developing identity, allowing people to 'restore their sense of self' (Maree, 2013: 52) during times of change, such as career transitions.…”

A remény pszichológiája. Elméleti áttekintés az empíria tükrében

“…A személyes hatóerő fejlesztésére és az újsze rű helyzetmegoldások kidolgozására irányuló reménytréningek kiválóan beilleszthetők a kognitív terápiás folyamatokba. Időbeli beágyazottságának köszönhetően, az élettörténeti újrastrukturálás és jelentésadás révén a re mény a narratív megközelítés által is befolyásolható (McIlveen, 2014). Az intervenciók elsődlegesen és célszerűen a magas kockázati csoportokra kell irányuljanak annak érdekében, hogy populációszinten is meggyőzően haté konyak lehessenek.…”