Narrative Therapy: The Social Construction of Preferred Realities

by Jill Freedman, Gene Combs

For psychotherapy students, teachers, and practitioners, this book describes the clinical application of the growing body of ideas and practices that has come to be known as narrative therapy. Clear and compelling demonstrations of narrative therapy practice, rich in case examples and creative strategies, are at the heart of this book.

Genres: Psychology, Counselling, Nonfiction, Social Work, Mental Health, Narrative, Sociology

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Jill Freedman, MSW and Gene Combs, MD are Co-Directors of Evanston Family Therapy Center, as well as founding members of the Chicago Center for Family Health.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Alien Bookreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I've found a winner. It's Narrative Therapy.

A relatively niche form of therapy I've never heard of until this week, that focuses on helping you reframe your life story so you do not over-identify with your problems but instead see yourself as someone capable of solving all your problems. Narrative Therapy claims that the culture around us can influence us to see our life story in a "problem saturated way" where we see our life in terms of our struggles and disadvantages, and that a better way to live life is to see ourselves in terms of our strengths.

What does it say about the therapy industry that this seems to go totally counter to the aim of most therapy approaches?

Why I'm skeptical of therapists
When I was 19, I had a really good therapist (cognitive behavioral therapy) in a time when I was flailing. She opened my eyes to the concept of change being possible. She tried to show me that it is possible to have a good life, and that there are solutions to my problems other than suicide. After that, I had a string of bad therapists who were either ineffective, condescending or both. The final therapist, who made me definitively lose trust in therapists was a guy who, after finding out I was going to move to a new city to start my master's degree and therefore stop therapy with him, told me I will never be happy in my life unless I defer my studies and sign up for 1-2 years of therapy with him. What a scam. I never sought therapy again after that.

I wish I had found a therapist who encouraged me to be in control of my life and not identity with my problems or see my problems as features of my personality, like my original therapist. But alas, most therapists are not like her. I may sound cynical, but I think it's true that therapists make money most effectively when they can create victims who keep coming back for a cure but are never fully healed.

Narrative Therapy compared to Other Forms of Therapy

I think this is a good form of therapy to do (or to do on your own with books) when you are at the tail end of a problem, after having digested it, mapped it, found its origins, have become aware of how it affects your life... when it is time to move past it, not be a victim of it. To choose to see your life as doable, and yourself as capable despite the problems and to live your life!

There are many therapies out there (psychoanalysis, CBT, DBT, inner child work, somatic therapy, memory reconsolidating). I think they all have their own strengths and some may be best in the beginning of grappling with a problem, and some may be more suited for certain mental illnesses.

My issue with many of the other therapy approaches is that they get you to look clearly at your problems and see your dysfunction... and then it stops there. I think this creates a lot of people who see themselves as victims of their past. I know this phenomenon. I've been one of these people and now I'm trying not to be. You get to the point where you admit that some horrible life events fucked you up but not to the point where you admit that you can thrive anyway, despite those events, and (controversially) that maybe you even gained some strengths from these events.

Narrative therapy is about you being the author of your own life, choosing how to see yourself, choosing to see yourself as the hero of your own story instead of as a victim of events, or to over-identify with your problems. In narrative therapy there are no "problem people", there are people who have problems and all problems are solvable.

Is this a pro or a con?
One of the criticisms listed on wikipedia for narrative therapy is ironically, that the client may have too much self empowerment (Lol!): "Narrative therapists simply privilege their client's concerns over and above "dominating" cultural narratives".

How is this a criticism? If you want to reject cultural narratives, do it. Don't give in to groupthink. You don't have to see yourself in terms of the popular narratives, or in terms of how others see you. You can choose to see yourself and your life how you want.

The main approaches:
The therapist gently questions the client's existing narrative. If the client says "I always give up on things I start" the therapist can point to some examples when it didn't occur, and question if this narrative is really true. With time, the old narrative can be dismantled and a new one, based on the client's strengths can emerge.

The client embarks on a project with small goals. For instance a shy child can embark on a "bravery project" with a checklist of small goals, like raising her hand in class.

Clients receive certificates (created by the therapists) for these projects as a way to solidify the feeling of accomplishment.

Clients perform their new narrative in front of an audience. Having others see that this is who you are helps you believe it yourself. I.e doing something brave in front of others, helps to reaffirm that you are brave because others see the evidence too. It's not just in your mind. It becomes more real this way.

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Jume 5th, 2023:

Do we need to forget our bad memories in order to enjoy our lives?

