Research Question
Why is externalising a central technique in narrative therapy today, and what are the limitations and successes of this technique?
Research
The research complied for this report was gathered from various Journals dedicated to the discourse surrounding the practices of narrative therapy and family therapy. Search terms used to collect relevant articles were ‘narrative therapy’, ‘Michael White’ and ‘externalising’. The results from these terms were extensive and required narrowing further by way of peer reviewed status, content type and discipline. Data gathered was then critically analysed to explicate firstly, the socially constructed knowledge surrounding the process of narrative therapy, and the technique of externalising. Secondly, any discrepancies or conflicts in the discourse related to the application of the externalising technique. And lastly, the successes, efficacy, and limitations of externalising as a technique. There was no primary research conducted in the process of compiling this report.
Literature Review
Narrative therapy was introduced to the family therapy field in the late 1980’s by therapists Michael White and David Epston (Matos et al. 2009, p.89). A philosophy of narrative therapy is that everyone has a story to tell which is bound by the socially constructed knowledge within their cultural setting, and this story can be better interpreted by contextualising it according to the individual’s language, social, political and cultural situation (Combs & Freedman 2012, p.1036; Etchison & Kleist 2000, p.61; Fernandez 2010, p.16). The narrative is then reduced to the theme which is determined as a problematic element within the story, and perceived internally as a dominating power (Mascher 2...
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...ncalves, Miguel, Martins, Carla (2009), ‘Innovative moments and change in narrative therapy’, Psychotherapy Research, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 68-80.
Phipps, Warwick, Vorster, Charl (2011), ‘Narrative therapy: A return to the intrapsychic perspective?’, Journal of Family Psychotherapy, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 128-147.
Ramey, Heather L, Tarulli, Donato, Frijters, Jan C, Fisher, Lianne (2009), ‘A sequential analysis of externalising in narrative therapy with children’, Contemporary Family Therapy, no. 31, 2009, pp. 262-279.
Strong, Tom (2008), ‘Externalising questions: a micro-analytic look at their use in narrative therapy’, The International Journal of Narrative Therapy & Community Work, no. 3, 2008, pp. 59-71.
Walsh, William M, Keenan, Robert (1997), ‘Narrative Family Therapy’, The Family Journal: Counselling and Therapy for Couples and Families, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 332-336.
Storytelling’s impact on people who use it has been life saving in certain cases. By asserting the existence of different perspectives, writers get to suppress their own opinions in order to sympathize with others. (insert thing about meta-fiction) With this idea in mind, author Kate Taylor wrote the novel Serial Monogamy, a meta-fiction of a writer recalling the story of her husband’s affair and her deal with terminal breast cancer, all through her telling of Dickens’ secret life and tales of the Arabian Nights. In Serial Monogamy, storytelling makes people more understanding as they explore new perspectives.
Weisel-Barth, J 2014 ‘Review of “The Stories We Tell”’, International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, Vol.9(2), p.162-166, DOI: 10.1080/15551024.2014.884526
Psychodynamic Therapy helped obtain more information about the client’s childhood and why she enjoyed having independence and freedom. This approach helped the client notice that her mother’s hard work in preforming the mother/father roles while her father was deployed, influenced the client to have the same independence/freedom aspirations as her mother.
Nichols, M. P. (2010). Family therapy concepts and methods (9 ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
The premise of using narrative therapy in child focused problems is to allow the child to characterize the good in therapy by making the familiar strange and the strange familiar. In this study the idea of making the strange familiar is the process in which the child becomes conscious of their personal strength and capabilities. This article references the work of Michael White in narrative therapy; he believed his work was entirely a way to assist the person in building a strong personal story. A way to replace the old, possibly negative story they have already built; through the exploration of alternative personal stories in
If the client has family problems, opening up or sharing their experiences can be a bit easier if they have been longing for an outlet to communicate their frustrations. It can also be a source of reluctance if the client's typical way to deal with problems is to shut down emotionally. Lily's family issues began when she was a young girl and over the years they became magnified and intensified. The relationship between her parents was dysfunctional and witnessing this as a minor impacted the way Lily interacted with others. She sought comfort in others such as Rosaleen and idealized her mother. The environment that a client is brought up in can help the therapist to understand the circumstances that led the client to their current
The theory of change is not explicitly discussed however, the heavy reliance and best practice guidelines for free narrative work is a great indicator that narrative theory fits the theory of change. Narrative theory places emphasis on stories and conversation in order to obtain information from, in this case, interviewees(Stewart,
... Joyce Dorado. "Who Are We, But For The Stories We Tell: Family Stories And Healing." Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy 2.3 (2010): 243-249. PsycARTICLES. Web. 2 May 2014.
As a strong therapeutic relationship is being cultivated with a client and their family, a therapist is able to create a conceptualization case study to help them. Although each therapist has their own preference of conceptualizations, this case study will focus on the client’s demographics, reason for referral, developmental stage, mental health history, diversity and risk factors, role of the therapist, goals/interventions, and ethical concerns.
The Narrative design is one of the best designs to manage complicated processes in therapy, as well as address issues of cultural differences. Sherperis (2010) explains that narratives give specificity, intricacy and precise information analysis because narrative uses the research interview as the principle data collection instrument, and gives a window into the cognitive procedures of the person. Chang (2006) tells us that narrative approaches empower us to recognize more about others and the truth of race and diversity, additionally about ourselves. Utilizing narrative approaches allow counselors, and human service workers to examine power inside of the structure of race and ethnicity and along these lines help the individuals to vicariously put themselves inside of that power structure (Chan,
Narrative Therapy (NT) is a post-modern approach to Family Therapy (FT), derived from French post-structuralist theory, in particular Foucault’s concepts on dominant and subjugated discourses. This represents a major departure from more traditional FT models (i.e. Structural Therapy, Strategic Therapy, Transgenerational FT etc.) which, due to their overtly modern worldview, frames familial interactions as mechanistic processes and prescribes correspondingly rigid interventions.
Gehart, D. (2014). Mastering competencies in family therapy: A practical guide to theories and clinical case documentation. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
...Therapy approach in counseling Chris was asked precise questions; which lead to externalizing the problems. During the questioning Chris is able to identify his problems that relate to his behavior. Chris explores his behaviors, his life, relationships their effects, their meanings, and the context in which they are formed (Murdock
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,
I needed to help the client understand that he was not the problem; that he was a human being who makes mistakes but he himself was not the actually problem. The client needed to separate himself from his problem. During and after each session of narrative therapy, I observed that the client was still experiencing trauma (forcefully taken away form loving a and structured environment at his grandmothers house), isolation (distant from his family and being in and out of prison his whole life), addictions to alcohol and drugs, physical violence, loss of intimacy, loss of independence, despair, guilt and