A relational theory of working

Building on diverse influences from critical perspectives in vocational psychology and the relational movement in contemporary psychological discourse, this article introduces the relational theory of working. Attending to the full array of people who work and who want to work, the relational theory conceptualizes working as an inherently relational act. A relational theory provides a framework for understanding ways in which working is embedded in external and internal relational contexts. To establish the conceptual infrastructure for the relational theory, several propositions are advanced, which summarize observations and inferences about the intersection of working and relationships and highlight the inherent relational context of working. The article concludes with implications for practice, policy, and research.     

Toward a relational perspective of the psychology of careers and working: A social constructionist analysis

This article explores the contributions of social constructionist thought to the development of a relational approach to careers. In this article, the term “careers” is defined as encompassing the working lives of all individuals. Using a social constructionist perspective to critique existing assumptions about careers, work, and relationships, the authors develop a conceptual framework that expands the theoretical opportunities inherent in a relational approach to the study of careers. The article concludes by highlighting implications of a social constructionist analysis of a relational approach to careers for theory development, research, practice, and public policy,     

Critical social psychology and interdisciplinary studies of personal life: Greater than the sum of its parts

Singleness, parenting, sexual practices, sibling rivalries, through to meal times, investigating how intimacies and personal lives are organised have always been a mainstay in critical social psychology. However, in the interdisciplinary field of studies of personal life, sociologists often take the lead. In this article, I discuss three illustrative Examples—family practices, queered studies of personal life, and emerging emotional regimes in “late modernity,” and ask how critical social psychology, with its history of investigating the social processes of subjectivity‐making, could be deployed to resolve debates that have emerged within a sociology of personal life. I suggest that clarifying critical social psychology's position in relation to broader studies of personal and intimate life would showcase the distinctiveness of critical social psychological contributions in understanding relational selves, whilst simultaneously fostering interdisciplinary working.     

Career,migration and the life CV: A relational cultural analysis

In response to the precarious and disadvantaged position of forced migrants in the United States and the UK, marked by unemployment, under employment and loss of career capital, this paper draws upon a relational cultural paradigm and a life design career model in order to understand migrant work life, shape the career intervention process and examine the implications for vocational practice. An innovative career intervention is introduced and discussed, the life CV, which has been used with refugees and asylum seekers in the UK within the context of relational paradigms that reflect the intertwined nature of people's relational and working lives. The paper argues that by engaging in the activities and meaning making associated with the creation of a life CV, different life perspectives and designs become possible and individuals are enabled to consider new ways of knowing themselves and presenting themselves to potential employers.     

Counselling psychology in the United Kingdom

Counselling psychology within the UK has grown over the last three decades, adapting to many changes in the field of applied psychology, whilst remaining true to its core values and humanistic origins. The identity of counselling psychology is strongly rooted in a relational stance and applied psychology, where attention to psychological formulation is given to improve psychological functioning and well-being. This article outlines a brief history of counselling psychology in the UK, the training process, credentialing and looks at some important challenges and future directions for counselling psychology in the UK. A proportion of the members from the British Psychological Society’s division of counselling psychology (DCoP, N = 148) took part in the study. Participants provided demographic, training, employment, workplace and career pathway information obtained through an online questionnaire distributed to all DCoP members. On the whole, DCoP members are working in a variety of areas within the UK and the findings of this article contribute to the international study comparing counselling psychology across the globe.     

Polyamory: Experiences of Power from Without,from Within,and in Between

This article highlights the ways in which cultural, relational, and therapeutic power can affect polyamorous relationships and the therapeutic process. In therapy, focusing on the power narratives that polyamorous partners might experience can aid in challenging mononormativity while creating space for a variety of relational orientations. Power processes are presented as occurring on three levels: social discourse (without), relational meaning-making (within), and therapeutic practice (in between). A case study is used to evaluate these processes and implications are provided for clinicians working with polyamorous families.     

Immigration Policies in Italy: Their Impact on the Lives of First-Generation Moroccan and Egyptian Migrants

This paper analyzes the impact of Italian immigration policies on migrants’ lives. Policies and changes in policies can affect migrants’ capabilities to stabilize themselves in the host country, in terms of legal residence and secure labor conditions, as well as their chances of becoming part of the host society. We argue that, together with border controls, these are crucial ways through which immigration policies may have the postulated effects on the lives of migrants. We use data from 59 in-depth interviews conducted with first-generation Moroccan and Egyptian migrants living in two Italian cities, Turin and Rome, in the period 2011–2013. The results show that Italian immigration policies do not successfully control migration inflow, but effectively hinder the stability of migrants’ legal status and the status transition from temporary residence to permanent residence and subsequent Italian citizenship. In this way, Italian immigration policies largely affect migrants’ capabilities to be part of the host country; this gets in the way of integration, social cohesion, and future migration projects.     

