Michael White Narrative Therapy Analysis

Rogers worked with many others in developing the idea that clients could heal themselves, if only the therapist provided ‘facilitative’ or core conditions of, ‘empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard.’

Rather than trying to transform or change the person and create a new “desirable” human all together, narrative therapy leans towards the goal of transforming the

One of the greatest things about narrative therapy is it teaches clients to realize that they are not the problem but that the problem is the problem (Biever et al.; Johnson, 1994; Tomm, 1989; M. White & Epston, 1990). This creates the safe space without the identified person, but rather the identified problem.

The authors of narrative therapy are Michael White and David Epston in the 1970s and 1980s. It was created to separate the person from the problem, and therefore encourage individuals to utilize their own skills to resolve or minimize the problem. Narrative therapy is non-pathologizing; it is an empowering, collaborative type of therapy. Rather than transforming a person, narrative therapy aims to transform the effects of the problem. People are viewed separate from their problems which are transformed into personal stories giving a person meaning and identity into discovering the life’s purpose of the problem (Dulwich Centre - A Gateway to narrative therapy and community work, 2014).

Within the case presentation, there was reflection on the different theories that could be applied in her intervention and how to use different elements of each, such as the miracle question to understand what the client wants out of therapy (DeJong & Kim Berg, 2013). It was on account of cumulative knowledge gained during previous coursework pertaining to cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) as well as the in-depth discussion of the narrative approach within the capstone class that had ultimately led to, while short term, some progress within the client’s care during her time of treatment prior to her move. The process of learning about how to engage the client had resulted in the start of a good therapeutic relationship where the client

“The last thing I heard where the sirens. And the last thing I saw where a kaleidoscope of blue and red. And then everything went black, every ounce of air had escaped my lungs and had reached the surface of the lake in the form of little bubbles.” I told Louis Green, possibly the most boring person on earth. I don’t think he wanted to be my therapist anymore then I wanted to be in therapy.

Michael White and David Epston, established narrative therapy to purposely separate clients from their problems, emphasizing on identity, oppression and individual differences between therapists and clients. “Through this process, clients identify alternative ways to view, act and interact in daily life” Gehart, 2014, pg. 399). Dickerson (2014) found that, “Narrative therapists conceptualize problems as separate from people, opening space for alternative possibilities and a more preferred performance of their lives. ” They raise important questions on how do therapists relate to clients who are different than their identified social

My client is a 27-year-old biracial mother to two girls. I've been working with a client for almost 6 months doing Parent child psychotherapy therapy with her two-year-old daughter. During one of our regular sessions client shared with me she walked into a room and noticed her 7 years old daughter and seven-year-old niece were engage in what appeared to be a sexual play. Client continued to share how uncomfortable she felt and stated she had no idea how to handle the situation. She had conflicting thoughts because she knew her daughter had no idea what was happening but realize that her niece has been sexually molested in the past and might've been acting out what she learned.

Has your world ever been flipped upside down overnight? Well, mine has when my Uncle had a bad stroke that causes him to lose the left side of his brain. This event changed my life forever it was like I was blind to being able to see for the very first time. Those horrible days truly made me rethink my life, and it taught me how precious life is and how quickly life can be taken away. The biggest thing that came out of this was the improvement in my work ethic, giving it my all 100% of the time, and not procrastinating on anything in my life. Having my world flipped upside was probably the greatest thing that could have happened and here's why.

Narrative Therapy is an approach to counseling that places people as the professionals in their own lives. This type of therapy aims to view problems as separate individuals to people, assuming that the individual’s set of skills, experience, and mindset will assist them in reducing the influence of

Michael white and David Epston are best known for their use of narrative in therapy. According to white individuals construct the meaning of life in interpretive stories which are then treated as truth. Adopting a postmodern, narrative, social constructionist view sheds light on how power knowledge and truth are negotiated in families and other social and cultural contexts.

The intervention approached should be gentle with caution to translate what the client’s story means to them and guide them towards change in a meaningful and productive way (Phipps & Vorster, 2015). For example, the this particular client may explain their series of events as devastating and life altering. Using a narrative theoretical approach externalizing the words the client uses. The client expresses

Based on influences from Foucault and other scholars, narrative therapy assumes that the stories people tell and the language that they use play a role in their interpersonal and intrapersonal problems (Mattingly, 1998). The stories that cultures tell about such concepts as gender, class and race influence members views on the meaning behind these concepts. Because of external influences, when a client brings up a problem it is not the problem itself that needs to be examined. Instead, the client is being affected by their own framing of the problem. The stories that people tell themselves are shaped by society and can become problematic when a client feels that they no longer have control over their own story (Ross & Shapiro, 2002).

Narrative approaches is used as a ways of talking about practitioners ideas beliefs to process different practice techniques, bringing forth the use of reflexivity that offers the potential for improved methods, model or tool to be used in reflection. (Fook and Gardner, 2007). No one single truth or reality is set in concrete, as there is a variety of perspectives and understandings, just as there is no one size fits all solutions to problems. A modernist perspective places limitations to the problem and solution. With critical reflection we can create

Narrative therapy is one of the post-modern therapies used today. Narrative therapy helps individuals identify their values, skills, and knowledge they have to effectively face problems in their lives. The key ideas of narrative therapy are: people’s stories give meaning to their lives, stories are shaped by emotional themes, a person’s story shapes his/her personality, people seek counseling when their stories do not match their lived experiences, and people who have less social power benefit greatly from Narrative Counseling. The concern is with meaning making and there is an emphasis on mindfulness and positive psychology. The process of Narrative therapy starts in the initial stage exploring the client’s issues. It then transitions into the insight stage to a deeper understanding of the issues. The insight stage is followed by the action stage, where the client and therapist work to change the story and therefore change the outcome. Lastly, there is the termination phase.