ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews elements of two studies utilizing differing approaches to discourse analysis when researching young people's perceptions, preconceptions, and experiences of therapy. Discourse analysis comes closest to a postmodern approach to research in that it challenges and critiques traditional research methodology, where proof and certainty are sought. Discourse analysis recognizes this as illusory, because the researcher cuts/edits/sets the scene in terms of how the research is presented. The chapter aims to explore young people's perceptions of therapy/counselling and where they felt they would be able to access it. The "Health of the Nation" paper was targeting mental health and suicide, focusing on prevention and primary care support. Although both researchers attempted to conduct their studies with rigour, there are clear illustrations of the need to challenge the traditional notion that objectivity provides proof in research. Society is linked with the place from which one speaks, thus ethnomethodological research requires immersion in that society/culture.
