Narrative Theory……Where do I start? Unlike most people this theory has a special place in my education and in my personal life. Where reading the chapter this week it was the first time I had heard of it however not the first time I seen it. Upon starting school at Southern Adventist University I was enrolled in a class in which reflection papers were assigned. This was also my first run in with these so called reflection papers. I remember the first few were actually hard as I would read the material and then regurgitate the material right back out. We were then told they wanted to see how the readings applied to our own lives.
Little did I know that these papers were in some way a form of this theory or so as it applied to my life. It was a life story about where I came from and where I wanted to go and it actually made me stop and think about how I viewed things within my own life and realize others that I needed to change.
As stated in the text, the narrative theory is about empowering the client and helping them gain greater control over their lives and that’s what these reflection papers did for me. The readings also stated that the theory is premised on the idea that people’s lives and relationships are shaped by their life stories and the ways of life they develop based on those stories. This was so true for me as I looked backed I could see events that had impacted my way of thinking and in some cases hindered my outlook on life in general. One thing that stuck out to me in the chapter was the case illustration about the hospice client. The client was asked about little things and she began to reflect back on her life and this gave her a sense of dignity and empowered her and she finally got to tell the world how she saw things and to also leave a story for when she passed away.
The theory is said to have been researched and five out of six families reported that when using this method, relationships improved. I actually stopped and wondered what was wrong with the sixth family as this model is really nothing more than communication and from my point of view can be looked at almost like a conversation amongst friends. Communication is essential in improving relationships and I think this theory would work well in family settings. There have also been many criticisms of the theory which include it not being suitable as a primary intervention when people are in need of basic services and it’s rejection of general theories. I believe that maybe this is somewhat true as this is a good intervention to lead with but incorporating another type of therapy down the line would seem useful, however this being used as a standalone treatment may be right for someone that is facing a certain death and just wants a way to tell their story once they are gone. The fact that it rejects the general theories of practice actually made it appeal to me even more in that everyone is different and sometimes setting things in stone can actually harm progress with a client. Several theories throughout time have been rejected and later discarded when new evidence presented itself.
Since I first began writing those ever so popular reflection papers I have come to realize that this in itself is a type of therapy for me. I have continued to write these papers even after the class was over not only as therapy but to also leave my story for my daughter so that later in life she will be able to look back and see what made me the way I was and why I valued the things I did. I guess because of how much it worked for me I would defiantly use this theory with future clients whether it be as an initial type of treatment of as a standalone treatment depending on the situation.
This week’s reading covered motivational interviewing which seems to be used quite a bit with substance abuse treatment programs. These types of interventions are meant to be brief in which it is only a few sessions before the client is either moved on into some other type of treatment or released altogether. One thing that really stuck out with me was that the text stated that motivational interviewing is often times confrontational. This is sometimes true with programs such as the 12-step programs in which it is believed that being confronted by the darker side of their addiction is necessary in order to overcome the addiction. However many of the cases I have seen in with this type of intervention is used it is done in a respectful way and focuses in the beginning on building a rapport and understanding about what the behavior is doing for the individual. Within this type of intervention, the individual’s point of view about his own behavior is central to recovery and being judgmental can sometimes worsen the situation for the person.
The case illustration is the book in which a homeless man was hospitalized for issues related to his drinking was a story I had heard over and over again. I worked in an area in which several homeless individuals congregated and I had the opportunity to hear several different stories and many of them had problems of substance abuse. These individuals knew they had a problem and wanted to seek help however it was much easier to just go about their day to day activities than try and seek any type of help. Many could not or would not return to families out of shame or because their families wanted nothing to do with them while they were in this shape but in their current environment it was much easier to deal with their problems by the only means afforded to them at this time which was usually alcohol or drugs. In motivational interviewing the social worker starts where the client is and promote client engagement into programs that would be able to help them. I found it really odd that the homeless shelter here in Chattanooga says that if you are intoxicated you can’t stay there. I know there are rules in which to follow but it would seem that individuals with these types of problems would be the ones that would need the services the most. During winter months you can see several of them sleeping under bridges because they used alcohol during the day to escape their daily reality and then they are not allowed any type of assistance at night because they used alcohol. It seems to be a revolving door.
Motivational Interviewing does seem to be something I would use with future clients not only with substance abuse but other things as well. It appears it may be beneficial with substance abuse but from what I have read it looks like this would be used as an initial step toward other types of treatment programs for individuals that suffer many different types of disorders.
This week’s reading covered Solution-Focused Therapy which is in stark contrast to most other types of therapy in that this one focuses on short-term intervention. Like most other models the worker/client relationship is a vital role however in the solution model not too much time is spent at the onset of the therapy trying to develop the relationship and for this reason has been criticized for not adequately building a working relationship with the client. In this type of therapy the worker focuses on the ending of the intervention right from the start.
The goal of solution-focused therapy is for the client to focus on solutions to their problems and become aware of their resources. Unlike cognitive behavior therapy the worker uses their experience to help connect the client with outside resources in order to alleviate the client’s distress. The social worker’s role is dramatically changed from that of other types of therapy in that the worker will help identify and gain access to outside resources in order to help the client.
After reading this chapter I thought to myself that this sounded like a pretty good type of therapy for helping someone who is in a crisis at that moment, however upon further reading it appears that this is the type on therapy that many non-profit agencies use due to the high number of case loads and low funding inadequacies. This type of therapy reminded me of the first internship I did while here at Southern. I interned at an agency called The Relative Caregiver Program. The goal of the agency was to keep children who are living with relatives other than their parents from entering state custody by offering family advocacy and outreach to the individuals raising these children. The goal of the organization is phenomenal, however after working there it became apparent that many times no such advocacy or outreach was being conducted. Often times I would read through the files and find that the individuals in the case file were also receiving benefits from other organizations which was allowed. Upon being given my case load and talking to several of the families already in the system and families that had heard about the system every single one of them (9 in all) advised this was an easy way in which to get their electricity paid or get appliances for their apartments. It was also troublesome to discover that all the individuals I had spoken with knew each other and were all related in some way. Getting your electricity paid and getting much needed appliances in vital in the upbringing of a child but often times these individuals had several relatives living with them in an effort to gain more money which paid in monthly installments by this agency. This appeared to me to cause dependence on the program and hindered the members from seeking out long term solutions that could help them get on “their own two feet”.
I believe that this type of therapy does have a place along with all the rest but workers need to be careful that they don’t lead the client into a dependence on the services offered. Helping individuals acquire the necessary services that are needed at the moment is a great idea but much like this agency when clients become dependent on the agency as a source of income they are doomed to fail when the inevitable budget cuts come about. I could see using this for my future clients but only as a short term “crutch” and not a 5 to 10 year source of income.
Uncategorized | Mickel Hoback October 24, 2011 | 
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