Abstract
This developmental paper reports a work-in-progress study that explores narrative identity work through which helping professionals narrate and feel their way into desired and future selves. Given the influence of (national) cultural differences on how individuals build their story and give meaning to life events, we aim to investigate this across three cultural contexts: Japan, Sweden, and Italy. Through a comparative qualitative study using a narrative approach, we plan to conduct about 20 semi-structured interviews per country and use drawings to facilitate the emergence of participants’ reflections, unspoken thoughts, and feelings. With this work, we aim to contribute to narrative identity work in two ways: Firstly, by highlighting the role of emotions, we argue that future-oriented self-narratives can function as active and generative psychological resources that sustain resilience and a sense of meaning at work. Secondly, we underline how personal life stories, meanings, and surrounding narratives are shaped by national cultural values and cannot be understood without considering this interplay.