Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I'm a professional psychotherapist. I got interested in this book after reading a recent article about how survivors of rape, torture and other violence in Sudan were being helped with brief narrative therapy. Learning about a fresh approach to a seemingly impossible therapeutic task inspired me. I decided to learn more about it. I'm afraid I didn't learn much from this book.

The book combines clinical examples with a murky, overintellectualized rehash of social constructivist theory. The theory seemed tedious and ultimately useless. The clinical examples were not particularly inspiring or enlightening. I guess I'll have to buy another book on this topic. This one won't remain long on my bookshelf.

TM

Rating:
Summary: The Starting Point of Narrative Therapy
Review: This is the book that started the current focus on narrative therapy. There are only four chapters in this book and each explains a large part of narrative counseling. One of the best chapters is on how the process of "externalizing" works. Another good chapter is about how writing letters and making documents for clients can be an effective therapy tool.

Although this book is over ten years old, it is still the first book that someone should read when learning about narrative counseling.

Rating:
Summary: The Starting Point of Narrative Therapy
Review: This is the book that started the current focus on narrative therapy. There are only four chapters in this book and each explains a large part of narrative counseling. One of the best chapters is on how the process of "externalizing" works. Another good chapter is about how writing letters and making documents for clients can be an effective therapy tool.

Although this book is over ten years old, it is still the first book that someone should read when learning about narrative counseling.