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Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends
White and Epston base their therapy on the assumption that
people experience problems when the stories of their lives,
as they or others have invented them, do not sufficiently
represent their lived experience. Therapy then becomes a
process of storying or restorying the lives and experiences of
these people. In this way narrative comes to play a central
role in therapy. Both au...more
people experience problems when the stories of their lives,
as they or others have invented them, do not sufficiently
represent their lived experience. Therapy then becomes a
process of storying or restorying the lives and experiences of
these people. In this way narrative comes to play a central
role in therapy. Both au...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
May 17th 1990
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published May 1990)
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Aug 06, 2011
Olga
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested in narrative or in therapy/counceling
Recommended to Olga by:
I picked up the reference from "Reviving Ophelia"
Shelves:
nonfiction,
psychology
The wealth of the lived experience is immense. When we're constructing a story of our lives, we cannot possibly include all of it into a story. So, something always gets left out of the narrative. It's fine when it works. But what if it doesn't?
If one's life story doesn't work for them any more, it is time to get this story out and see what had gotten left out. We do not live out our story all the time; some experiences deviate from it. So, it's time to take these experiences and build a new, mo...more
If one's life story doesn't work for them any more, it is time to get this story out and see what had gotten left out. We do not live out our story all the time; some experiences deviate from it. So, it's time to take these experiences and build a new, mo...more
Mar 22, 2011
Hiroshi Sasaki
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
all therapists and therapist trainees
Shelves:
psychology
One of my top 25 and probably top 10 psychotherapy books, well worthy of this current re-read. I heart Michael White, and am glad I had the chance to meet him at the eighth Evolution of Psychotherapy conference in 2005. As a former English grad student and lover of critical theory, I'm thoroughly enamored of the politics of empowerment that underlies Narrative Therapy, in particular the social constructionist notion that no-one has a monopoly on 'Truth.' Anyone who is able to make the work of Mi...more
I was really excited about this book and learning more about Narrative Therapy, and was very disappointed to find that it was very heavy on abstract theory and not so heavy on how a therapeutic session takes place.
Part of therapy is how the session is structured and how the questions themselves are asked, which was not really addressed. When they discussed externalizing the problem it would have been so useful to see a transcript from a therapy session to get an example of how this looks, but th...more
Part of therapy is how the session is structured and how the questions themselves are asked, which was not really addressed. When they discussed externalizing the problem it would have been so useful to see a transcript from a therapy session to get an example of how this looks, but th...more
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A ground breaking book in the field of psychotherapy. White and Epston shift the idea of therapy from a doctor curing a disease to an editor helping the client tell a better story about her life. There's a wealth of techniques to look at the narrative of your life and change it from negative to positive, despairing to hopeful, dead end to a road with infinite possibilities. The therapist become a helpful companion, a wise guide, rather than an expert telling you what's wrong with you and telling...more
In the original words of pioneering family therapists Michael White and David Epston this book describes their theories of how change happens and what leads to third order, transformative change. It contains some revolutionary ideas about how power and knowledge are intricately connected and transfered through storytelling.
1 like · like · see review
Really enjoyed this. Continue to be fascinated by narrative and the role that story plays in shaping our culture and our individual lives. This is a good intro to "narrative therapy" and the tools employed could be useful in congregational studies and interventions.
Jul 07, 2011
Travis Martin
added it
i love absolutely everything about these two family therapists.
This is one of the first if not THE first volumes on Narrative Therapy. The ideas are still vibrant and important, but the text is a little hard to follow at times. It does link the therapy to some of the philosophical traditions that appear throughout the later work. Still probably a must read for someone really interested in this type of therapy.
Jan 14, 2008
Ellen
marked it as to-read
Recommended by a teacher... I should be a good student :)
Love this!!
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Michael White was an Australian social worker and family therapist.
He is known as the founder of narrative therapy, and for his significant contribution to psychotherapy and family therapy, which have been a source of techniques adopted by other approaches.
More about Michael White...
He is known as the founder of narrative therapy, and for his significant contribution to psychotherapy and family therapy, which have been a source of techniques adopted by other approaches.
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