Autoethnography: Let there be chaos

Hadjiosif, Miltos; Ince, Amelia; Martin, Jennifer

Abstract

This symposium aims to reach to the edges of our discipline’s awareness in order to shine a light on a neglected research paradigm that has captured our imagination. Autoethnography is an approach to research that seeks to describe and systematically analyse (graphy) personal experience (auto) in order to understand it more deeply and situate it within something broader, like a cultural or sociopolitical context (ethno). Autoethnography is both profoundly personal and explicitly political when it attempts to straddle the psycho-social realms. The researcher is often the sole ‘participant’, whose task is to document and analyse their subjective experiences with an ultimate aim of illuminating something and awakening in readers generative processes that can range from fleeting, visceral reactions all the way to social change.
We will start by sketching out the theoretical territory of this approach and address some of the common questions that arise when doing autoethnography, such as topics, analytic strategies, and ethical issues (Hadjiosif). Then we examine the method’s application to two doctorate research studies. The first (Ince) concerns the experience of Weltschmerz (a German word which roughly translates as ‘world weariness’ or ‘world pain’). The second (Martin) attempts to tease out the therapeutic qualities involved in the art of drag. We hope to conclude the symposium with a lively discussion regarding the purpose of Counselling Psychology research as we attempt to shake the proverbial edge and bring autoethnography closer to the centre of our profession.

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Annual Conference
• Start Date: Jul 15, 2022
• End Date: Jul 15, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 24, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 26, 2022
• Keywords: Autoethnography, Weltschmerz, drag, counselling psychology, reflexive research
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9746633
• Publisher URL: https://www.bps.org.uk/