Biographical structuring

This article argues that the self is produced, maintained and modified in interaction and discourse. As a situated practice in ongoing social interaction, relying on biographical memory, cultural and situational impacts, the self is developed as a continuous structure allowing reliable expectations. We call this process biographical structuring and suggest a method of a reconstructive analysis. Distinguishing and triangulating the reconstructive perspectives of the lived life, the experienced life, and the presented life, we present a case analysis of an adolescent migrant, thus demonstrating how this kind of analysis can be applied in helping professions.