Reflections and Analysis of Using Narrative Therapy - Essay Example

REFLECTIONS AND ANALYSIS OF USING NARRATIVE THERAPY By 3rd May Michael and David argue that there is power in constructed language and that people who participate in it has experienced in bringing forth a powerful force that enables people to free themselves from troubled families and relationships (White & Epston, 1990). According to Michael and David, the power that exist in constructed language is used by some to oppress the others and thus cause some people to develop anxiety disorders, depression and lacks of better interpersonal communications. Michael While in his practice as a therapist have a rich background of explorations of therapeutic procedures. He says that one of the most important thing is the ‘engagement with the narrative metaphor’ (White, 2011). The voice of therapists therefore, has the effect of bringing forth the therapeutic knowledge, skills, and endeavor needed to help people seeking therapists. Therefore, this easy outline and discusses ways that people with anxiety disorder can gain meaningful gain out of narrative therapeutic therapy. Narrative metaphor is one of the ways through which a person suffering from anxiety disorder as a result of being deserted by his or her children. It involves the discussion of a person’s specific development in their life and disclosing and unfolding events of their history over a distance future. Discussion helps people get acquainted with themes that they attach to events in their life. The themes of these historical event always revolves around the failure, loss, hopelessness tragedy and frustrations (White, 2011). The narrative involving these negative themes in a person’s live help therapists to identify form of negative identity as either, ascription of motive, of personal characteristic, of trait and of disorder extra. The narrative unfolds the sources of individual shortcoming and help relieve tension and pressure in an individual. Therefore, the 51 year old Single mother can recover from anxiety through narration of her past with a therapist to rekindles the moment that she had a better life and relate it to the current situation when she is all alone. The narration metaphor will bring to right that there was a time that she did not have kids and her life was working well doing shopping all alone. Critical analysis is the analyses of people and questioning of life challenges and presuppositions in the appropriateness of the established knowledge, beliefs and understanding (Natasha, 2010). Anxiety disorder can also be better addressed through critical reflection on individual’s important aspects in life (Fronek, 2012). Self-reflection help in developing positive aspect rather than worrying on the negative events in a person pasts. According to Fronek, a critical approach on our troubles and successes enables people to have a deeper analysis and finds out an easy way out of challenges (Fronek, 2012). Fronek says that personal reflection while undergoing therapeutic therapy help in self-redefinition and help people realizing that life is a continuous process that keep on changing from what we have been experiencing to unknown future. The identification of these facts enable individuals to embrace change and thus avoid anxieties and loneliness. Reflective analysis can also be used to help people with anxiety disorder such as old women who suffer after they are deserted by their children when they marry and start over their families. Reflective analysis addresses affective and cognitive of a person’s problems (Osmond & Darlington, 2005). Reflective analysis has been used as a therapeutic tool. Reflection analysis help people to think and question the resultant of social and mental disorders. Through this a broad and critical evaluation is developed that calls for modification and refinement of a person’s life (Osmond & Darlington, 2005). However, a reflective session done to anxiety disorder patient should be flexible to avoid making the therapeutic process an interrogation process. It is supposed to be a facilitative enquiry of how to minimize anxiety and bring back a joyous moment in an individual. Zimmerman and Dickerson present a case study of narrative therapy using White ideas. They take the case of Bob’s wife, Amanda, who has been gone an extra mile to ensure that her husband is well cared for. He suffers from psychiatric disorders and has been in and out of hospital for a month. Bob says that he suffers from anxiety, fear and shock as a result of the happening in the family where he come from. He has struggled so much with inadequacies. After being referred to several therapeutic session Bob appreciate the outcome and give up use of medicine to cure anxiety (Zimmerman & Dickerson, n.d.). Bob confesses that after realizing that he can be a better resource to himself, he has experienced better days for quite because of talking when he need to and by keeping himself busy rather than depend