As a psychological investigation method, the autobiography is similar to recollection,
conversation, and psychoanalysis, which are all retrospective analyses. Autobiography is
different from biography by its subjective nature; the client is the one who narrates about
his/her personal path, in writing.
Autobiography relates to self-characterization, too, the difference between them being
that the latter is a transversal self-investigation.
Self-characterization is integrated in the methods category that favours the configuration
of a close-to-reality portrait, from the client’s point of view, useful in the counselling
management; it represents the personal view, image of self.
Self-characterization is included among the methods that ask for the person’s
collaboration (Holban, 1972). The main feature of this method consists in bringing out
information about the psychological individuality.
This method allows „the decoding of the individual formula” (Holban and Gugiuman,
1972) because it facilitates the access to knowledge not only of the personality
characteristics (which are possible to be investigated by other methods), but also of the
more personal issues (unapproachable by other methods).
Gison and Mitchell (1981) present the self-characterization like a method that implies
client involvement and provides the counsellor information about the subject’s self-
image. The „portray” is a personal perspective about one’s own personal „contents”,
which is likely to be shared. Authors consider the self-characterization a non-standard
human evaluation technique; the „non-standard” term shows that is a larger and more
subjective approach to information collection and interpretation.
If the understanding capacity of the client is well developed, the likelihood of offering
appropriate and efficient counselling services to meet the client’s needs enhances.
Psait (apud Holban, 1978) describes three characteristics of the method from the
perspective of information offered:
- the self-characterization as an information source about the personality
structure and depth; - self-characterization, as an information source about the subject’s attitudes
towards himself/herself; - self-characterization, as an activity outcome.
Self-characterization could be considered a narrative method for describing the life events
in a unique structure; it creates themes that give sense to this structure.