Between Two Crises: Identity Reconstruction Through Critical Action Research Self-Study

Introduction

This chapter details a critical action research self-study, the purpose of which was to examine and understand the transition of the author’s professional identity between The Great Recession of 2008 through the end of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much has been written about career transitions, but little research is available from the insider perspective of a transition from business operations to teacher educator. During those 12 years I evolved from corporate director in international behavioral health care business operations to Adjunct Associate Professor of education in a state university but found that I could only superficially recognize myself in the contexts of academia. This troubled me to the extent that I experienced it as a problem of practice.

From the completion of my master’s degree in counselor education in 1984, I moved through a succession of early-career work settings and earned my clinical license. I provided psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and families in an agency setting and then made a transition to the oversight of contracted counselors. I advanced upward and in 1998 I was a director of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services for more than 6 million employee households in a large behavioral health care organization. The company was purchased, and the new owners began to eliminate layers of management, putting my director-level position at risk. I was laid off and as it turned out, due to a non-compete agreement between that U.S. organization and a job I really wanted with an international EAP company, layoff was the only way I could have gone from where I was to the next job.

I viewed my new job as the holy grail of professional opportunities in corporate international behavioral healthcare management. The goal of company leadership was to build a solid International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (ISO, 2000) certified organization, signifying its highest quality standardized services and practices, and then when the time was right the owner would sell, and we would all profit handsomely. Throughout the next ten years I focused on that objective, as I worked and traveled to Canada, the U.K., South Africa, Mexico, and China with the same small team of colleagues, who became like family members. I also benefited from a virtual office that made it possible for me to meet day or night with colleagues in disparate time zones. I authored operations manuals, I participated in sales presentations, and when I went to industry conferences, I was recognized by colleagues and competitors. I grew at ease in diverse cultural contexts. I designed and implemented the clinical operations, created performance metrics, contributed as content expert to proprietary software for clinical management, implemented reorganization initiatives, and stayed over one or two extra nights wherever I went on company business, since the overnight hotel and food were my only out-of-pocket costs. My professional identity solidified, and I acquired expertise.

Then, almost to the exact date, ten years after my start with the organization, the clock stopped. I answered my phone on a Friday morning and heard the voice of the Chief Executive Officer, who briefly explained that my position was being eliminated, effective immediately. In an instant, although I did not recognize it as such, my identity was stripped away. Gone were my familiar language set, my daily practices, my work family, the relationships with professional colleagues around the world, and my retirement plan. At every level to the depths of my being, this change was unwanted.

I negotiated for six months of severance pay and began searching diligently for a job. Overqualified, and older than average, I struggled as the six months passed, and then a year. Finally, after two and a half personally and financially devastating years of unemployment I was hired for an entry-level position in social work. I also returned to academia to pursue a graduate certificate in gender studies, which led me into a PhD program in education in teaching and learning, and a second graduate certificate in social justice in education. I transitioned to full-time student, supporting myself with graduate assistantships and student loans. My doctorate was conferred four months after I was eligible for Medicare. Now as an adjunct professor, I teach master’s students in education in the social justice and action research classrooms. I also work as a psychotherapist in private practice.