What is Narrative Therapy?
In Narrative Therapy we talk about the telling of the story, and then the retelling of the telling of the story, and then the retelling of the retelling of the telling of the story, etc.
Each reiteration has its own significance and value.
Michael White, one of the founders of Narrative Therapy, describes the story as operating at three levels: the landscape of action, the landscape of meaning, and the landscape of identity.
The landscape of action is the events that occurred over a period of time involving certain characters and objects in certain places.
The landscape of meaning is superimposed over the landscape of action and describes the meaning or interpretation of the significance of the elements of the landscape of action. In other words, what is the moral of the story, or the lessons to be learned? What do you make of the story of the landscape of action?
The landscape of identity is superimposed over the landscapes of action and meaning and explains what the stories of the landscapes of action and the landscapes of meaning say about me and the world I am living in.
And so in Narrative therapy the narrative operates at least on three levels. The therapeutic levels are meaning and identity. As a clinician I listen to the client describe the landscape of action and then I will ask, "What do you make of that?" People often stop, pause, and become pensive. And then I will ask, "If that's what you have been telling me means, what does it say about who you are as a person and the world you are living in?"
Michael White, introduced the concept of the "absent but implicit". This refers to the idea that within every problem story, there lies an implicit, or unspoken, alternative story. It's like the shadow to the problem's light.
Key Points about the "Absent but Implicit":
Contrasting Background: The problem story is often defined against a backdrop of preferred experiences and values. These are the "absent but implicit" elements.
Double Listening: Therapists use "double listening" to hear both the problem story and the underlying, preferred narratives.
Rich Source of Preferred Stories: The implicit experiences can be a powerful starting point for developing alternative, more preferred stories.
Trauma and Pain: White often applied this concept to trauma, suggesting that ongoing pain can be seen as a testimony to the importance of something precious that has been violated.
How it Works in Therapy:
Identifying the Problem Story: The therapist helps the client articulate their problem in detail.
Listening for the Implicit: The therapist carefully listens for hints of preferred experiences, values, or strengths within the problem story.
Externalizing the Problem: The problem is seen as a separate entity, not defining the person.
Building Alternative Stories: The therapist and client collaboratively construct new stories based on the discovered preferred experiences.
Thickening the Preferred Stories: The new stories are strengthened through evidence-gathering and support.
In essence, the "absent but implicit" is a powerful tool for uncovering hidden strengths and resources within individuals, allowing them to rewrite their life stories in a more empowering way.
Narrative therapy is based on a presumption that the therapist takes a non expert role and the services are very client centered. The client often comes with what is called a "problem saturated story" and the therapist, through scaffolded questions, attempts to elicit the client's preferred story. In Narrative Therapy the therapist is listening for what White calls "the absent but implicit." It is hoped in subsequent retellings, new perspectives, meanings, and preferences will be made explicit. In this activity the client's identity, self concept, self worth and esteem may shift from a negative to a more positive place. Narrative therapists value most highly what they call "local knowledges" which makes the client the expert of his/her life. The therapist’s job is to recognize, acknowledge, validate, and celebrate this local knowledge which often is achieved after much effort, struggle, and sometimes suffering. I tell my clients sometimes that they have earned a Ph.D. from the college of hard knocks.
I also often ask, “Who else knows what you have learned and now know? Would you want to share it and teach it to others?”