Narrative Family Therapy Paper

Clarieece “Precious” Jones is a 16-year-old African American female who is pregnant with her second child. Precious shared that she has been physically and emotionally abused by her mother. In addition, she admits that her father has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused her since the age three. As a result of the incestuous relationship, Precious gave birth to their daughter Mongo, at the age of twelve. Mongo was born with down syndrome and lives with her maternal grandmother. Due to her second pregnancy, Precious has been sent to an alternative school and her family was required to attend mandatory counseling in order to continue to receive welfare assistance. The family has admitted to the abuse, and thus the primary focus of the

Narrative family therapists are interested in how we story our experience and use a deliberate and dynamic dialogue in which new meaning can be created. The basic theory of narrative therapy is that human beings tend to story their experience in order to make sense of their lives (Phipps and Vorster, 2015). People begin to ascribe meaning to their stories and overtime, it becomes easier to gather more events that are consistent with their story line. Thus, this becomes the dominant story for the individual and/or family and they are unable to comprehend events objectively (Phips & Vorster, 2015). Precious and Mary believe that the problems in their life resides within themselves and/or family members, and this perspective is hindering their ability to solve their problems. Mary continues to blame Precious for her problems and fights for power within the family unit. Instead of placing blame or trying to change one another, counselors using narrative therapy use questions and conversations to externalize the problems and unify the family around defeating the common problem. In addition, narrative therapy is a collaborative approach where clients work with the therapist to create new meanings which hold more hope for their future. The Jones’ family has experienced numerous traumas throughout their lives. The narrative approach will highlight their strengths and competencies rather than focus solely on their problems. The main goal of narrative family therapy is to give the family a chance to re-author their story through co-construction of desired narratives (Suddeath, Kerwin, & Duggar,