Social identity and psychosis: Explaining elevated rates of psychosis in migrant populations

A substantial body of literature suggests that migrants are at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms, such as paranoia, compared to non‐migrants. To date, researchers have been unable to identify the primary cause of this effect, finding scarce support for biological, diagnostic, and economic explanations. Social determinants have received little empirical attention in this domain, which we assert is a critical gap in the literature. Here, we propose that the social identity approach offers a framework to help explain the elevated rates of psychosis among migrants, and in turn inform policies and interventions to address this important mental health issue. We propose that cultural identities play a central role in mitigating the psychological precursors of psychosis and that disidentification and social disconnection subsequent to migration could initiate or exacerbate psychosis for multiple generations. We draw together research from social and clinical psychology to detail a social identity approach to psychosis in migrant populations, and make recommendations for future research.     

Virtues in action – the new look of character traits

The present study aimed to take fresh look at the nature and psychological meaning of consistency in character traits and virtuous behaviour as manifested in everyday life. To this end, a 10‐day experience‐sampling study was conducted. Using smartphone technology, a sample of 83 working mothers and fathers provided a total of 4,342 momentary behavioural reports while being in the role of the parent versus being in the job role. Consistent with recent research on personality traits, the findings of the present study showed that people express a wide range of virtue states in their everyday lives. Within‐person changes in virtue states were not random but were contingent on people's current role context and also meaningfully related to their momentary affective experiences. At the same time, people's average level of virtue states, their degree of variation in virtue states, and their signature ways of reacting to role contexts turned out to be stable, trait‐like individual difference characteristics. Discussion focuses on the implications for the conception of character traits in scientific psychology and beyond.     

Recasting Stigma as a Dialogical Concept: A Case Study of Rural‐to‐Urban Migrants in China

The present study explores stigma against rural‐to‐urban migrants in China, drawing on a dialogical approach. It investigates the processes of stigmatization from two sides: that of the stigmatizer and that of the stigmatized. Open‐ended individual interviews were conducted with 138 participants (60 urban residents and 78 rural‐to‐urban migrants) in Tianjin, China. Findings from this study indicate that migrants were stigmatized by urban residents as having an unattractive physical appearance, potential perils of disease or crime, and discredited places of origin. Such stigma was embedded in China's unique hukou system and generated from a social categorization of superior and inferior groups. Migrants reported a number of coping strategies to counter such stigma: blaming fate, stigma reversal and upward mobility. However, migrants did not view themselves contemptuously and expressed positive feelings about their lives as migrants. They regarded internal migration as a way of pursuing happiness. Overall, urban residents stigmatized migrants legitimated by the hukou system, while migrants were surprisingly resilient against stigma, and did not internalize it, due to their economics‐driven internal migration. This study underscores that stigma in a given society is dialogically interdependent with its socio‐cultural context and that the perspectives of both the stigmatizer and the stigmatized need to be taken into consideration. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relational narratives of the self.

The prevailing view of the self in contemporary Western culture is of the autonomous, separate individual. This article considers shifts toward a more relational view in thinking about the self, in developmental psychology and in therapy, especially family therapy. From diverse perspectives this relational narrative of the self is explored, highlighting relational formulations about autonomy, power, and connection/disconnection. Therapeutic approaches that are grounded in a relational narrative are considered. Finally, this article explores, through clinical vignettes, the impact on individuals and their significant others when they shift to a more relational view of the self in their own lives.     

The emergence of new intentions in subjective experience: A social/personal constructionist and relational understanding

As part of the larger project to revision vocational psychology for a new era, a process referred to as the emergence of new intentions in subjective experience is defined and described. It is proposed that this process is central to the ongoing construction and reconstruction of lives in the changing landscape of the times. Following an elaboration of the meaning of emergence of new intentions in subjective experience through comparison to related constructs and theories, a social/personal constructionist and relational understanding of this process is developed. The article concludes by addressing implications for vocational psychology practice.     

Towards a critical psychology of human–animal relations

This article argues that critical psychological engagement with the field of human–animal relations is largely absent, but of potential significance, and begins to outline more concretely what such a perspective might contribute, especially as a form of social psychology. The article provides a brief overview of the emerging psychology of human–animal relations and the extent to which it emphasises situated human–animal interactions in real‐world settings, including from the standpoint of animal participants. Recent elaborations of the “animal turn” outside of the discipline of psychology are considered, as they place fresh emphasis on human–animal interaction and interdependence and might further extend the boundaries of what counts as relations that matter in critical and social psychology. These foundations are argued to offer an invitation to critical psychology to engage more fully in the study of human–animal relations and enliven it as a result.     

Do First- and Second-Generation Migrants Stay Longer in Social Assistance Than Natives in Belgium?

