Narrative therapy: a brief history and discussion
- Authors: Sieberhagen, Stephanie
- Date: 2008-11-12T08:48:10Z
- Subjects: Narrative therapy
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:14666 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1639
- Description: M.A. , Narrative therapy is explored through the works of David Epston and Michael White, as well as other texts, mostly originating from the seat of Narrative Therapy, the Dulwich Centre in Adelaide. Emphasis is placed on the history of narrative therapy, both distant and more recent before a discussion of the philosophy and method of narrative therapy is offered. An innovative section including the use of metaphor and a text analysis of extracts from the Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas is included towards the end of the text. Narrative Therapy is discussed in an accessible and synoptic manner, with definitions of most of the more well used terms within the field.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Sieberhagen, Stephanie
- Date: 2008-11-12T08:48:10Z
- Subjects: Narrative therapy
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:14666 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1639
- Description: M.A. , Narrative therapy is explored through the works of David Epston and Michael White, as well as other texts, mostly originating from the seat of Narrative Therapy, the Dulwich Centre in Adelaide. Emphasis is placed on the history of narrative therapy, both distant and more recent before a discussion of the philosophy and method of narrative therapy is offered. An innovative section including the use of metaphor and a text analysis of extracts from the Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas is included towards the end of the text. Narrative Therapy is discussed in an accessible and synoptic manner, with definitions of most of the more well used terms within the field.
- Full Text:
A case study exploring the use of the tree of life as a narrative intervention tool with a black adolescent girl who was sexually abused in South Africa
- Authors: Jamieson, Carol Anne
- Date: 2012-06-07
- Subjects: Child psychotherapy , Narrative therapy , Teenage girls - South Africa , Sexually abused teenagers - South Africa , Teenagers, Black - South Africa
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:8670 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5025
- Description: M.Ed. , This case study explored how the tree of life could be used as a narrative intervention tool with a Black adolescent girl who had been sexually abused in South Africa. The sample was limited to one participant who was engaged during therapy. This research inquiry aimed at discovering just how the tree of life could be applied as a tool in working with one of many adolescent girls in our scenario who have survived sexual abuse. The tree of life was applied in phases during brief therapy spanning eight sessions since I was limited by my practicum requirements regarding the length of therapy. The research was conducted from an overarching constructivist paradigm which facilitated insight into how the individual constructed and understood the world (Eloff & Ebersöhn, 2004). Within this paradigm lies a theoretical framework with two theoretical lenses namely, positive psychology which emphasizes positive experience and thinking drawing on personal assets to create a sense of well-being (Ebersöhn & Eloff, 2006). The second is critical psychology which encapsulates the African philosophy emerging in South Africa as opposed to westernized opinions previously adopted (Higgs & Smith, 2006). It also gives voice to those silenced, marginalised or oppressed such as sexually abused women. Then the Bio-ecological Model of Bronfenbrenner, falling within bio-ecological theory, provided a framework to apply systems theory when examining the complexity of relationships of the participant within her systems (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). The research design was a case study based on a single participant who was identified during my practicum. The selection of the participant was according to set criteria. The research method enabled the researcher to adopt dual roles as researcher-therapist and researcher-participant in order to understand the meaning the participant attributed. Keeping ethical research in mind, data was generated through a variety of sources namely, therapeutic sessions and accompanying artefacts as well as a feedback interview captured on video and audio-recorders. In order to explore the data generated from the intervention process I used interpretive phenomenological analysis according to recommendations by Smith (2008). Thus the data was explored for meaning, meanings were clustered and coded and findings were extracted falling under the main theme the Tree of life and sub-themes directly related to the phases of the tree of life. Other sub-themes were integrated into the main these concerning a Black adolescent girl in South Africa and the effects of sexual abuse. These themes were explained in terms of how the tree of life can be used as a narrative intervention tool and verification was achieved through a feedback interview with the participant a year after therapy was terminated. The findings of the study were specific to this case but could contribute to the field of Educational Psychology in terms of psychotherapeutic interventions since it provides a tool to use when intervening with adolescents who have survived sexual abuse. The necessity for appropriate tools to work effectively within brief therapy has arisen for several reasons. Sexual abuse is rampant in South Africa, statistics of girls who receive no intervention are rising and resources are minimal. The study highlights the usefulness of the tool in terms of assessing change in the client and the client's wellbeing not only individually but across her context. It also provides evidence of contextual and cross-cultural needs regarding therapy.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Jamieson, Carol Anne
- Date: 2012-06-07
- Subjects: Child psychotherapy , Narrative therapy , Teenage girls - South Africa , Sexually abused teenagers - South Africa , Teenagers, Black - South Africa
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:8670 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5025
