The Family Institute Review - Microsoft

University of Glamorgan

Faculty of Health, Sport and Science

The Family Institute Review

2009

Volume 3

Contributors

Andrea Davies

Andrea Jones

Sarah Pritchard

Katie O¡¯Shea

Anne Wooding

Tracey Carbone

Editorial team: Billy Hardy, Kieran Vivian-Byrne, Mandy Westlake.

1

Contents:

Editorial ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Kieran Vivian-Byrne &Billy Hardy

page 2

1. Title: Considering Narrative Therapy at the Levels of Approach, Method and

Technique¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Andrea Davies

pages 3-12

Abstract: It was the ideas that narrative therapy offered to my thinking about the systems that I was working

in that initially grabbed my attention some years ago. In constructing this essay title, I anticipated that I

might create for myself the opportunity to focus my thinking and reading on narrative therapy, and that

Burnham?s framework of Approach, Method and Technique (Burnham, 1992) might provide a scaffold to

that discussion.

2: Title: Communication and ongoing definition of relationship in

context¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Andrea Jones

pages 13-17

Abstract: This is a communication analysis of a simulated session of a client/counsellor interaction, which

seeks to highlight the ongoing definition of relationship offered by the client and responses of the

counsellor. In this I pay particular attention to the counsellors intentionality and the pragmatic effect of the

communications with the client.

3: Title: Advo-therapy¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Katie O Shea

pages 18-26

Abstract: This paper is an exploration and systematic enquiry into my practice. It aims to deconstruct

an examination of systemic thinking through my lens as an advocate. Gregory Bateson inspires my

thinking and this is interwoven within the wider systemic landscape.

4: Title: Communication Theory and Therapeutic Practice: An analysis of the relationship and

interaction between the counsellor and client¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Sarah Pritchard

pages 27-35

Abstract: This analysis looks at a thirty minute excerpt from a counselling session; the client has been

referred to the counsellor by her GP for the treatment of her depression. It examines the definition of the

relationship offered by the client and also the counsellor?s responses and subsequent reactions. It also

recognises cultural influences and explores the practice of reframing referring to Michael Foucault and

George Kelly.

5: Title: Revisiting the need for family therapy based child protection work.

An overview¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Tracy Carbone

pages 36-44

Abstract. This piece of work is a brief exploration of family therapy?s relationship with child protection

social work. After looking at the history of the two disciplines, I highlight the way in which they have

become separate schools of thought. This is a discussion on a current integrated model of family therapy

and child protection which seeks ?positive uncertainty?. I argue that this model offers more possibilities for

some families where there are child protection concerns.

6: Title: A Dialogue with Resilience¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Anne L Wooding

pages 45-57

Abstract I wrote this essay for the module on Using Systemic Family Therapy in the Work Setting. The

essay describes a literature search on the idea of resilience. I discovered a rich literature across a range of

perspectives which provides evidence that we are resilient creatures and that this resilience can be

strengthened and supported.

2

Dear Reader

Welcome to this the third edition of The Family Institute Review. Although the

wheels on this particular bus roll fairly slowly, we remain determined to keep the

char?a?banc on the road. Once again we have a full edition with some excellent

explorations of themes and schemes relevant to Systemic Counselling and

Psychotherapy. In the tradition of sight-seeing trips we hope you will stop every now

and again, at one or other or all of the papers inside and feast on the prepared picnic

provided by your colleagues. Again, you will see we have taken a light touch on the

editorial aspects of the work as we hope to present them in their original submitted

format.

Over the past year since the first review we have been able to show both previous

editions to colleagues within the University, associates within the local, national and

indeed International field. Without exception the feedback to the enterprise has

been wholly positive. We believe the papers are getting the recognition they deserve.

Because of the wide range of the aspects relevant to therapeutic practice covered ¨C

the review is a rare example of diversity in a journal and the learning which takes

place within the Institute.

The work submitted for this edition, as before covers ideas from among those being

studied at the Institute these are as diverse as; Narrative Therapy, Communication

Theory, Dialogics and practice dilemmas within fields such as child protection and

advocacy. As you all know the amount of time and effort and risk that goes into

preparing and submitting a paper for assessment is enormous.

We appreciate the juggling of multiple demands on your time but this work which is

often unique in its synthesis and creativity continues to underline the ?Dysgu? idea of

learning being a dynamic, dialogic and relational activity.

These papers challenge the notion of ?teachers knowing all? and ?students? having

somehow to catch up, they invite us instead, to see learning as a process in which we

co-ordinate and collaborate our energies and through which we all therefore benefit.

We the staff of The Family Institute continue to be inspired, challenged and

encouraged by you to keep our focus on providing the best opportunities we can for

learning. We look forward to your feedback to this edition and hope you will enjoy

it.

Kieran Vivian-Byrne

Billy Hardy

3

Considering Narrative Therapy at the Levels of Approach, Method and Technique.

Andrea Davies

Abstract: It was the ideas that narrative therapy offered to my thinking about the systems that I was working

in that initially grabbed my attention some years ago. In constructing this essay title, I anticipated that I

might create for myself the opportunity to focus my thinking and reading on narrative therapy, and that

Burnham?s framework of Approach, Method and Technique (Burnham, 1992) might provide a scaffold to

that discussion.

