Narrative research in psychotherapy: A critical review

Abstract

The range of conceptualisations of narrative in the studies reviewed, from a representational psychological view to a constructionist social view, reflects tensions within narrative psychology itself. Moreover, two trends can be discerned in the field reviewed, narrative analysis of therapy, which draws from narrative theory and utilises the analytic approaches of narrative research to study psychotherapy, and analyses of narrative in therapy, which study client narratives using non-narrative qualitative methods. Finally, the paper highlights the need for integration of this diverse field of research and urges for the development of narrative studies of psychotherapy which employ a broader social understanding of narrative production and transformation.

Mindfulness‐based Narrative Therapy for Depression in Cancer Patients

“…Different approaches to therapeutic practice and research focus on different storytelling structures (Angus & McLeod, ) ranging from the socially oriented nature of narrative psychology to the “inner self” orientation of most conventional psychotherapies (Angus & McLeod, ). This range reflects tension within the field of narrative psychology, which employs both post‐modern ideas such as the centrality of language and discourse in human affairs and concepts drawn from existential theory, such as human self‐agency, empowerment, and responsibility (Avdi & Georgaca, , ; Polkinghorne, ; Wallis, Burns, & Capdevila, ). The narrative metaphor implies that human psychology has an essentially narrative structure, such that human life can be seen as storied and narratives can be seen as the organizing principle for human action (Sarbin, ).…”

Assessment of Autobiographical Memory Narratives in Psychotherapy with Borderline Personality Disorder: An exploratory study

“…From the narrative standpoint, psychological difficulties indicate situations where important aspects of one‖s lived experience are not adequately represented in the self narrative revealed during therapy. By helping the client reconstruct problematic self narratives to become more coherent, complex and inclusive, therapy is considered a process of -story repair‖ (Avdi & Georgaca, 2007).There is a growing interest in the concept of -narrative identity‖ and related processes or dimensions (McAdams & Pals, 2006;McLean, 2008) as tools to understand psychotherapy processes and change (Angus, Levitt & Hardtke, 1999;Angus et al, 2012;Boritz, Angus, Monette, Hollis-Walker, & Warwar, 2011;Luborsky, 1977;Matos, Santos, Goncalves, & Martins, 2009;Mendes et al, 2010;Singer, Blagov, Berry, & Oost, 2013;Singer & Bonalume, 2010a). Narrative identity is referred to as "the internal, dynamic life story that an individual constructs to make sense of his or her life" (Bauer, McAdams, & Pals, 2008).…”

“…From the narrative standpoint, psychological difficulties indicate situations where important aspects of one‖s lived experience are not adequately represented in the self narrative revealed during therapy. By helping the client reconstruct problematic self narratives to become more coherent, complex and inclusive, therapy is considered a process of -story repair‖ (Avdi & Georgaca, 2007).…”

Affective Arousal During Blaming in Couple Therapy: Combining Analyses of Verbal Discourse and Physiological Responses in Two Case Studies

“…The spoken dialogue was analyzed using both discursive psychology (Edwards andPotter 1992, Potter 2003; and narrative approach (Avdi and Georgaca 2007;McLeod 1997McLeod , 2004. From the viewpoint of discursive psychology, blaming was conceptualized as a speech act of positioning that ascribes moral responsibility to the target (Davies and Harré 1990).…”