Postmodern Theory

(thedailyomnivore.net)
Founders: Insoo Kim Berg (1935-2007), Steve de Shazer (1940-2005), Michael White (1949-2008), David Epston (b.1944)

Social Constructionism- postmodern worldview; it values the client's reality without disputing whether it is accurate or rational (Corey, 2013).
Four key assumptions: Corey 2013 explains the differences between postmodernism and traditional psychological perspectives...

1. Social constructionists challenge conventional knowledge that has historically guided our understanding of the world, and they caution us to be suspicious of assumptions of how the world appears to be.
2. Social constructionists believe the language and concepts we use to generally understand the world are historically and culturally specific.
3. Social constructionists assert that knowledge is constructed through social processes.
4. Social constructionists negotiated understandings are considered to be practices that affect social life rather than being abstractions from it.

Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT)- is a future-focused, goal-oriented therapeutic approach to brief therapy developed initially by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee in the early 1980s (Corey, 2013).

Key Concepts: Dr. Shazer 1988, 1991 (as cited by Corey, 2013) suggests that is not necessary to know the cause of a problem to solve it and that there is no necessary relationship between the causes of problems and their solutions.

Therapeutic Goals: Corey 2013 states goals are unique to each client and are constructed by the client to create a richer future. Solution-focused therapist concentrate on small, realistic, achievable changes that can lead to additional positive outcomes (Corey, 2013). 

Techniques and Procedures described by Corey, 2013:

1. Pretherapy- simply scheduling an appointment often sets positive change in motion, and often you will ask during the initial therapy session, " What have you done since you called for the appointment that has made a difference in your problem?".
2. Exception Questions- to direct clients to times when the problem did not exist, or when it would be reasonable to have expected the problem to occur, but somehow it did not (de Shazer, 1985; Murphy, 2008).
3. The miracle question- asking clients "If a miracle happened and the problem you have was solved over-night, how would you know it was solved, and what would be different?". With the main theme being "What would be different?"
4. Scaling questions- change in humans is not easily observed such as, feelings, moods, or communication so scaling on say a 1-10 scale to assist clients in noticing they are not completely defeated by their problem.
5. Formula first session task- is a form of homework a therapist might give clients to complete between their first and second sessions.
6. Therapist feedback to clients- generally SFBT practitioners take a 5 to 10 minute break toward the end of the session to compose a summary message for the client.
7. Terminating- this is what the therapist and client are going for, first by setting goals to overcome said problem and then getting to the point where therapy is no longer necessary. 
8. Group counseling- believing people are competent, and that given a climate where they can experience their competency, they are able to solve their  own problem, enabling them to live a richer life. 

Narrative Therapy
Michael White and David Epston 1990, are best known for using narrative therapy.

Key Concepts as described by Corey, 2013:

• Focus of narrative therapy- involves adopting a shift in focus from most traditional theories. Therapist are encouraged to establish a collaborative approach with a special interest in listening respectfully to clients' stories; to search for times in clients' lives when they were resourceful to use questions as a way to engage clients and facilitate their explorations to avoid diagnosing and labeling clients or accepting a totalizing description based on a problem; to assist clients in mapping the influence a problem has had on their lives; and to assist clients in separating themselves from the dominant stories they have internalized so that space can be opened for the creation of alternative life stories (Freedom & Combs, 1996 as cited by Corey, 2013).
• The role of stories- our stories actually shape reality in that they construct and constitute what we see, feel, and do.
• Listening with an open mind- social constructionist theories emphasize listening to clients without judgement or blame, affirming and valuing them. 

Therapy goals: the general goal is to invite people to describe their experience in new and fresh language, this opens up new vistas of what is possible (Corey, 2013).

Therapeutic Techniques and Procedures described by Corey, 2013:

• Questions, questions, and more questions
• Externalization and Deconstruction- separating the person from the problem
• Search for unique outcomes- after externalizing questions follow questions that will produce a unique outcome.
• Alternative stories and reauthoring- goes hand in hand with deconstruction, narrative therapists listen for opening to new stories hoping for thoughts to different outcomes of the problem at hand.
• Documenting the evidence- one technique for consolidating the gains  a client makes is by writing letters.
• Group counseling- Winslade and Monk 2007 (as cited by Corey, 2013) claim that the narrative emphasis on creating an appreciative audience for new  developments in an individuals life lends itself to group counseling.

This following youtube video shows a great example of SBFT by Dr. Berg...

(Youtube, 2009)

The next youtube video explains how narrative therapy works with children, which is what I'm most interested in my upcoming career...

(Youtube, 2009)

Resources

 

Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (9 ed., pp. 395-430). Belmont, CA: BROOKS/COLE CENGAGE Learning.

 

(n.d.). Postmodernism. [Print Graphic]. Retrieved from http://thedailyomnivore.net/2012/05/22/postmodernism/


Solution-focused thearpy [Web]. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQBZlgmebwY



Stephen madigan narrative child therapy video clip [Web]. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMst5HoOS6c