Post modern approach
Some of the key concepts and techniques common to both Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and Narrative Therapy are:
- Collaborative relationship between therapist and client
- Client considered expert on own life
- Focus on solutions (alternative stories) rather than problems
- Positive (or optimistic) orientation
- Emphasise client’s strengths rather than weaknesses
- Clients set their own goals (take an active role)
- Focus on the future
- Use of questions
- Belief that small steps lead to bigger changes
- Postmodern idea that there are multiple realities and truths (they are not objective facts)
- Importance of language
An advantage of using both Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and Narrative Therapy together is that the therapist has more techniques or strategies to draw on as they see fit for the each individual client. Due to the many similarities between the two combining seems very appropriate.
Many of the basic concepts and techniques of these Postmodern approaches could be quite easily be integrated into other therapeutic perspectives. For instance, the Feminist Perspective with its focus on how gender-roles and how they affect present behaviour could benefit from the use of exception questions, the miracle question, deconstruction and the creation of alternative stories. Or the Reality Perspective with its focus on each individual being responsible for what they choose to do could benefit from the use of exception questions and identifying small steps that are already being taken in the direction of desired change. Or the Cognitive-Behavioural Perspective with its focus on cognitive restructuring could utilise story telling as a way of challenging faulty beliefs and the idea of separating the person and the problem.
I particularly liked Corey’s statement “people can continually and actively re-author their lives.”
1. The key