The Efficacy Of Narrative Therapy In Psychology

Introduction Narrative therapy is a relatively new form of therapy and intervention within the field of psychology. It was first developed by Michael White, a late 20th century psychotherapist and David Epston of New Zealand. The two opened a family therapy practice in the 1980s and wrote a book called Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends, which marks the beginning of the creation of the concept of narrative therapy. Since the publication of their book in 1990, narrative therapy has been widely recognized by therapists and other psychological experts as an effective form of psychotherapy. The purpose of narrative therapy is to separate the person from the problem, which is commonly referred to in the industry as “externalizing the problem”. …show more content…
Since narrative therapy is a fairly new field in psychology, there is not an abundance of literature on the topic. Because of this, some people may say that narrative therapy is not backed by enough research. There are numerous studies that have been conducted regarding the efficacy of narrative therapy within different fields of psychology and counseling. Etchison & Kleist (2000) argue that “the breadth of research on the utility of narrative therapy approaches is limited” (p. 65). More research is needed to fully explore and uncover all of the implications that narrative therapy can have. Further research can be done to explore the potential benefits and disadvantages that narrative therapy can have for different populations, such as genders, races and people suffering from varying psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety or eating disorders. It is also difficult to conduct research on the efficacy of narrative therapy because narrative therapy is more concerned with qualitative outcomes and the majority of psychological research is concerned with quantitative …show more content…
In narrative therapy, a person’s lived experiences are held at very high value and implies that there are no absolute truths. Because one’s perceptions are valued so greatly, some experts suggest that narrative therapy ignores cultural views altogether. According to Doan (1998), social constructivists and narrative therapy “shun[s] ‘expert domains of knowledge’ in favor of the lived experience of individuals. It seeks to privilege the voice of the individual and the liberating of their passions, intentions, and preferences” (p. 2). Critics of narrative therapy assert that narrative therapy fails to recognize cultural views and its importance. They argue that cultural norms should be considered alongside a person’s lived