Personal Narrative: Family Therapy

After learning about the different family theories, I find that Bowen’s family therapy and narrative family therapy are my favorite. However integrating both these concepts seems difficult. Bowen’s theory is considered a modern approach that looks at factors such as level of self-differentiation, reactivity, and triangulation are seen as determining family and individual functioning. Furthermore, the role as the therapist is seen more as a coach to guide clients towards change through decreasing triangulation and increased levels of self-differentiation. On the other hand narrative therapy is postmodern approach that sees people’s socially constructed stories as key to the development of problems (Naden, et al., 2004). These two theories are

In the Narrative Family Therapy, it first assumes individuals can develop their own solutions to their own stories in life. People can develop their own lives when they speak and act out what they see or hear in the world. It is also believed that families can write their storyline and their family story line. Can a family change their story line? Yes, they can, but it would be hard to do so knowing you have been brought up a way. When a narrative family therapist comes in, it helps the family out by writing out their story line while breaking down each meaning of what is said during the session. It’s a strong possibility that therapist fear that families can fail when distinguishing problems within the household. Of course, people are all

“The last thing I heard where the sirens. And the last thing I saw where a kaleidoscope of blue and red. And then everything went black, every ounce of air had escaped my lungs and had reached the surface of the lake in the form of little bubbles.” I told Louis Green, possibly the most boring person on earth. I don’t think he wanted to be my therapist anymore then I wanted to be in therapy.

The purpose of this paper is to review my professional identity as a Marriage and Family Therapist and to reflect on my developing beliefs within my selection of the counseling profession. My professional identity is beginning to be developed throughout my education with Liberty University. I will address the Marriage and Family Therapist professional counselor role and how this position differs from social workers, clinical psychologists, and professional counselors. By reviewing the differences in counseling positions, I will be able to express the differences from my previous experiences with pastoral counseling, and outline what my

Marriage and family therapists are very much needed and are growing in demand. The stigma of seeing a therapist for marital and family problems is disappearing thus making people more likely to seek help for issues they cannot resolve on their own. There has also been an increased recognition of the field of marriage and family therapy (http://www.bls.gov). Over half of managed health care providers and employee assistance programs employ or contract with MFTs and 91% of graduates in 1992 from COAMFTE accredited programs were employed not long after graduation (http://www.aamft.org). According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the field of marriage and family therapy is expected to see a growth of 30% by 2016 making it one of the fastest growing of all occupations (http://www.bls.gov).

I am one of the few Licensed Marital & Family Therapists in Missouri. I have over fifteen years of experience in providing couples, family, and child therapy. I worked at the prestigious Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic and brought my experience from that clinic to St. Louis. Structural Family Therapy (SFT) is evidence based, practical, outcomes oriented, and strength based. I am the founder and lead therapist for the intensive and personalized couples therapy retreat, Head Over Heals!

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.

Why is externalising a central technique in narrative therapy today, and what are the limitations and successes of this technique?

This paper will look at the logic of narrative therapy by focusing on 5 major points. This paper will begin by discussing how the narrative approach defines and perceives problems. It will address how narrative therapy views the nature of the relationship between the client and the professional. This paper will look at how problems are solved using the narrative approach. It will also focus on three main techniques used in narrative therapy, which will include externalization, deconstruction and re-authoring. This paper will also include a short narrative critique of the medical model.

One tool that is helpful in narrative deconstruction and reconstruction is NPCS – Narrative Process Coding System (Angus & Hardtke, 2001). It is a two-step process which enables raters to subdivide therapy session transcripts into segments and divide and characterize topic

Narrative Therapy is all about creating new stories, new contexts, and even new lives with clients. In this dynamic workshop, we will focus on the lives of children, their stories, themes and super-powers that we as therapists can access and empower children and their families through. We will spend and absolutely silly amount of time with approaches, laughter, the role of creativity, imaginary friends, the hidden wisdom of puppets and turning 'serious problems' into creative

Understanding who I am is critical for me to improve myself and have better cognitive balance that would help me to provide better therapeutic relationship with my future couples clients. However, I have come a long way in both my professional and personal life to get where I am now. It is vital that any student studying couples therapy integrate the morals generally accepted by the society. I developed a set of principles and manners in most of my life, which I subconsciously inherited from my culture. Though my culture has some different perspective of being couple, I have tried to be acculturated in order to understand and recognize the differences of what I have learned and those are new to me.

It was May of 2015 that I happened upon an internship opportunity while visiting friends during a feast at San Felipe Pueblo in New Mexico. My friend made sure to inform me that the gentleman seated directly across, at the other end of a very long table, was the clinical director of the counseling center at the Santa Fe Indian School. “You should go say hello” my friend encouraged with a wink and a nudge that read more like, “we talked about this, go ask him for a job!”. I felt that a decision had to be made, ask for the chance at an internship I want, or shy away and make an official application, perhaps to another agency. Resourcing from my self-confidence I made my introduction, which led to an interview the following week, resulting in an offer, and acceptance for an intern art therapist

Eventually I did find a job working with a family member just for the summer of course I did not know what to expect I knew that these people were in all places and that they were similar to an evangelist spreading their word convincing people and in this case businesses to permit them to implement their activities in this context, it was a school that I was working for and I must comment that 99% of businesses just simply love it they love to participate in it Or they feel forced to. So I began that job at the school, I was working with children and teens similar to a summer camp. The first day I was there it happened immediately as soon as I walked in the door ,I heard it the employees who were working there treated it as if it was a surprise

Marriage and family therapists believe that the family patterns may affect an individual’s psychological and physical well being and therefore need to be part of therapy. During a therapy session even if only one person is being interviewed, the therapists focuses on a set of relationships that the person is embedded in. The entire family is involved in solving clients problems regardless of whether the issue in individual or family.