cognitive process of reorganizing the biographic material in order to point out significant
parts of life.
Autobiography is successfully used in the counselling of the elderly and is considered to
have a real therapeutic value because it promotes self-awareness, self-disclosure and the
capacity of generating alternative interpretations for life experiences. (Botella, Feixas,
1992, International Journal Ageing Human Development).
The method could be considered a tool for facilitating awareness of the interpersonal
relationships, and for understanding the day-to-day experiences by recognizing the
importance of experiences lived.
Gibson and Mitchell (1981) suggest different ways of dealing with a client when the
counsellor considers the autobiography necessary: he/she should be informed about the
purpose and be assured that the process will be confidential. The counsellor shall provide
some indications regarding the content of the autobiography or the general way of
approaching it. He could suggest a guide for self-biographic writing. The authors present
some modalities of analysing and interpreting the autobiographic outcome: the counsellor
should make a list of all issues he/she considers relevant for the client’s counselling
needs; sometimes the counsellor could just summarise what he considers important.
The template for the autobiography analysis is the following (Kiley, Personal and
Interpersonal Appraisal Techniques. Springfield, Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 1975,
apud Gibson, Mitchell, 1981):
I. Significant incidents
II. Organization – length, language (choice of vocabulary, depth of expression)
III. Omissions, glossing over, inaccuracies
IV. Points to check further
V. Summary commentsGison Gibson and Mitchell come forward with an innovative approach: the
autobiographical tape (recommended for some clients, in some circumstances). The
autobiographical tape offers to the client the opportunity to speak of his/her own life. The
counsellor chooses this technique after an assessment, and decides if oral language is
more appropriate than the written one. This type of autobiography is advantageous for
persons who express themselves better orally than in writing; it allows the free
presentation of details, which would otherwise be probably overlooked; it is less likely to
be censored than a written sheet, and the verbal expressivity could give way to relevant
information about the emotional impact of particular events.
The autobiographic process could be structured chronologically, or by criteria that
facilitate retrospective analysis. Jigau (2001) presents some significant criteria for career
counselling, such as education, vocational training, social context of the activity, personal
achievements.