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Narrative therapy terms and concepts
Narrative therapy terms and concepts
Narrative therapy terms and concepts
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Using Narrative Therapy with Persons with Disabilities Narrative therapy seeks to assist clients in a conscious and non judgemental manner. The goal of Narrative therapy is for clients to focus on themselves as the specialists and author of their own lives. The counselor aids the client is recognizing that he or she is not their disability or their current issue. Also, Narrative therapy allows clients to see how their disability may be helping them and protecting the, rather than harm. The situations that occur over time in a person’s life are viewed as stories, which sometimes stand out with more meaning than others. For example, traumatic memories may carry a greater weight on one’s emotions than happier memories. These meaningful stories,
In the video presentation of How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop, Richard Lavoie is able to simulate several of the difficulties that a student with a learning disability has to face at school. Some of the difficulties experienced by the students are intrinsic to the disability itself, but many other difficulties are directly related with the emotions that the student experiences when attending a class, and as a result of his or her interactions with teachers and classmates. Both the United States law and the education system, have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the learning experience of every student with disability. Students with disabilities need to be guided to a path to education that is both feasible and accessible for them; with achievable goals, and by being provided what they need in order to succeed, and to be able to overcome any obstacles.
Overall this genre of conversational narrative is useful to those who need to “reconstruct and make sense of actual and possible life experiences” (7). There are pieces to a story that may not come as clear to a person who has been through traumatic situations, and storytelling is used to help not only with getting the story straight, but for healing as well.
Writing is generally referred to as being a hard to endure, long-lasting task, but my practice has changed and improved over the duration of this course. The choice to write these types of stories stemmed from my interactions with young women who had given up on life because they felt no cared about them or those who had become completely emotionless so that they wouldn’t be taken advantage of again. In a paper for Creative Research Journal, Charlotte Doyle writes, “Like other creative endeavours, the creative process in fiction writing is a voyage of discovery but differs from most other arts in one of its major modes of thoughts- narrative improvisation, a non-reflective mode that typically involves stances in a fiction world from viewpoints different from one’s own” (1998). The general advice given to writers is to write what they know; emotional abuse is something I know a little about from experience. Transferring that knowledge into a narrative that would appeal to readers in a way that would allow them empathize with those women was my
The theory that I chose to analyze in this paper is the constructivist approach with a dual use of both the Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) and Narrative Therapy. In my worldview change happens when an individual is motivated to persist and accomplish their goals. In my own personal philosophy, I am optimistic that every student is capable of discovering a solution that best fits in solving their problem and that everything we do in life is interconnected to helping us accomplish our ideal goals. I plan to work with first generation college students after completing the Educational Counseling program at USC and see the Constructivist approach to best accommodate the needs of first generation college student population. I see every
Narrative theory is underpinned by ideas of postmodernism, which makes an assumption that truth is subjective and embedded in stories or experiences of individuals (Connolly & Harms, 2013). Therefore, social workers who incorporate this theory wants to understand the ‘truths’ or ‘problems’ that people have constructed about themselves, depending on the context of their own experiences (Payne, 2006). Constructing stories about themselves and their experiences are part of meaning-making process. Each person’s experience of depression is personal and unique to them (dep. org). Witnessing and listening to people’s stories and validating their experiences such as impact of oppression and grief is important for recovery and to reclaim their lives
In narrative therapy, the therapist is a collaborator or consultant; clients are the true experts on their lives (Carr, 1998). Therapists who utilize narrative therapy work with clients from all walks of life with an array of conditions. Narrative therapy can be used to help children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. It can also be a beneficial intervention for couples, families, and community settings. The problems and disorders that may benefit from this therapeutic approach include, but aren’t limited to family conflict and marital concerns, mood disorders like anxiety and depression, loss and grief, childhood conduct problems, anger management, trauma, substance abuse and addiction. Carr (1998) credits narrative therapy for covering a vast amount of areas because the main goal of this intervention is to help the client deconstruct the problem-saturated dominant story and to thereby create opportunities to choose among other, more preferred
The counselor accomplishes the above by expressing empathy, developing discrepancies, going along with resistance and supporting self-efficacy. Moreover, the counselor guides the client toward a solution that will lead to permanent posi...