- Description: M.Ed. , This case study explored how the tree of life could be used as a narrative intervention tool with a Black adolescent girl who had been sexually abused in South Africa. The sample was limited to one participant who was engaged during therapy. This research inquiry aimed at discovering just how the tree of life could be applied as a tool in working with one of many adolescent girls in our scenario who have survived sexual abuse. The tree of life was applied in phases during brief therapy spanning eight sessions since I was limited by my practicum requirements regarding the length of therapy. The research was conducted from an overarching constructivist paradigm which facilitated insight into how the individual constructed and understood the world (Eloff & Ebersöhn, 2004). Within this paradigm lies a theoretical framework with two theoretical lenses namely, positive psychology which emphasizes positive experience and thinking drawing on personal assets to create a sense of well-being (Ebersöhn & Eloff, 2006). The second is critical psychology which encapsulates the African philosophy emerging in South Africa as opposed to westernized opinions previously adopted (Higgs & Smith, 2006). It also gives voice to those silenced, marginalised or oppressed such as sexually abused women. Then the Bio-ecological Model of Bronfenbrenner, falling within bio-ecological theory, provided a framework to apply systems theory when examining the complexity of relationships of the participant within her systems (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). The research design was a case study based on a single participant who was identified during my practicum. The selection of the participant was according to set criteria. The research method enabled the researcher to adopt dual roles as researcher-therapist and researcher-participant in order to understand the meaning the participant attributed. Keeping ethical research in mind, data was generated through a variety of sources namely, therapeutic sessions and accompanying artefacts as well as a feedback interview captured on video and audio-recorders. In order to explore the data generated from the intervention process I used interpretive phenomenological analysis according to recommendations by Smith (2008). Thus the data was explored for meaning, meanings were clustered and coded and findings were extracted falling under the main theme the Tree of life and sub-themes directly related to the phases of the tree of life. Other sub-themes were integrated into the main these concerning a Black adolescent girl in South Africa and the effects of sexual abuse. These themes were explained in terms of how the tree of life can be used as a narrative intervention tool and verification was achieved through a feedback interview with the participant a year after therapy was terminated. The findings of the study were specific to this case but could contribute to the field of Educational Psychology in terms of psychotherapeutic interventions since it provides a tool to use when intervening with adolescents who have survived sexual abuse. The necessity for appropriate tools to work effectively within brief therapy has arisen for several reasons. Sexual abuse is rampant in South Africa, statistics of girls who receive no intervention are rising and resources are minimal. The study highlights the usefulness of the tool in terms of assessing change in the client and the client's wellbeing not only individually but across her context. It also provides evidence of contextual and cross-cultural needs regarding therapy.
- Full Text:
Die invloed van 'n fokus op die verlede in 'n terapeutiese gesprek
- Authors: Sluiter, Susan Charlotte
- Date: 2008-11-12T08:47:34Z
- Subjects: Experiential psychotherapy , Narrative therapy , Psychotherapist and patient
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14664 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1637
- Description: M.A. , The primary aim of the study is to scrutinize the effect of a goal directed psychotherapeutic focus on the client’s childhood experiences, on the therapeutic process, through the narrative analysis of a psychotherapy session. A goal directed therapeutic focus on childhood experiences is defined as any therapeutic approach that considers a focus on the client’s childhood as a prerequisite for change in the present. The study postulates that ‘n goal directed therapeutic focus on childhood experiences is imbedded in a modernistic framework and therefore relies on a set of modernistic principles that could collectively have an undesired effect on therapeutic conversation and consequently on the unfolding of narratives in the session. This criticism is grounded in a social constructionist-narrative epistemology which emphasises the collaborative exploration of alternative narratives in psychotherapy and thus the “agendaless” and collaborative nature of therapeutic conversation. From this perspective a goal directed therapeutic focus on the client’s childood experiences is considered to be counterproductive to the therapeutic process, as the therapist can loose touch with the client’s idiosyncratic metanarratives and agendas for therapy. In the case of incongruence between the therapist’s and the client’s metanarratives and agendas for therapy, a process can unfold in which the two members of the conversation attempts to persuade each other to accept their points of view. This battle of wills is viewed as therapeutic resistance which could constrain the client’s narratives in the therapy session (Anderson & Goolishian, 1992 ; Shawver, 2002). Therapeutic resistance, from the perspective of this study is seen as a process which unfolds as the result of the therapist’s unwillingness to adjust his/her therapeutic approach or goals to complement the client’s idiosyncratic perspective on reality and unique agendas for therapy, and not as the result of intrapsychic defense mechanisms, as it is seen from a modernist perspective. Therapeutic resistance is thus viewed as the result of the incongruence or clash of metanarratives in the therapy session. This argument leads to the hypothesis of the study: “A goal directed therapeutic focus on the client’s childhood experiences can lead to therapeutic resistance”. This hypothesis was confirmed through the findings of the narrative analysis of the therapy session. The results of the study showed that incongruence existed between the therapist’s and the client’s metanarratives as the