Michael White's Narrative Family Theory

This paper will recount the development and history of narrative therapy and provide a brief background assessment on the founders and significant contributors to the postmodern approach of Narrative Therapy. The role of the therapist, the theory of change, the target of intervention, the assessment from this approach, and what the approach says about normalcy, health, and pathology will be presented. It will also discuss how narrative therapy might work with and be sensitive to the cultural and diversity factors and give some examples of intervention from this approach. It will then discus the case using concepts and ideas from narrative therapy and the application of the essential ideas of the narrative therapy in the case and, where appropriate,

The goal of narrative therapy is to change the impact that the problem or issue has on one’s life (Shapiro & Ross, 2002, hence changing the individual. The individual narrates their life story as the clinician strives to assist the client’s in identifying with their experience and to address concerns in their life after a social, political and/or cultural lifestyle. (Shapiro & Ross, 2002).

The basic concepts of this type of therapy are boundaries, subsystems, complementary and alignments which are easily applied and grasped. The most important aspect the therapist must keep in perspective is that every family is made up of structure and that these structures are seen only when the members of the family interact. If the therapist does not consider the entire structure of the family and intervene in only one of the many subsystems are most likely not to attain a lasting change.

Psychodynamic therapy has been around for ages, and has been very beneficial for clients who are suffering from an array of difficulties in life. This form of therapy has the client focus on the past and understand how it has positively or negatively affected his/her behavior and outlook on life. There are many advantages and disadvantages to taking this historical approach when working with families.

Family systems therapy has some interesting comparisons to make with narrative therapy. They are each commonly used in work with families. According to Kelly, narrative theory adopts a postmodern social constructionist lens (p. 316). Family systems theory originates from organismic biology and early psychoanalytic, behaviorism, and learning theories (Andreae, 2011, p. 244-245). Although these are very different theories, each emphasizes environmental factors and influences on behavior. With family systems theory, all members in the family unit must coexist with each other and other environments such as work, school, church, institutions, etc. (p. 247).

Within the early practices of family therapy, it began during the 1950’s and focused upon an individual-therapist relationship (www.abacon.com). Early therapist such as Freud and Rodgers focused upon the individual behavior which was internal, even though they understood that family interactions shapes a person’s

My first assumption of family therapy was to involve the parents and the individual that had the problem. This book explored further what it

Family therapy is a technique that has many alternative approaches to every aspect of treatment which Nichols (2014), states may present a challenge when describing a basic technique. The two models of family therapy in which I feel that I would be most effective and comfortable with would be, experiential family therapy and solution-focused brief therapy. I feel most comfortable with these models because, I adapt to the role of the therapist of both therapies naturally. According to Nichols (2014), when families seek therapy they are stuck in a life-cycle transition, sometimes they are obvious and sometimes they are not obvious. I’ve found that during the first session an excellent question is to ask the client why now so that they can

therapy aims to improve family relations, and the family is encouraged to become a type of

Narrative family therapy (NFT) is a postmodern, collaborative therapy approach that characterizes a family’s problem story as only one of many possible narratives (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013, p. 395). David Epston and Michael White founded NFT as a natural outcome of their work in anthropology, social work, and family therapy (Morgan, 2000, p. v). Narrative family therapists adhere to the deconstructionist notion that no absolute truth exists, that people’s narratives are not just about their lives, but are their lives, and that these narratives organize and maintain multiple realities from which to choose (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013, p. 395). This paper briefly describes the narrative approach to family therapy, including conditions needed for change to occur; the main goals of therapy; the therapist’s role; and the narrative view of multiculturalism. A case study illustrating NFT is provided.

The Russell family has been in the military a lot to say the least. My father also named Jerry was in the Air

Systemic therapy was based on Minuchin’s Structural Therapy model (1968) followed by Bateson's cybernetic model (1972) The first order cybernetic model considerd that problems within a family system should be focused on by strategically solving problems, meeting family goals and help change a person's dysfunctional behaviour. D Shazer (1985). These concepts in Systemic therapy were known as the major paradigms and were taught by therapists such as Minuchin in Milan until the information-processing systems were introduced. They were characterized by the therapist's observation of the system from the external social world. Minuchin S & Fisherman,HC (1981)

I was surprised by a variety of things in the documentary. The two things that surprised me the most was the amazing work done by the father in creating the chairs for the girls along with the attitude of the Miller twins. I was astounded to see what the chairs were capable of. I could not believe they could operate in snowy conditions and even in overgrown, grassy areas. The way the Miller parents were able to make things accessible for the twins was intriguing. Seeing their home full of ramps and other accessible things for the girls showed how committed the parents were to giving their children every opportunity that other kids have. In addition to the creation of the chairs and the adaptations done to the house, the attitude of the Miller

The SF and NF is effective respect cultural difference and treat a broad range of client populations because of the collaborative framework. Solution-focused therapists direct the conversation toward hypothetical solutions, exceptions to the problem, and solution descriptions and may not avoid conversations about larger cultural constructs. Certainly as a thoughtful use of language in therapy, which may develop into relational externalizing. In opposition, the models are taking different paths, many counselors are combining SF and NT under the of postmodern therapy process by combining different varieties existences to create a strength-based and collaborative perspective hybrid. Although the analysis of modern power focuses on desires. Meanwhile,

Nevertheless, Lakoff’s approach echoes Hunter’s theory of conflicting moral authorities and presents an elaborated cognitive model. In his model, Lakoff explains that the conservatives and liberals are under the influence of two different interpretations. In the contemporary American political landscape, the major assumption is that language reflects specific frames, conceptual metaphors, narratives and emotions that are grounded in our conceptual system.