Commentary

Self-Narrative Reconstruction in Psychotherapy: Looking at Different Levels of Narrative Development

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7739792
AutoresAntónio P Ribeiro (0000-0002-9691-6149, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal), Tiago Bento (0000-0002-9875-6986, CINEICC/ISMAI, Maia, Portugal), Miguel M Gonçalves (0000-0003-2575-7221, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal,, autor de correspondencia), João Salgado (0000-0003-0822-9267, CINEICC/ISMAI, Maia, Portugal)
Año2010
Volumen16
Número2
Páginas195-212
Fecha de publicación2010-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCulture & Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1354-067X • E-ISSN: 1461-7056
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1354067x10361400
OpenAlexW1993716078
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas20

This commentary focuses on Cross’s (2010, this issue) work as an opportunity to elaborate upon how to study narrative-dialogical processes from the perspective of complexity. We start by elaborating on the notion that narrative development is a multidimensional activity that extends through several organizational levels and on the limitations of conventional research methods for narrative analysis. Following this, we focus on our experience of research on narrative change in psychotherapy in order to exemplify this point. From our perspective, clients’ problematic self-narratives can be challenged by the emergence of innovative ways of thinking and behaving that the client narrates during the therapeutic conversation (innovative moments or i-moments). Our results suggest that the reconstruction of a person’s self-narrative depends on the structure of relations between i-moments, rather than on the mere accumulation of i-moments. Therefore, we are particularly interested in looking at how clusters of i-moments create a pattern, which we call protonarrative. We are interested in the dynamic processes between former self-narrative, i-moments, protonarratives and new emergent self-narratives. Hence, we have developed a research strategy that allows tracking these different levels of narrative development in psychotherapy. In the remaining of our commentary we will briefly present our research strategy

Conversation · Dialogical self · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Linguistics · Narrative · Narrative criticism · Narrative inquiry · Narrative network · Narrative therapy · Perspective (graphical · Point (geometry · Psychotherapist · Self · Sociology · Communication · Computer Science · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology · Social Representations and Identity