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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Narrative, Poststructuralism, and Social Justice Current Practices in Narrative Therapy


By Gene Combs and Jill Freedman
The Counseling Psychologist

doi: 10.1177/0011000012460662
The Counseling Psychologist October 2012 vol. 40 no. 7 1033-1060


Abstract

This paper is a review of current practice in narrative therapy with a focus on how it is attractive and useful for therapists who wish to work for social justice. The authors describe narrative therapy’s roots in poststructuralist philosophy and social science. They illustrate its major theoretical constructs, including the narrative metaphor, Foucault’s notion of “modern power,” and narrative therapy’s emphasis on problems as separate from people. The authors then describe specific practices: narrative questions, externalizing conversations, utilizing the “absent but implicit,” the development and “thickening” of preferred stories, the documentation of preferred stories, outsider witness practices, and practices for connecting people around shared purposes. After reviewing research that supports narrative therapy as useful and effective, the authors specifically address the ways narrative therapy deals with issues of social justice, showing how its focus on the discourses of modern power helps therapists be especially attuned to these issues.

Contact information: Gene Combs, NorthShore University HealthSystem, 2050 Pfingsten Rd., Glenview, IL, 60026, USA