narrative may be as problematic to a client as one that lacks co-
herence. For example, a story that has a client becoming a research
scientist as the only option for her future is one that may require
attention in counseling, just as one in which the client describes a
wide range of ambitions in terms of both level and focus. We, as
counselors, should also be wary of a single grand theme or life story
that does not give adequate attention to the uniqueness of context.
One expects that clients will pay attention to the details of con-
text that make their narratives and their lives unique. When they
don’t, clients can be helped to elaborate their narratives.
In addition to revealing the way the clients want to disclose
their construction of their career, projects, and actions, the strength
of a narrative is in its telling. Conveying a personally relevant story
with the close emotional monitoring of its telling is an important
part of the narrative process. Clients can steer and regulate their
emotional involvement in the telling of a personal narrative.
Themes—frequently referred-to topics, problems, or perspec-
tives—are another characteristic of narratives. Counselors may find
that what was previously thought of as an interest, trait, attribute, or
personality characteristic may emerge as a construct and theme of
the person’s life; the person may then assume the agent’s role. The
purpose of looking for and working with themes is not to attribute a
greater or lesser role to them than they already have but to help the
client construct them so as to retain more control over their themes.
Interpretation, which we defined earlier in this chapter as the
process by which people make sense of action and context, also
takes place in the discourse that is constructed between the client
and counselor. As we pointed out earlier, narratives do not just hap-
pen; they are the intentional, goal-directed product of the group (in
this case the client and counselor). Frequently, clients approach
counselors with stories and constructions of their lives or parts of
their lives that are dysfunctional and problematic. This discourse is
usually understood within the context of their lives. It must also be
understood within the context of counseling. In a sense, a narrative
of a problem or a dysfunction is often an accepted discourse to begin
A CONTEXTUALIST EXPLANATION OF CAREER 233