Telling a Good Story: Using Narratives in Vocational Rehabilitation With Veterans

Because of the high chronicity of work-related problems in a Veterans Administration Medical Center population, many of the traditional methods of career assessment, counseling, and placement have proven ineffectual. In this article the authors detail the development of an intervention based on narrative or storytelling principles. They describe efforts to introduce this model to patients as well as to relate patients' stories to vocational outcomes. The usefulness of stories as an organizing principle for counselors and clients is discussed, and suggestions are offered for further uses of storytelling interventions.     

When work keeps us apart: a thematic analysis of the experience of business travellers

Whilst business travel is deemed important for organisational success and economic outcomes, little is known about the actual process of business travelling from the perspective of individuals who undertake such travel on a regular basis. Thus the current qualitative study examined how business travellers (three women and eight men) attempt to find a balance between work and family, by focusing on how time together and time apart are experienced. The results can be interpreted and framed within work/family border theory in that business travellers' borders are less defined and less permeable, thus requiring them to border-cross more frequently. This necessitates a process of negotiation with key border-keepers (their spouse/partner). Business travellers also undertake compensatory behaviours to make up their time away from family. In order to find a work/family balance, they go through a process of adapting, negotiating and tailoring their lives around their work commitments to alleviate work–life conflict.     

Haley and Hildebrand on the Training of Family Therapypists

Jo Grimwade and Helen Pavlin were asked to conduct a correspondence about two books which both relate to the teaching of family Therapy. There has been recent debate in Victorian family Therapy circles about the relevance of family of origin exploration to family Therapy trainees. Judy Hildebrand and Jay Haley have views on this topic, as Jo and Helen note. The nature of the books they are reading means that they find themselves caught in a parallel process and at times, are distracted from the writers’ message by the way that message is delivered.