The Experience and Identity Interview: Narrative Therapy in Research Interviewing

Authors

Janet E. Conti, Western Sydney University, AustraliaFollow
James T. M. Calder, Australian Catholic University, Australia
Rebekah Rankin, Western Sydney University, Australia

Abstract

In this paper we introduce “The Experience and Identity Interview” (EII) and demonstrate ways that this qualitative research interview can be used to engage participants in talk that scaffolds between their experiences, the meanings they ascribe to these, and their identity (re)negotiations. In doing so, there is scope to generate rich interview data that addresses a range of research questions. Drawing on the paradigm of narrative therapy, the EII generates a collaborative dialogical space wherein both researchers and research participants may co-contribute to the unpacking of normative discourses that shape participants’ usual ways of speaking about their lived experiences, thereby revealing previously hidden identities. In this paper we demonstrate the key phases of the EII and illustrate its efficacy in generating rich qualitative research data. Importantly, we propose that the EII also upholds a crucial ethical principle in qualitative interviewing: to empower participants as active agents in telling the stories of their lives. This is uniquely achieved in the EII through interview questions that invite participants to engage in (re)authoring conversations that reconnect them to key identity narratives that have been lost to dominant storylines. In doing so, researchers are well-placed to mitigate the risk of potential harm through minimizing the reproduction of problematic narratives that can have real effects on participants’ lives.

Keywords

research interview, narrative therapy, identity, meaning, rich qualitative data, discourse

Author Bio(s)

Janet Conti, School of Psychology, Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University (ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5064-8003). I am an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and a clinical psychologist. My research and clinical practice focus on prioritizing the voice of people living with eating problems to inform the development and tailoring of treatment interventions. I was introduced to narrative ways of working more than three decades ago by Dr. Daphne Hewson and narrative ideas have informed and sustained my work ever since.

James Calder, Australian Catholic University (ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4952-0539). I am a registered and practicing psychologist who has been working and reflecting on narratives ideas in a range of contexts since first being introduced them by Dr. Daphne Hewson at Macquarie Uni in 2002. I currently work as an Associate Professor at Australian Catholic University as both academic and teaching psychologist and Christian theologian. My research interests are at the nexus of psychological anthropology and Christian theological anthropology.

Rebekah Rankin, School of Medicine, Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University (ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-5319-780X). I am a Clinical Psychologist and Ph.D. candidate with a special interest in working with young adults who have trouble in their relationships with their body, food, and/or exercise. My research aims to amplify the voices of those seeking treatment for eating disorders, while also deepening our collective understanding of the experiences of carers and healthcare providers in the industry. It is my hope that these collective insights may contribute to the development of more effective care models that support both the experiencing person and their primary support people.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge (1) Dr. Daphne Hewson, formerly Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University, for her invaluable contributions to this paper and the research that has informed it; and (2) Professor Phillipa Hay, Chair of Mental Health, School of Medicine Western Sydney University for her collaboration with us in multiple projects that employed the EII to explore the experiences of people living with a problematic relationship with eating and their bodies.

Publication Date

12-8-2024

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7801

Recommended APA Citation

Conti, J. E., Calder, J. T. M., & Rankin, R. (2024). The experience and identity interview: Narrative therapy in research interviewing. The Qualitative Report, 29(12), 36-61. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7801