| The work presents a thesis, a synthesis of ways that meaning is gleaned interacting with the psychological means by which individuals understand their perceived experiences. The architecture of the thesis consists of three structural elements binding clues to meaning: meaning gleaned from language use, meaning gleaned from analysis of text, and meaning expressed in forms of language and text that are alternative to prevailing conventional forms, in the present work, by mechanisms and strategies from the literary narratives of magical realism. These structural elements rest upon and resonate with a foundation of construal processes articulated by constructivism and personal construct psychology theory. The work suggests a way to use components and procedures from various disciplines to get at a fuller understanding of the meaning in the narrative in psychotherapy. Its practice entails co-creation of meaning by way of dialogue between a helper and one seeking help, without the attribution of power, implied or explicit, to either. The work is situated in the here and now--amid rising skepticism about, and some distrust of, the grand unassailable first principles which have produced a concept that understanding is only discovered a certain way. The present work investigates these prior understandings, asks questions, invites further exploration. |