I read this on the wikipedia page for Negative Affect:
"since negative affect relies more on cautious processing than preexisting knowledge, people with negative affect tend to perform better in instances involving deception, manipulation, impression formation, and stereotyping. Negative affectivity's analytical and detailed processing of information leads to fewer reconstructive-memory errors, whereas positive mood relies on broader schematic to thematic information that ignores detail."

That's really interesting. In a negative mood people perceive and remember information more accurately, but in a positive mood they see the broader themes rather than the details, making their memory less accurate. Is this good? Is this bad? Maybe story telling and feeling positive about life go hand in hand. You can sacrifice accuracy for happiness. Or sacrifice happiness for remembering the truth about your own life.

I am often at this crossroads because I have a very good memory, and I wonder, if I just edit or force myself to forget memories of my life, will I be happier? Is the cost of this that I will forget the painful lessons learned? Are painful lessons even valuable if they produce more pain than anything else? I'm asking too many questions in this book review, but overall I think story telling is a powerful way to deal with pain, so maybe the trick is not to forget the details but to frame them as part of the process of overcoming hardship.

I am reminded of The Hero With a Thousand Faces in which the hero's journey is a journey that feels universally recognizable, because usually one's life seems to follow the trajectory of being called to a journey, failing a few times, and eventually succeeding.

I didn't read this whole book, because it goes into detail with a lot of example dialogue that would happen in a therapy session. But I'm rating it anyway, because I don't think I'll read it all.

Available here:
https://archive.org/details/narrative...

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been slowly re-reading the required texts from my Masters program, and this book was part of this journey. Originally, I read parts of it for a theory class (I think?) but now that I have actual therapy experience under my belt, I found it far more useful. It is straightforward and provides a good basic understanding of what makes narrative therapy unique. It also makes the same assumptions that many other therapy texts do, which is to assume the reader (likely a therapist) comes from a privileged background. Even as it extolls the benefits of creating space for clients' own narratives, it does not consider the effects of the therapist's own placement and identity within our society and culture as relevant to the process. I would argue that it is, and that it is an important point to consider as it can and often does affect the client's meaning-making process.

[s_evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

so far I appreciate the added perspective of social/de-constructivism as well as case vignettes with an exploration of the therapists' potential social powers s/he may not have been aware of. it is good to read while also reading white and epston's *narrative means to theraputic ends* to see another version and, why white and epston's is the true essence of the modality, and freedman and combs' their own version with added aforementioned additions.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books on therapy, and of course especially narrative therapy. It's very readable as an introduction but also has a lot of detail in it to help develop skills if you already know the model. Very approachable.

[Jeff Falzone · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on the subject. It's phenomenally practical for those who are trying to learn or improve their skills in this domain of therapy, yet it also gets the core post-structural ideas across in a very clear manner.

This is an excellent place to start your adventure into this heady yet deeply compassionate form of therapy.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read this book for my Psychology class. A bit confusing at times, boring in others, but still interesting in certain parts. Someone who is more passionate in psychology may enjoy it more.

[Tamara M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this was a required reading for my class on Postmodern Therapy Approaches - I really enjoyed learning more about Narrative therapy through this well-written book. The combination of theory and practical application as well as many examples from authors' practice - made this book more interesting compared to the usual textbooks. Maybe I don't agree with all the premises of Postmodern Social Constructionism - but there is so much wisdom and value in the idea that 'People are not the problem - the problem is the problem', and helping people dig deeper into the stories that they've been telling themselves, and exploring an alternative narrative that will empower them to live their life more fully.

[rachel schick · Rating 3 out of 5]

had to pause :’) although I love learning about counseling theories, this was just a bit too dense for me to make meaningful progress that would translate to real, practical learning on top of work, seeing clients, and school assignments

[Grace Wexler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great and timeless. Does an excellent job of setting up the fundamentals and worldview that make narrative therapy such an important stance in modern mental health care. I learned so much from this book and I know I will continue to reference its contents throughout my career.

[l · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s hard to read this type of thing tbh. I’m done lol.

[Rey-Philip Genaldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites in understanding my modality of choice.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer on Narrative Therapy.

[RaeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very helpful chapters and others that were more dense and difficult to get through.

[Ashton E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love narrative therapy and this book explained the concepts very well.

[Zuzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dobrá, praktická. Součást studia.

[lukas · Rating 5 out of 5]

toto sa mi veľmi páčilo, silno podnetné, zmenilo mi to asi v niečom brain chemistry

[Janet Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to start with if interested in narrative therapy. A very solid overview. Next, read White and Epston's book for more theory.

[A L e X a N D e R · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors take us through the development of narrative therapy conceptually and practically. An engrossing, essential work.