In many European countries, migrants are overrepresented in social assistance. In Belgium, at least 70% of social assistance beneficiaries are first- or second-generation migrants, as natives are often eligible for a social insurance benefit. Lower exit rates among migrants relative to natives could raise concern about the labour market inclusion of beneficiaries, as well as the financial sustainability and solidarity basis of the welfare state. This paper analyses whether migrants remain longer in social assistance than natives and whether migrants vary in their timing of exit by migration-history characteristics. We use longitudinal data from the social assistance administration linked to other administrative sources, including detailed information about migration histories of migrants. Using event history analysis, we track the exits from social assistance for 22,620 beneficiaries in the period June 2005–December 2009. We find that migrants have substantially longer median durations than natives. Controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, benefit and work histories, we find that most migrant groups have (slightly) lower exit rates than natives. Asylum seekers stay substantially longer in social assistance whereas migrants with longer durations of residence have shorter benefit periods than recent migrants. Second-generation migrants do not stay longer in social assistance than natives.     

Family social support during the predeparture period: The experience of British migrants

This study explored the stress, wellbeing and social support of predeparture British migrants to New Zealand. The main research questions addressed the relationship between family support and psychological outcomes, differences in migration desire between couples, and the impact of extended family support. A survey recruited 95 participants from online forums for migrants to New Zealand and results indicated that support from immediate family was related to better wellbeing and lower stress. Migrants who considered themselves the driving force behind the move reported significantly more stress and less family support than migrants who had partners who were equally enthusiastic about the move abroad. Sojourners perceived more support from extended family than did migrants who intended to leave permanently. The most difficult parts of the migration process were leaving loved ones, logistical demands, and uncertainty. The most positive parts of the process were adventure and becoming closer as a family. Overall, migration stress and coping began well before departure from the country of origin.     

Manifesting shame in a Philippine migrant village

In this article, I examine how internal migrants in a Philippine village negotiate shame. Specifically, I analyse how shame is embodied and performed by internal migrants in “Little Italy”, a village in the Philippines populated by overseas Filipino workers (OFW), who largely work in Italy, and their families who remain resident in the village. Little Italy's internal migrants are other Philippine nationals who have moved to the village for employment opportunities within OFW households. These intersecting flows of international and internal migration render Little Italy a ‘migrant village’. I interrogate internal migrants' shame in two ways: first, as underpinning the subservience that is necessary for negotiating their nominal membership of the village; and second, in contesting and reframing Filipino stereotypes in relation to local social standing and place-based meanings of paid domestic work. I argue that as much as shame has been viewed as an element of social cohesion in the Philippines, its analysis is also a critical tool for troubling current understandings of social positions in migrant spaces such as Little Italy. My findings contribute to scholarship on migration and emotion by, first, demonstrating how emotion in general, and shame in particular, flows between international and internal migrations; and second, by underscoring the role of emotion in creating new dimensions of shame in spaces of migration.     

Linking the Levels: Network and Relational Perspectives for Community Psychology

In this article, we assert that relationships and networks are of paramount importance for understanding and improving settings, neighborhoods, communities, and larger social systems. Despite previous acknowledgements of their relevance, relational and social network perspectives and analyses remain underrepresented in community psychological research and action. Here, we claim that network and relational perspectives can provide conceptual and empirical ‘links’ between levels of analysis, more fully reflecting a transactional view. We also describe some of the sophisticated methodologies that can be employed in empirical studies drawing on these perspectives. Additionally, we contend that core concepts in community psychology such as health promotion, empowerment, coalition building, and dissemination and implementation can be better understood when employing relational and network perspectives. As an introduction to this special issue of American Journal of Community Psychology, we draw out themes and key points from the articles in the issue, and offer recommendations for future advancement of these perspectives in the field.     

Throwing a Wrench in the Work(s): Using Multicultural and Social Justice Competency to Develop a Social Justice–Oriented Employment Counseling Toolbox

This article presents a social justice toolbox from which employment counselors can draw when working with various populations at multiple levels. First, the authors introduce social justice and its relationship to employment counseling (the toolbox). Second, the skills and knowledge required to integrate social justice into employment counseling (the tools) are presented. Finally, strategies are offered to maintain social justice competency so that the tools can be maintained and applied ethically and effectively.     

Exploring subject positions in Greek migrants' discourse on mobility decisions

The current study explores the ways in which Greek migrants in their early adulthood position themselves in discourse on mobility decisions. For the purposes of the study, 17 virtual interviews with Greek migrants (aged between 25–40 years old) in European cities were conducted. Analysis, based on the principles of critical discursive social psychology, indicated that, in their accounts of migration decision-making, participants positioned themselves in various ways: as career/job seekers, as adventurers, as well as (personal or institutional/economic) crisis-ridden individuals. Multiple subject positions were constituted by an amalgam of rational/practical and affective repertoires which depicted migration as a multifaceted, dynamic and non-linear project. Analysis also highlighted the multiple spatial (transnational, national and local) and dynamic temporal constructions mobilized by participants, in order to construct their motivations for migrating. Discussion of findings suggests that social psychology (a) can vitally contribute to migration literature, by considering ways in which social actors position themselves by the use of historically and culturally specific resources and by their orientation to local interactional concerns in the context of accounting for their mobility and (b) can be benefited by considering spatial and temporal aspects in the analysis of migration.