Narrative Theory Summary

teaching them methods to change their unhealthy behaviors and improve their physical and behavioral health. The student accomplished this by selecting handouts grounded in the transtheoretical model, that were geared towards relapse prevention, which were competed by the individual patients during group sessions and possessed as a large group. The handouts included questions that measured where the patients were on the trajectory of change and encouraged them to identify methods to improve their problems and maintain behavioral change. For example, the patients completed a decision-making matrix worksheet where they examined the pros and cons of quitting and they reflected on the reasons why they were wavering between deciding to remain abstinent …show more content…
Narratives can include a myriad of platforms from which patients can express their accounts, including through pictorial representations, artwork, writing, communicating verbally, and ceremonies (Langer & Lietz, 2015). The social work student employed interventions from narrative therapy during individual and primary therapy sessions, were patients were asked to share their life stories with the group and the facilitator created pictorial timelines in conjunction to illustrate themes that emerged. For example, a patient’s timeline, who struggled with co-dependency issues, recognized they began using illegal substance after being assaulted and has since then turned to sex as another maladaptive coping mechanism. The facilitator worked with the patient, to identify their internal strengths and environmental resources to promote positive change. The social work student integrated writing exercises into primary therapy sessions that were grounded in narrative theory. For example, the patients documented their current and past struggles followed by sharing their stories