Abstract
A constructivist approach is found by identifying its cross-disciplinary roots in prior research. The theoretical connections are an exposition of personal and moral issues in a science of human services. Self-discovery emerges as an alternative focus to institutionalised care for a first-year cohort in the planned closure of a psychiatric hospital. The development of three educational courses as the investigation progresses provide (i) an extract of the methodology, (ii) a demonstration of the heuristic nature of the research, and (iii) the utility of an industry and university collaboration in doctoral study. Because they are products of the research, the curricula provide no data as yet, but incorporate much of what was learnt during the course of the research. Three staff-supported residential settings provide the basis for an empirical study of a constructivist approach to self-discovery. The fieldwork is a video-taped record of triangulated data collection in the houses, the evidence for each of which is individually presented in narrative format. The data is a tapestry of multiple realities that decentres individual construing while demonstrating a will to know. The study provides guidelines (i) in the use of a constructivist approach to connect the centre with the periphery of a mental health service, (ii) for a unifying basis in multi-professional working, and (iii) for an empowering mechanism of personal support to replicate good practice in psychotherapeutic work.