Using Narratives of Immigrant Clients to Confront Grief: Supporting Autonomy in Vocational Rehabilitation

Abstract

Narrative counseling, narrative interviewing, or storytelling is a therapeutic approach to treating individuals with mental health conditions that is client-led. The approach can also employ the power of recall to reconstruct one’s story and oneself through reframing. In this article, we explore the possibility of employing narrative counseling in vocational rehabilitation settings, with immigrants with disabilities experiencing grief through loss and migration. Autonomy, cultural relevance, and trauma-informed care present the rationale for consideration and further exploration of narrative counseling in vocational rehabilitation research, teaching, and practice.