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Therapists, counselors, community and mental health workers, and educators share their insights on narrative therapy and show how it can be used in situations such as group counseling, work with indigenous native communities, and treating male sex abuse survivors. Details strategies for moving the client's focus away from blame and judgement, deconstructing the problem, and helping clients examine unstated cultural assumptions. Includes a glossary. -- Copyright © 1999 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR All rights reserved
Review
"The utility of this volume's conservative social constructionist praxis is undeniable. . . . Narrative Therapy in Practice nevertheless provides scholarly and lucidly assembled contributions that significantly broaden the scope of narrative praxis, and for this reason it is recommended reading." (Contemporary Psychology)
". . . recommend Narrative Therapy in Practice . . . to professionals and therapists in training who are interested in learning the theory and the practice of narrative work." (American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy)
?This book is a testimony to the spirit of a community of therapists in New Zealand who set about supporting each other in explorations of the practice, ethics and politics of what has come to be known as ?Narrative Therapy.? But more than this, it constitutes a powerful invitation to us all to follow suit, to join with others in the generation of new options for action in this work. Inspired reading.? (Michael White, Dulwich Centre, Adelaide, Australia)
?A wonderful book! Readable and lucid, it clarifies narrative therapy and its specifics for both the beginner and advanced practitioner—and it is also theoretically powerful. I liked the scholarship, the energy, the practicality, and the awareness of complex multicultural issues.? (Allen E. Ivey, distinguished university professor, school and counseling psychology program, University of Massachusetts)
?In this clearly written book, the focus is not on `experts' solving problems, it is on people becoming `consultants to themselves', and dissolving their problems by discovering in dialogue, the new and better, but previously unrecognized possibilities they already contain within themselves. An important and useful book indeed.? (John Shotter, professor of interpersonal relations, Department of Communication, University of New Hampshire)
Book Description
How to apply the definitive postmodern therapeutic technique in a variety of situations, including treating alcoholics, counseling students, treating male sexual abuse survivors, and more. Written with scholarship, energy, practicality, and awareness.
Book Info
University of Waikato, Auckland, New Zealand. Text on narrative therapy, for therapists. Discusses externalizing conversations, deconstructing problems, and examining cultural assumptions. 13 contributors, no U.S.
From the Inside Flap
Narrative therapy, first introduced by Australia's Michael White and New Zealand's David Epston more than ten years ago, is based on the idea that problems are manufactured in social, cultural, and political contexts. Each person produces the meaning of his or her own life from the stories that are available in these contexts. As Narrative Therapy in Practice demonstrates, it is the spirit of collaboration that guides clinicians who use this this innovative approach. Together they work to help clients unearth competencies, talents, abilities, and resources and create a transformed ?redescription? of themselves. The information presented is grounded in solid theories and research in learning, language, and cognitive behavior. Using practical examples, clinicians are shown how narrative therapy can be applied in a variety of situations such as treating alcoholics, group counseling, work with indigenous native communities, and treating male sexual abuse survivors. Narrative Therapy in Practice is the result of an unusual collaboration of therapists, counselors, community and mental health workers, educators, and students who share a firm belief in the hopeful and cooperative style of this therapeutic process. The And result is a book that is as delightful to read as it is instructive, filled with illustrative examples that describe the nature of narrative therapy. The book also includes information on: Using externalizing conversations to move the client's focus away from self-attack, recrimination, blame, and judgment, all of which work against productive and positive therapeutic outcomes Deconstructing the problem and giving the clients an opportunity to examine unstated cultural assumptions Asking questions and responding to stories to gain a complete account of the client's full experience of the problem, its history, and its influence
From the Back Cover
Narrative therapy—first introduced by Australia's Michael White and David Epston more than ten years ago—is based on the theory that an individual's problems are manufactured in a social, cultural, and political context. Each person produces meaning for their own life, instead of meaning being made for us.As this important new book, Narrative Therapy in Practice, demonstrates this innovative approach requires that the therapist and client work in collaboration to help the client unearth dormant competencies, talents, abilities and resources and create a positive "redescription" of the client. The information presented in this instructive resource is grounded in solid scientific research in the fields of learning, language and cognitive behavior. And, for the first time, using practical examples, clinicians are shown how narrative therapy can be applied in a variety of situations, such as treating alcoholics, counseling students, working with indigenous native communities, treating male sexual abuse survivors, and more.
About the Author
GERALD MONK is director of the counselor education program at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. JOHN WINSLADE is a counselor educator at the University of Waikato. KATHIE CROCKET is a counselor in the student counseling service of the University of Waikato. DAVID EPSTON is codirector of the Family Therapy Center in Auckland, New Zealand and one of the codevelopers of narrative therapy. He is the author of Collected Paper (1983) and Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends (1991).
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