client had a future-directed problem solving agenda and the therapist a goal driven, past-directed problem solving agenda, and that this incongruence lead to therapeutic resistance. An alternative hypothesis was presented: “A genuine agendaless interest in the content of the client’s life story can create a context for constructive therapeutic conversation in which the co-construction of alternative stories can occur”. This hypothesis suggests an agendaless focus on the client’s childhood experiences which can only be achieved through the acceptance and the application of social constructionist-narrative principles in therapy. A part of this alternative focus on the client’s past, involves the abandoning of modernistic metanarratives through which psychological problems and solutions are universalised and therapeutic methods are applied as standard procedures. When therapy is approach from an agendaless perspective the client remains in charge of the direction (past, present or future) of the therapeutic conversation and the past is revisited according to the client’s own pace and terms. The first part of the study will involve a discussion on a number of modernistic therapeutic approaches which empasise a goal directed focus on the client’s past and thus view a therapeutic focus on childhood experiences as a prerequisite for change in the present. The discussion will focus on the shared modernistic principles of these theories, which will be identified by the question: “Why do therapists focus on childhood experiences”? These principles and the concerted impact of them on the therapeutic process will then be criticised from a social constructionist-narrative approach. A discussion on the findings of the narrative analysis of the therapy session will conclude the study.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Sluiter, Susan Charlotte
- Date: 2008-11-12T08:47:34Z
- Subjects: Experiential psychotherapy , Narrative therapy , Psychotherapist and patient
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14664 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1637
- Description: M.A. , The primary aim of the study is to scrutinize the effect of a goal directed psychotherapeutic focus on the client’s childhood experiences, on the therapeutic process, through the narrative analysis of a psychotherapy session. A goal directed therapeutic focus on childhood experiences is defined as any therapeutic approach that considers a focus on the client’s childhood as a prerequisite for change in the present. The study postulates that ‘n goal directed therapeutic focus on childhood experiences is imbedded in a modernistic framework and therefore relies on a set of modernistic principles that could collectively have an undesired effect on therapeutic conversation and consequently on the unfolding of narratives in the session. This criticism is grounded in a social constructionist-narrative epistemology which emphasises the collaborative exploration of alternative narratives in psychotherapy and thus the “agendaless” and collaborative nature of therapeutic conversation. From this perspective a goal directed therapeutic focus on the client’s childood experiences is considered to be counterproductive to the therapeutic process, as the therapist can loose touch with the client’s idiosyncratic metanarratives and agendas for therapy. In the case of incongruence between the therapist’s and the client’s metanarratives and agendas for therapy, a process can unfold in which the two members of the conversation attempts to persuade each other to accept their points of view. This battle of wills is viewed as therapeutic resistance which could constrain the client’s narratives in the therapy session (Anderson & Goolishian, 1992 ; Shawver, 2002). Therapeutic resistance, from the perspective of this study is seen as a process which unfolds as the result of the therapist’s unwillingness to adjust his/her therapeutic approach or goals to complement the client’s idiosyncratic perspective on reality and unique agendas for therapy, and not as the result of intrapsychic defense mechanisms, as it is seen from a modernist perspective. Therapeutic resistance is thus viewed as the result of the incongruence or clash of metanarratives in the therapy session. This argument leads to the hypothesis of the study: “A goal directed therapeutic focus on the client’s childhood experiences can lead to therapeutic resistance”. This hypothesis was confirmed through the findings of the narrative analysis of the therapy session. The results of the study showed that incongruence existed between the therapist’s and the client’s metanarratives as the client had a future-directed problem solving agenda and the therapist a goal driven, past-directed problem solving agenda, and that this incongruence lead to therapeutic resistance. An alternative hypothesis was presented: “A genuine agendaless interest in the content of the client’s life story can create a context for constructive therapeutic conversation in which the co-construction of alternative stories can occur”. This hypothesis suggests an agendaless focus on the client’s childhood experiences which can only be achieved through the acceptance and the application of social constructionist-narrative principles in therapy. A part of this alternative focus on the client’s past, involves the abandoning of modernistic metanarratives through which psychological problems and solutions are universalised and therapeutic methods are applied as standard procedures. When therapy is approach from an agendaless perspective the client remains in charge of the direction (past, present or future) of the therapeutic conversation and the past is revisited according to the client’s own pace and terms. The first part of the study will involve a discussion on a number of modernistic therapeutic approaches which empasise a goal directed focus on the client’s past and thus view a therapeutic focus on childhood experiences as a prerequisite for change in the present. The discussion will focus on the shared modernistic principles of these theories, which will be identified by the question: “Why do therapists focus on childhood experiences”? These principles and the concerted impact of them on the therapeutic process will then be criticised from a social constructionist-narrative approach. A discussion on the findings of the narrative analysis of the therapy session will conclude the study.
