What is narrative therapy?: An easy-to-read introduction

A wonderful introduction to this WONDERFUL approach. This book is written simply and clearly, and provides the basic principles of Narrative work. I would suggest starting here and moving on to Michael White... but even if you choose not to read on, I'm sure you'll find yourself using these techniques in some way or another. At very least, you'll start to think differently about the ways in which we story our lives.

What Is Narrative Therapy? (Gecko 2000) I was originally searching for a workbook on Narrative Therapy in the same format as "Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think." Currently, there is no workbook on Narrative Therapy in print. Any aspiring Narrative Therapy authors, please write a workbook that could be used by the general public! If you are new to the subject of Narrative Therapy, buy this book first! Then search for the sources listed in this book to further your research.

Alice Morgan's 2000 What Is Narrative Therapy? An Easy-to-Read Introduction does exactly what the title promises in in providing a wonderfully accessible introduction to the newest major approach to therapy. Alice Morgan has been a member of the highly regarded Dulwich Centre international teaching faculty in Adelaide, South Australia for a number of years. She crystallized her years of teaching and counseling experience in the highly readable book for those graduate students, therapists, consultants, coaches and counselors who really want to practice Narrative Therapy. At only 136 pages, Ms. Morgan provides a concise compendium of Narrative ideas as they had developed up to the year of its publication, 2000. The book is outlined in two main sections. Part One- "What is narrative therapy?" covers the basic concepts and practices. Readers are introduced to the narrative metaphor and how people understand and live life through stories. Stories are what clients tell in the therapeutic context. This section illustrates how we help clients tell their stories richly, without shame. Ms. Morgan discusses the practice of externalized conversations of separating the person from the problem and clear ideas for tracing the history of the problem, exploring its effects, deconstruction, discovering unique outcomes, and naming an alternative story. Part Two-Thickening the Alternative Story- covers the more recent developments in Narrative Therapy: Re-membering conversations, therapeutic documentation, therapeutic letters, rituals and celebrations, expanding the conversations, outsider-witness groups and definitional ceremonies. It is richly illustrated with bulleted points and case examples as well as examples of narrative art, letters, documents and rituals. All clinicians can benefit from the innovative, creative and collaborative approaches that are so clearly presented in this elegant book.