For this reason, some of the brief therapies, such as strategic family therapy or solution-focused therapy, that focus on rapid change without much attention to understanding, might be more appropriate. However, I believe these brief therapies do not give clients enough time to really parse out their problem. I am wary of counseling that limits clients’ ability to tell their stories fully, which seems like just one more way of silencing people, oppressing them, and keeping them in line. In working with my clients I want to collectively understand how problem-saturated stories developed, the cultural, familial, or biological factors that might be involved, and the availability of choices. I believe that narrative therapy is the most flexible approach in this respect because although not brief, it is efficient and seems to be effective long-term, although more research is needed, which is challenging because of the subjective nature of this approach (Madigan, 2011). In my therapy practice, I want to leave clients feeling hopeful and liberated by helping them to see the problem as separate from their identities and as only one story to choose from several, and by acknowledging the contextual factors contributing to the
Narrative reasoning focuses on the client’s particular circumstances and takes into account the client’s past, present, and future and how their current circumstances will affect their life. This gives the practitioner ideas on how to collaborate with the client and family based on the individual’s journey. It is important for the occupational therapy practitioner to help the client see how the treatment
The core concept of narrative therapy is rooted in postmodern theory. This includes having a positive and hopeful view of clients and their power to create change. Also, taking a “not-knowing” stance is essential in order to enhance collaboration between clients and therapist. Narrative Therapy encourages therapists to remain curious and acknowledge
Using narratives to gain an insight into human experience is becoming an increasingly popular method of exploration. Assuming that people are in essence narrative beings that experience every emotion and state through narrative, the value of exploring these gives us a unique understanding. Narrative is thought to act as instrument to explore how an individual constructs their own identity (Czarniawska, 1997) and explain how each individual makes sense of the world around them (Gabriel, 1998). It may also give us an understanding into individual thought processes in relation to individual decision making practices (O’Connor, 1997). It is evident from studies such as Heider and Simmel (1944), that there appears to be an instinctive nature in people to introduce plots structures and narratives into all situations, with an intention to construct meaning to all aspects of life in its entirety. The value of narrative is that it is a tool that allows us to understand what it means to be human and gives us an insight into a person’s lived experience whilst still acknowledging their cultural and social contexts. Narrative is thought to be significance as it is ‘a fruitful organizing principle to help understand the complex conduct of human beings (p.49)’ (Sarbin, 1990) The construction of a person’s narrative is thought to be dependent on each person’s individual awareness of themselves and the circumstances that surround them. However, a debate to whether a person is able to formulate a valid narrative in the face of a mental illness such as schizophrenia has emerged. Sufferer’s symptoms are often thought to interfere with their abilities to perceive within a level deemed acceptable to their society’s norms and therefore the validity ...
Narrative Therapy was developed by David Epston, with collaboration with Michael White, during the 1980s. Narrative therapy was birthed from a social constructionism perspective (Ponterotto & Casas, 2001). In other words, the focus of therapy was no longer on the problem, but rather the solution. Narrative therapy views the individual, system, and the system’s individuals through “constructed narratives” and focuses on redeveloping narratives that do not serve the client or system in a positive manner (Ponterotto & Casas, 2001). Social constructionism interprets reality through a subjective lens (Semmler & Williams, 2000). In other words, social constructionists believes that reality is what the client interprets it to be. Through this lens, it places control with the client and the client can guide ways that their reality is transformed.
In middle school I was diagnosed with a disability with the way I expressed myself through writing. Ever since, I have gained multiple values and learned several lessons about self confidence. I was taught to push past my limits, in order to be successful in reaching my goals along with my dreams. Today I am a senior in high school who was once thought to struggle, but was able to succeed beyond expectations. To some, a disability may seem like a setback from achieving goals, but to me I used it as a challenge for myself. I accepted myself for who I was and looked at my disability as a unique trait of mine. I was able to provide a message to others that anything you set your mind to is possible with dedication and hard work. It might take
This approach to therapy emerged within the postmodern period from a postmodern branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge. As a narrative councilor, human service worker, or therapist the focus is the narrative in narrative therapy. In this approach the councilor, human service worker, or therapist becomes a collaborator along with the client in a process to developing stronger narratives. Throughout this process, the councilor ask many questions to create a vivid descriptions of one’s life events that are not at the time included in the plot of the problem of the story. By forming a concept of a non-essentialized identity, the narrative approach practices separating a person from qualities and or attributes that are or can be taken-for-granted within a modern and structuralism pattern.
McAdams, D.P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of general psychology, 5 (2), 100.