The Power of Stories

Abstract

Stories hold an important role in the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Their power derives in part from the fact that humans are biologically programmed for storytelling. Stories foster connection with others, socialization, and identity formation. They are integral to all psychoanalytic theories of therapeutic action, and their telling is therapeutic in itself. Psychoanalytic theoretical paradigms can be considered stories, as well. A positive outcome of analytic treatment has the individual emerging with an open-ended story that encompasses past, present, and future. Finally, an autobiographical example demonstrates how shared stories consolidate group identities, uphold and perpetuate a group’s power over others, and perpetuate racial and ethnic stereotypes.

“I Just Want You to Hear That Term”: Characterizing Language Used in Fetal Cardiology Consultations

“…One participant in our study commented directly to the clinician, “Doctors sometimes don’t choose their words very well and it makes you feel bad” (C5, F4). In our study, other person-centered language strategies employed by clinicians included empathetic statements and stories about other patients to recognize families in the context of their lives, including, but not limited to, this diagnosis [ 30 , 31 ]. Clinicians mostly used these person-centered strategies in the second half of the visit; the effects of using this discourse style at a particular time during the visit are not known.…”