Narrative Therapy Model
Conclusion
Cooper and Lesser (2014) emphasized that the narrative therapy, as a post-structural theoretical model, explains how life stories are “shaped by the dominant cultural, are performed by us and live through us, and have abilities to both restrain and liberate our lives” (p. 157). |
I first became familiar with narrative therapy model when I was a graduate student in Poland, majoring in Polish literature and education. This models still fascinates me and, I find it particularly useful with the elderly who are often treated with impatience and not being listen to.
In other words, the stories we tell reflect on the complexity of life, and how it is lived.
Gardner and Poole (2009) emphasized that for older adults, particularly “heightened …show more content…
Therefore, therapy becomes a process of re-telling the lives of these people. Mrs. Eva would benefit from externalizing questions which separate person from the problem by giving the problem a name. For instance, I would encourage her to think of nouns rather than adjectives when talking about her multiple illnesses. I would emphasize that she has a two-way relationship with her “Illnesses” - not only they affect her, but also she affects them. This approach would identify new opportunities for reducing the influence of her health problems and refocus her to enjoying life …show more content…
In case of my client, this statement is particularly significant, because she would often blame herself for bad or unfortunate events in her own life or of her loved ones. It would have to be explained to her that she is in a relationship with the problem, which is completely different than being the problem itself. Because problem-saturated stories powerfully influence people's lives, restrain their options and limit responsibility for them, the role of the therapy is to deconstruct them. Through externalization, Mrs. Eva would step back and examine her relationship with the Problem and Its relationship with her, something that is affecting her life, rather than being a part of her as a person. For instance, “How is Depression/ Arthritis/ Rheumatism controlling you?” could be asked first in order to open up new possibilities for her later to reclaim her life and relationships from the problem and its
Cooper and Lesser (2014) emphasized that the narrative therapy, as a post-structural theoretical model, explains how life stories are “shaped by the dominant cultural, are performed by us and live through us, and have abilities to both restrain and liberate our lives” (p. 157). |
I first became familiar with narrative therapy model when I was a graduate student in Poland, majoring in Polish literature and education. This models still fascinates me and, I find it particularly useful with the elderly who are often treated with impatience and not being listen to.
In other words, the stories we tell reflect on the complexity of life, and how it is lived.
Gardner and Poole (2009) emphasized that for older adults, particularly “heightened …show more content…
Therefore, therapy becomes a process of re-telling the lives of these people. Mrs. Eva would benefit from externalizing questions which separate person from the problem by giving the problem a name. For instance, I would encourage her to think of nouns rather than adjectives when talking about her multiple illnesses. I would emphasize that she has a two-way relationship with her “Illnesses” - not only they affect her, but also she affects them. This approach would identify new opportunities for reducing the influence of her health problems and refocus her to enjoying life …show more content…
In case of my client, this statement is particularly significant, because she would often blame herself for bad or unfortunate events in her own life or of her loved ones. It would have to be explained to her that she is in a relationship with the problem, which is completely different than being the problem itself. Because problem-saturated stories powerfully influence people's lives, restrain their options and limit responsibility for them, the role of the therapy is to deconstruct them. Through externalization, Mrs. Eva would step back and examine her relationship with the Problem and Its relationship with her, something that is affecting her life, rather than being a part of her as a person. For instance, “How is Depression/ Arthritis/ Rheumatism controlling you?” could be asked first in order to open up new possibilities for her later to reclaim her life and relationships from the problem and its