Conversation, Language, And Possibilities A Postmodern Approach To Therapy

by Anderson, Harlene

• ISBN13: 9780465038053
• ISBN10: 0465038050
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-02-21
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

The director and founding member of the Houston Galveston Institute documents the emergence of postmodern narrative therapy and shows how linguistics and social discourse influence the changing culture of psychotherapy. Anderson shows how the therapist can empower the patient through the use of narrative and discourse, thereby creating a collaborative environment.

Author Biography

Harlene Anderson, Ph.D., is a founding member of the Houston Galveston Institute and the Taos Institute. She lives in Houston, Texas, and teaches and consults internationally.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix	(2)
Foreword by	xi	(1)
Lynn Hoffman
Preface	xvii
PART I: CREATING THE SPACE: THE GIVE AND TAKE OF THEORY AND PRACTICE	1	(46)
Changing the Culture of Therapy: A Philosophical Practice	1	(5)
"If My Story May Be of Any Help..."	6	(5)
1. Onions and Pyramids	11	(18)
2. Less Confining Spaces: From Modern Traditions to Postmodern Possibilities	29	(18)
PART II: CREATING COLLABORATIVE LANGUAGE SYSTEMS, RELATIONSHIPS, AND PROCESSES PARTNERS IN DIALOGUE	47	(146)
"Sabrina"	47	(12)
3. Setting the Stage	59	(11)
4. Therapy Systems as Language--and Meaning--Generating Systems	70	(23)
5. A Philosophical Stance: Therapists' Position Expertise, and Responsibility	93	(15)
6. Therapy as Dialogical Conversation	108	(24)
7. Client Voices: Practical Advice from the Experts on How to Create Dialogical Conversations and Collaborative Relationships	132	(34)
8. A Glimpse of a Good Mother--Bad Mother Story	166	(27)
PART III: SEARCHING FOR MEANINGS IN MEANINGS	193	(42)
"If My Story May Be of Any Help..." Continued	193	(8)
9. Knowledge and Language	201	(10)
10. Self: Narrative, Identity, and Agency	211	(24)
PART IV: BROADENING THE SPACE	235	(28)
"Dissolving Tidal Waves"	235	(1)
"As If"	235	(8)
11. Beyond Postmodern Therapy	243	(20)
Reflecting Back and Forword	263	(4)
Notes	267	(10)
Bibliography	277	(20)
Index	297