Date of Award
8-14-2017
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Art in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling (MA)
Department
Creative Arts Therapies
First Advisor
Imus, Susan
Second Advisor
Downey, Laura
Third Advisor
Allen, Laura
Keywords
theories, models, heuristic inquiry, therapist, dance/movement therapy
Abstract
There are theories, models, and theses that explain what generally happens as people move through the identified phases of counselor and professional identity development. However, there is little literature that illustrates how this growth actually happens for clinicians. The purpose of this heuristic self-study was to identify and gain a deeper understanding of the narrative of how my clinical experiences have influenced my professional identity as a dance/movement therapist. This study utilized the six phases of heuristic inquiry as a structure to guide this discovery. My personal recollections of three identified cases were used as data, which was then analyzed through the use of Riessman’s Narrative Analysis. The analysis process included responding to structured journal questions and using movement to clarify responses. Unexpected factors that were influential in the development process were acknowledged. The final thesis product was my story, which consists of three mini-narratives that illustrate how my clinical experiences shaped my development as a dance/movement therapist. 115 pages.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Parmacek, Danielle, "A Heuristic Inquiry: The Narrative of a Beginning Dance/Movement Therapist's Professional Identity Development" (2017). Creative Arts Therapies Theses. 94.
https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/theses_dmt/94