Author: Melda Baysal Walsh
Narrative Impressions and Perspectives
“What is Narrative Therapy? Are you telling stories?” – Yes, indeed. Storytelling is one significant therapeutic tool in Narrative Therapy which was developed by Michael White and David Epston in the 1980s. Through the telling, re-telling and re-storying of their lives’ stories, clients are supported by their therapists in the development of new initiatives and the construction of change and preferred identity narratives. Most stories told in therapy are problem-saturated stories which present as a challenge to a more preferred version of ourselves (i.e. the stories we tell about ourselves and our lives). Thus, one intention I hold as a Narrative therapist is to ask clients questions about unique outcomes (a term coined by Michael White and David Epston in the 1990s) which play a crucial part in the efforts of re-storying memorable life events and could be understood as exceptions to the dominant story lines that continue to impact us (e.g. our sense of self and our identities).
Furthermore, unique outcomes can be understood as windows into new and more preferred stories, and thus, create possibilities for therapeutic change to occur. While de Shazer (1991) stated that the term “unique” gives an experience the character of a single event, the creators of Narrative Therapy, Michael White and David Epston (1990) saw unique outcomes as continuous happenings which are trivialized and oftentimes ignored, specifically when problem-saturated stories are present and alive as reflections of predominantly experienced knowledges and understandings of one’s life. Miguel M. Gonçalves, Marlene Matos, and Anita Santos (2009) further remind us that the term sparkling moments possibly conveys the intended meaning of unique outcomes more accurately as sparkling moments draw attention to the short-lived but significant experiences in a dominant story line.
It caught my attention that Gonçalves et al. (2009) further distinguish between unique outcomes as innovative moments which allow for a reframing of our thoughts and for new ideas and opinions to emerge, and unique outcomes as shadow voices of the problem-saturated stories which only give a temporary release from problems but do not facilitate sustained changes. According to Gonçalves et al., the reframing and redefining of problem-saturated stories […] “facilitates the emergence of a meta-level perspective [i.e. a different and sometimes more abstract viewpoint] about the change process itself and, in turn, enables the active positioning of the person as an author of the new narrative.” An active positioning can occur through conversations about the meanings behind unique outcomes/sparkling moments which establish a bridge into our consciousness and help promote intentions that are aligned with preferred identities, support efforts of re-storying life stories and ultimately, construct change through viable alternatives to the problem-saturated stories.
For instance, if the stories which you tell yourself are that you are a failure, would it be possible to open this belief up to memories of successes no matter how big or small they might be? What does it feel like to remember these times, events, interactions that you would describe as successful ones? What do you like about these memories? How might they reflect your values and preferences?
Drawing attention to these sparkling moments allows us to step out of the dominant problem-saturated stories. How could we further reframe and re-story the idea of a failure? Maybe it can be viewed as an act of resistance to something you were standing against? Maybe the stories about failure represent moments of feeling that your values and preferences were threatened and you needed to protect them? Remembering and (re-)engaging with sparkling moments makes it possible for us to thicken stories about the preferred versions of ourselves and lessen the power and effects which problem-saturated stories have on us. Ultimately, through this act of re-storying, we are able to position our sense of self in a way that supports our mental health and well-being because we name and story how we relate to ourselves and the world around us through our values and preferences.
I hope that this glimpse into one of many Narrative practices inspired you to view your life story in a different light and got you interested in finding out more about Narrative Therapy in future blog posts. If you are interested in change, start by exploring the stories you tell yourself and others about yourself and be curious about the sparkling moments in your narratives.
References:
de Shazer, S. (1991). Putting difference to work. New York: Norton.
Gonçalves, M. M., Matos, M., & Santos, A. (2009). Narrative therapy and the nature of “Innovative moments” in the construction of change. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 22(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720530802500748
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