ABSTRACT
This study presented some major aspects relevant to reflect the flow of the life career transition experiences of the 8 NWC counsellor trainees. As the study focused mainly on describing and understanding the unique personal experiences of the 8 participants, it was limited in scope with respect to its generalizability. The degree to which these stories described and interpreted the transition process manifests an open-ended venue, and thus invites more exploration and inquiry. Further research is recommended to expand, support, review, and refine the information revealed. The study was also limited by the source of participants. All 8 informants were recruited from a university counselling psychology program in a large western Canadian city. While this same training environment was helpful for comparing and analyzing the trainees’ experiences within this group, how representative this training context is to other training contexts in counsellor training, remains to be established. Another limitation focused on participants’ propensity to share. Along with factors such as participants’ self-awareness, biases, level of openness, and ability to articulate, their priority varied in terms of contributing what they felt was more important to shape their individual stories. For instance, some devoted more time to elaborate their prior life career experiences and/or their initial adjustment experiences, while others emphasized their feelings during the counsellor training process. A further limitation was the researcher’s viewpoints and position. To minimize such biases, each participant was invited to verify his/her personal story, and the research supervisor also reviewed the narratives. While this process of validation, revision, and refinement helped to reduce some biases, the researcher’s personal relationship with, and influence in, the study was always an existing reality that deserved attention. My personal attributes such as experiences, interest, intention, and perspectives, were always an important part accompanying and affecting the research process. This issue was addressed in more detail in Chapter Three (i.e., Research Methodology) of this book.
