"I cannot see my way clear. I cannot see the blackboard".

Abstract

In this article, a failure identity story of a student counsellor is deconstructed. Self-data on the experiences of her six-year-old self in a school were generated through an outsider witness ceremony, as suggested by White (2007) in Maps of Narrative Practice. The data take the form of a rescued speech poem, as proposed by Speedy (2005). The article reflects on the process of data generation and of using a failure conversation map, as discussed by White (2002) in his paper "Addressing personal failure," to analyse and deconstruct the failure identity/ies available to the student counsellor. The process of the research, the writing, and the analyses of the failure story contributed to the development of an ethical counselling practice by the student counsellor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)