Abstract
In this study, narrative therapy and solution-focused brief therapy, which are the postmodern psychotherapy methods, are compared in terms of similarities and differences. In the study, primarily theoretical information about narrative therapy and solution-focused short-term therapy, which differs from traditional psychotherapy methods, the techniques used, and information about therapeutic application processes are given. Then, narrative therapy and solution-focused short-term therapies are compared in terms of similarities and differences. As a result, although narrative therapy, which is a postmodernist and social constructivist psychotherapy method, and solution-focused short-term therapy, which is a postmodern, inductive, and constructivist psychotherapy approach, have great similarities in terms of both theoretical and therapeutic processes; they also seem to have some differences.
TopIntroduction
In addition to the problem-oriented approaches used in the field of social sciences, postmodernist and contemporary approaches that focus on the positive and strong aspects of the individual have also begun to take their place in the field. The effects of these approaches were also seen in psychotherapies in a short time. Narrative therapy, developed by Michael White and David Epston, and solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, are the main examples showing the reflections of postmodernism in psychotherapies. Based on the assumption that there is no single truth and that reality can be socially constructed through human interaction, solution-focused brief therapy and narrative therapy have offered a different view from most traditional approaches, arguing that the client is the expert of his/her own life (Corey, 2015). Within the scope of this study, these two therapy approaches are evaluated in terms of their similarities and differences.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Praise: A SFBT technique which attention is drawn to the fact that the clients have already achieved something.
Deconstruction: A narrative therapy process in which the personal meanings that clients attribute to the problems in their problem-saturated stories are revealed.
Metaphor: A form of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to another word or idea that it does not actually denote in order to convey a meaning difficult to convey otherwise.
Re-Authoring: A narrative therapy process in which a new narrative includes unique outcomes and preferred by the client is developed and rewritten.
Scaling Questions: An emerging technique that helps therapists and clients to talk about ambiguous issues such as depression and communication where tangible changes are difficult to describe.
Mapping: A narrative therapy process in which the effects of the troubles experienced by the client or other problems related to the trouble on the client and his/her family members are determined.