on external control (Zimmerman & Dickerson, n.d.). Increased therapy make people with anxiety disorder recover from their situation by concentrating on the positive things in life and thinking positive things about their day to day activities. This practice of talking to oneself and to other people help in shutting out anxiety (Zimmerman & Dickerson, n.d.). According to Zimmerman and Dickerson, Bob, an anxiety disorder patients argued that he starting believing in himself again after a long time and could take care of the role that he previously held, of providing for the family. Morgan argues that the application of narrative in counselling had great challenges at first, but she got excitement after realizing it’s effective. After watching videotapes of interviews and studying various articles, she got a reflection on her counselling career and developed a strong connection of commitments and purposes (Morgan, 2001). Morgan experience proved that she can use the same thing that she has found resources in her life to offer assistance to people seeking counselling from various psychological and psychiatrist disorders. Morgan argue that the narrative is an effect therapeutic exercise because it put the patient into practice by questioning himself or herself his desires, dreams, purposes, views and desires which are central in the patient and therapist conversation (Morgan, 2001). According to Morgan, narrative therapist use different form of narrative to achieve good results for their patients. She explain that people explain narrative therapy as a way of talking people out of their problems or speaking about people lives and experiences so that they can overcome their challenges in life. All these according to Morgan explains narrative therapy (Morgan, 2000). Morgan say that narrative therapy is a non-blaming therapy that places people at the center as the experts of other problem other than relying on other experts. Narrative therapy view problems as different form people and thus people can be able to alienate them self from anxiety disorders and other psychological and psychiatrist challenges. Anxiety disorders cannot be addressed by issuing a proclamation by counselor rather it is a conversational deliberation. It requires solution-focused approach which utilizes language which influences mental constructs (Chang & Nylund, 2013). Chang and Nylund says that through language we constitutes a social reality that shape and constructs our life. Moreover language give us a sense of identity and a sense of the world that surrounds us. Therefore, psychological disorders and anxiety challenge can be addressed by the self through conversation and listening to other people ideas of how best they have ever solved a problem. In conclusion, narrative therapy has shown that it is powerful therapeutic measure that the help people overcome their challenges such as anxiety, stress and depression through listening skills therapeutic approach, self-critical analysis, and self-evaluation therapeutic approach (Herbert & Anton, 2008). It has proved more efficient than taking medicine to suppress emotions in people’s life. Narrative therapy therefore has improved the quality of service in the discipline of counselling and medicine as it offers alternative way other than treatment and use of medicine. References Chang, J. & Nylund, D., 2013. Narrative and Solution-Focused Therapies: A Twenty-Year Retrospective. Journal of Systematic Therapies, 32(2), pp. 72-88. Fronek, P., 2012. Critical Reflection. [Online] Available at: http://www.podsocs.com/podcast/critical-reflection/ [Accessed 01 May 2014]. Herbert, B. & Anton, H.-B., 2008. Telling tales to end wails : narrative therapy techniques and rehabilitation counselling. Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, I(14), pp. 16-25. Morgan, A., 2000. What is narrative therapy?: An Easy to Read Introduction. Dulwish: Dulwish Centre Publications. Morgan, A., 2001. Beginning to use a narrative approach in therapy. [Online] Available at: http://www.narrativetherapylibrary.com/media/downloadable/files/links/0/2/021Morgan_2.pdf [Accessed 01 May 2014]. Natasha, K., 2010. What is Critical Reflection?. [Online] Available at: http://www.coles.uoguelph.ca/pdf/Critical%20Reflection.pdf [Accessed 01 April 2014]. Osmond, J. & Darlington, Y., 2005. Reflective Analysis: Techniques for Facilitating Reflection. [Online] Available at: http://amovita.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Reflective-Analysis-Techniques-for-Facilitating-Reflection.pdf [Accessed 01 May 2014]. White, M., 2011. Narrative Practice: Continuing The Conversations. London: W.W Norton & Company. White, M. & Epston, D., 1990. Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. In: London: Norton & Company, p. 229. Zimmerman, J. L. & Dickerson, V. C., n.d. Narrative Therapy and the Work of Michael White. [Online] Available at: http://lonmarshall.com/articles/narrative/Narrative%20Therapy.pdf [Accessed 01 April 2014]. Read More