One day, she reached out to me and we started reconnecting. I recognized how vulnerable she must have felt reaching out to me as an old friend whom she has not been close with in recent years. It took quite a lot of time, patience and support in order for her to feel comfortable and safe to share with me. As I expressed my vulnerable side, it allowed her to see me for who I truly was before she was able to become vulnerable and express how the relationship has affected her. She expressed feelings of shame, unworthiness and fear. The concept of vulnerability is difficult and uncomfortable to embrace. Vulnerability is composed of beliefs and values that are significant, discovering who we are and what our purpose is, and being honest with others and ourselves (Doane & Varcoe, 2015). The dark cloud of the unknown engulfs us when we are vulnerable. I was empathetic placing myself “in her shoes” throughout our conversations. Although it was painful for her, I knew when she became vulnerable and allowed herself to feel the grief, it was the first step towards regaining her self-worth, dignity, …show more content…
Empirical, contextual, ideological, ethical are the components that encompass the approaches for inquiry (Comrie, 2016). Although I did not use all four approaches to inquiry in the context of questions, I did use them in abstract ways beginning with the empirical approach, which is composed of objective data by learning more about the individual and their deficits in knowledge to precisely meet their needs (Comrie, 2016). I used this approach when I learned more about the traumatic events my friend went through which in turn supported me in helping her to move past this difficult time in her life. Contextual inquiry was used when I placed myself in her shoes, to fully embrace her lived experience and reflected on what past experiences she has had that may be impacting this one. The ideological approach considers what her personal outlook and biases are and how my personal viewpoint affects the situation. This allows for practices to be improved thus meeting the client’s needs (Comrie, 2016) Although I did not use this approach through the aspect of questioning, I did utilize this approach by having an open mind, approaching the situation without judgment and using a phenomenological and socio-environmental point of view. I also applied this approach through the similarities in our religion. I considered that was a key component that gave her strength throughout the process.