Andrea is a Clinical Psychologist working in Adult Mental Health Services, Abertawe Bro

Morgannwg NHS Trust. She is also a second year Clinical Associate on the MSc Systemic

Psychotherapy course at the Family Institute.

Overview

It was the ideas that narrative therapy offered to my thinking about the systems that I was working

in that initially grabbed my attention some years ago. I continue to work in an organisation attached

to a metaphor of illness, which is apparently an improvement from older metaphors of demonic

possession, but in an evidenced-based world, it puzzles me that the idea of ?illness? prevails; are the

dopamine blood tests still not back from the lab? In constructing this essay title, I anticipated that I

might create for myself the opportunity to focus my thinking and reading on narrative therapy, and

that Burnham?s framework of Approach, Method and Technique (Burnham, 1992) might provide

a scaffold to the discussion. Given that all therapy could be considered to be narrative, I feel it

would be useful to start by saying a little about what I mean by narrative therapy in the context of

this discussion, before offering a brief overview of Burnham?s framework. I will then focus on two

systemic ideas that I am currently drawn to in my clinical practice, externalising conversations and

reflecting teams, and consider their relationship to narrative therapy at the levels of approach,

method and technique. I will conclude with some reflections as to what has been useful to me in

the process of writing this essay.

Narrative Therapy

¡°We dream in narrative, day-dream in narrative, remember anticipate, hope, despair, believe,

doubt, plan, revise, criticize, construct, gossip, lean, hate and love by narrative¡± (MacIntyre, 1981,

p.211,)

The epistemology of postmodernism challenges many of the dominant ideas of psychotherapy that

have emerged with the context of the modernist metaphor of machine (Parry, 1997); that there is

one true self, that the external represents the internal and that a person can be accurately

understood by another (Parry and Doan, 1994). Within the postmodern world, social

4

constructionism emphasis the construction of meaning within a social context, and many of the

developments of second order systemic theory and practice are interested in the ways in which

people give meaning to their lived experiences (Tomm, 1998). Such developments could be

considered as narrative therap?ies?, in that they make use of the narrative metaphor; e.g., Boscolo

and Cecchin, Anderson and Goolishian, White and Epston, DeShazer and Berg, Tom Anderson,

and Jaakko Seikkula (Flaskas, 2002; Kahle and Robbins, 1998).

At the levels of approach, method and technique, the work of these practitioners differ from each

other, and of those mentioned, it is only the work of Michael White and David Epston that calls

itself ?narrative therapy?. Whilst it is acceptable to say that social constructionism embraces the

narrative metaphor, it is perhaps a step to far to claim that the narrative metaphor embraces social

constructionism (Flaskas, 2002). Indeed, at the level of approach, White and Epston?s narrative

therapy is more interested in the ideas of Foucault (dates) than the ideas of social constructionism.

However, narrative therapists are not homogenous, and many others are influenced by the ideas of

social constructionism at the level of approach, e.g., Freedman and Coombs, 2002; Jenkins, 1990;

Lysack, 2002; Par¨¦ and Lysack, 2004; Parry and Doan, 1994 and the work of Karl Tomm. In the

context of this discussion, it is the contributions to theory and practice made by these therapists

which I have in mind when I refer to the idea of narrative therapy. I have taken the assumption

that the reader is familiar enough with their work as it is not my intention here to critique the

content of narrative therapy as a genre of psychotherapy in an attempt to demonstrate to the

reader, ipso facto examiner, that I have a ?sound knowledge of the subject matter?. Rather, I have

chosen to establish what I understand about narrative therapy, and what I have yet to understand,

in the discussions about externalising conversations and reflecting teams that follow.

The Levels of Approach, Method and Technique

Burnham?s framework links the ideas of approach, method and technique (AMT) in a way in

which each level is hierarchically organised as well as theoretically and clinically coherent. It is

suggested that from a purist position, one may track a strand of systemic theory across the three

domains, with each level serving as a context for understanding the other two. In addition, the

framework offers ways of understanding an eclectic systemic position, as a practitioner may utilise

e.g., Milan therapy at the level of technique via circular questioning, whilst standing within the

approach of e.g., structural family therapy. This framework could then, also accounts for a broader

eclecticism which might involve utilising ideas outside of systemic theory. Neither top down not

bottom up, the recursive connections of the framework suggest that a change at any level can

impact upon the other two in a way that speaks to creative new-ness in both practice and theory.

To fit the AMT framework with narrative therapy, we would need to hold in mind that from a

postmodern epistemological position, the framework does not represent an attempt to capture on

paper an observable reality that exists external to the practitioner, rather, it represents one way of

constructing meaning around theory and the ways in which different ideas within theory may relate

to each other. It is also worth reminding ourselves that the 2D nature of a pictorial representation

neglects the interconnected nature between and within its levels and perhaps misleads us in

creating an impression that clear boundaries exists between each level. That said, in Figure 1, I

have attempted to connect some of the key ideas associated with narrative therapy within the AMT

framework in a way that is meaningful to me at this time.

5

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download