Metaphoric drawing narrative career counselling: Teaching work value and career identity statuses via experiential learning method

Abstract

Metaphoric cards as a tool in counselling sessions are getting more scholarly attention in the fields of career counselling and education. In general, metaphoric cards consist of visual image that depicted daily life events and human expressions which are used as an alternative form of expression other than verbal communication. This paper aims to introduce metaphorical drawing as the experiential learning method in teaching narrative career counselling course. This is a qualitative study consists of metaphorical drawing and written reflection with six participants by using thematic analysis research method. The metaphorical drawing results revealed that, two new themes had been emerged in the exploration of work value and identity status. The results showed that some but not all participants benefited from the metaphorical drawing session to fully express their identity statuses. However, the combination of written reflection and verbal explanation of the metaphorical drawing did help the participants to convey their identity concern. In conclusion, metaphorical drawing session could be adopted in counsellor education to promote more understanding of narrative counselling technique and also in teaching work value and career identity status. For future research, it is important to look into how metaphorical technique can be introduced to school students in understanding their career choices.