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The social construction of Agape Healing Community
- Authors: Buchanan, Lee Reeve
- Date: 2010-10-25T06:28:52Z
- Subjects: Group psychotherapy , Community psychology , Social constructionism , Narrative therapy , Discourse analysis , Social epistemology , Mamelodi (South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6934 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3444
- Description: M.A. , The aim of this study was to examine how the members of Agape came to construct themselves as a healing community. An ecosystemic epistemology and social constructionism were used as a lens by which to view the events unfolding at Agape Healing Community and to illuminate how meanings, expressed through language and ritual, are negotiated and shared. Discourse analysis was used as an analytical tool to infer meaning from the participants’ speaking and to locate these discourses in the fabric that constitutes South African society.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Buchanan, Lee Reeve
- Date: 2010-10-25T06:28:52Z
- Subjects: Group psychotherapy , Community psychology , Social constructionism , Narrative therapy , Discourse analysis , Social epistemology , Mamelodi (South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6934 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3444
- Description: M.A. , The aim of this study was to examine how the members of Agape came to construct themselves as a healing community. An ecosystemic epistemology and social constructionism were used as a lens by which to view the events unfolding at Agape Healing Community and to illuminate how meanings, expressed through language and ritual, are negotiated and shared. Discourse analysis was used as an analytical tool to infer meaning from the participants’ speaking and to locate these discourses in the fabric that constitutes South African society.
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Exploring the emotional experiences of a mildly intellectually impaired adolescent using creative expressive arts in narrative therapy
- Authors: Wood, Siobhan
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Arts - Therapeutic use , Narrative therapy , Children with disabilities
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/245748 , uj:25460
- Description: M.Ed. , Abstract: One of the most positive aspects of the arts is that they offer a wide range of entry points, which, in turn, makes this domain more accessible for individuals with diverse needs and abilities (MacLean, 2008). The process of creating art can offer the individual another language, symbolic and nonverbal through which feelings, wishes, fantasies and fears can be expressed (Waller, 2006). In the South African context there is an undeniable connection between cognitive development and the psychosocial situation (Donald, Lazarus and Lolwana, 2010). The aim of this study is to explore the emotional experiences of an adolescent with mild intellectual impairment through creative expressive arts in narrative therapy. The study followed a phenomenological design through purposeful sampling which resulted in a single participant from a school for learners with special educational needs. Socio-cultural theory contextualized the study. Data was collected from transcriptions of therapy sessions, artefacts and my reflective journal. The data was then analysed by means of interpretative phenomenological data analysis. Two main themes emerged: interactions and experiences of the heart. This study has shown that creative expressive arts in narrative therapy is a viable option for the exploring of emotions and was accessible to an adolescent with mild intellectual impairment.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Wood, Siobhan
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Arts - Therapeutic use , Narrative therapy , Children with disabilities
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/245748 , uj:25460
- Description: M.Ed. , Abstract: One of the most positive aspects of the arts is that they offer a wide range of entry points, which, in turn, makes this domain more accessible for individuals with diverse needs and abilities (MacLean, 2008). The process of creating art can offer the individual another language, symbolic and nonverbal through which feelings, wishes, fantasies and fears can be expressed (Waller, 2006). In the South African context there is an undeniable connection between cognitive development and the psychosocial situation (Donald, Lazarus and Lolwana, 2010). The aim of this study is to explore the emotional experiences of an adolescent with mild intellectual impairment through creative expressive arts in narrative therapy. The study followed a phenomenological design through purposeful sampling which resulted in a single participant from a school for learners with special educational needs. Socio-cultural theory contextualized the study. Data was collected from transcriptions of therapy sessions, artefacts and my reflective journal. The data was then analysed by means of interpretative phenomenological data analysis. Two main themes emerged: interactions and experiences of the heart. This study has shown that creative expressive arts in narrative therapy is a viable option for the exploring of emotions and was accessible to an adolescent with mild intellectual impairment.
- Full Text:
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