We congratulate Marit on completing her master's degree
"We are very proud to have Marit as part of the staff at Eikholt. This is expertise that both we colleagues, users of Eikholt and their loved ones will benefit from.
How have I become me? This is the title of Marit's Master's thesis. In a qualitative study of sibling narratives, she has looked at how siblings of children with disabilities describe their own identity development.
What have you benefited most from taking a master's programme?
- "Throughout the family therapy programme, we've worked a lot with ourselves and our own history, as we meet people in many different life challenges. Through this, I have learnt a lot about myself and the systemic approach. This approach has an overarching idea that people are part of systems, where we mutually influence each other. People must always be understood relationally. I am keen to focus on people's mastery, opportunities and resources. To realise this, we are often dependent on someone believing in us and that we are capable. This is important knowledge when dealing with yourself and others, and it's something I focus on in conversations and when meeting people.
How do you plan to use what you have learnt in your studies?
- I want to focus on the systemic approach and meet the entire family of the users who come to Eikholt. If one member of the family has a combined visual and hearing impairment, it will affect the whole family. Eikholt is well organised for this, both through interdisciplinary work and the physical surroundings. I'm also interested in siblings and children as next of kin and their role in the family, so there will be a course in 2022 where we'll be inviting siblings of children with combined visual and hearing impairments. Here we will focus on them and their stories, where they get to meet other siblings and they can share experiences with each other.
Marit has used the summer to enjoy the freedom of not having to study alongside her job. She's pulled out good novels that have been on hold for four years, eaten strawberries and Italian ice cream. Now she's ready for everyday life again and is looking forward to meeting users and carers again. She's also discovered that she loves to write, so we shouldn't rule out an article or two appearing in due course.