Important Questions for IGNOU MAPC MPCE022 Exam with Main Points for Answer - Block 2 Approaches to Assessment in Counselling Unit 4 The Narrative Approach To Assessment And Counseling
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Block 2 Approaches to Assessment in Counselling
Unit 4 The Narrative Approach To Assessment And Counseling
1) What are the basic concepts of Narrative therapy?
- Social constructionism: The way people experience themselves and their situations is constructed through social interactions and culture. People create meaning in their lives through stories, which become their truths.
- Stories shape perspectives: Stories both describe and shape people's perspectives on their lives, histories, and futures. These stories can be either inspiring or oppressive.
- Focus on client's narration: The therapy focuses on the client's telling of their story. It assumes that people live out the stories they tell about themselves and the stories others tell about them.
- Problems are external: Narrative therapy views problems as separate from the person.
- Reconstruction of stories: The therapist helps reconstruct the client’s stories by exploring the client's dominant stories and the alternatives.
2) Describe the characteristic features of narrative therapy.
- Emphasis on stories: The focus is on the stories of people’s lives.
- Client as expert: Clients are considered the primary source of information and experts in their own lives.
- Avoidance of diagnosis: Narrative therapy avoids using diagnoses, focusing instead on understanding the client's life experiences.
- Re-authoring: The therapy aims to help people discover new possibilities within their stories and re-author their lives.
- Collaborative approach: Counsellors collaborate with people and move away from problem-saturated stories.
3) What are the key beliefs of Narrative therapy?
- Clients as experts: People are experts in handling their own lives and problems.
- Problems are separate: Problems are viewed as separate entities from the individual.
- Inherent skills and resources: Individuals possess skills, experience, and mindsets to reduce the influence of problems.
- Protagonist and author roles: The individual is both the protagonist and author of their life.
- Flexible perspective: The approach switches from a narrow to a systemic and flexible viewpoint.
- Positive aspects: The therapy focuses on the positive aspects of life and the forces influencing it.
- Social and cultural context: Problems are manufactured within social, cultural, and political contexts.
- Meaning from stories: Each person creates meaning from the stories available in these contexts.
- Story structure: Stories consist of events linked by a theme, occurring over time according to a plot.
- Story selection: Stories emerge as certain events are selected over others.
- Reinforcement of stories: Once a story takes shape, the teller further selects information to continually tell the same story.
4) Describe the techniques of Narrative Therapy.
- Externalising the problem: The problem is separated from the individual, making it an external force to be dealt with.
- Reconstructing the story: The problem becomes the antagonist, and the client re-writes the story to reduce the problem's influence.
- Identifying unique outcomes: The counsellor helps to identify positive outcomes that are exceptions to the problem-saturated narrative.
- Developing alternative narratives: The client reconstructs their story using positive aspects to achieve desired outcomes.
- Questioning: Therapists use questions to explore meaning and generate new perspectives rather than gathering information.
- Exploration and deconstruction: The therapist helps the client deconstruct problem-saturated stories to create new directions.
- Search for unique outcomes: The therapist asks questions to help the client identify times when they were able to overcome the problem.
- Documenting the evidence: Therapists may write letters to clients to highlight their progress and achievements.
- Poetry and journal writing: These techniques are used to explore deeper emotions and slow down the thought process.
5) Elucidate the objectives of Narrative therapy.
- Improve perspective: To improve the person’s perspective internally (reflective) and externally (towards the world and others).
- Empowerment: To empower the client by placing them as an expert.
- Change identity: Narrative therapy aims to change how people interpret their stories, as this interpretation affects their identity.
- Test problem-saturated stories: To find problem-saturated stories and test them while looking for other contradictory narratives.
6) What is meant by unique outcomes?
Unique outcomes are positive events or exceptions to the problem-saturated narrative. The counselor attempts to identify these exceptional positive moments and help the client realize that these moments can prevail over the problems they face.
7) Describe the boundaries of Narrative Therapy.
- Client expectations: Clients may expect the therapist to be the expert, which is contrary to the collaborative nature of narrative therapy.
- Articulateness: The approach can be challenging for individuals who are not articulate.
- Lack of structure: There is no set formula or agenda, which can make the process subjective.
8) Describe the key assumptions of Narrative therapy.
- Client as expert: The client is the expert of their life.
- Stories shape identity: A person's stories and interpretations are connected to their identity.
- Problem-saturated stories: Most people have problem-saturated stories that shape their identity and can become overwhelming.
- Multiple perspectives: Narrative therapy aims to free the self from limited views through multi-perspective views.
- Change through acceptance: Change takes place when the client accepts their ability to change their life story.
9) What are the goals of narrative counseling?
- Sharing stories: To encourage clients to share their stories in a fresh and new language.
- Cultural impact: To make the client aware of the impact of culture on their lives.
- Enlarged perspective: To broaden the client's perspective on life.
- Finding alternatives: To find alternatives to the client's existing stories about their life.
10) Describe the steps followed in narrative counseling.
- Naming the problem: The therapist encourages the client to name the problem, often using an adjective.
- Understanding the problem’s impact: The therapist seeks to understand how the problem has disrupted the client's life and how it has dominated the client’s life.
- Externalising the problem: The problem is placed outside the individual and within the culture.
- Exploring the future with changed stories: The client imagines their future with the changed story.
- Creating an audience for support: The client is encouraged to find a new audience to support the new story.
11) Describe the role of Narrative therapist.
- Facilitator: The therapist should be a good facilitator.
- Caring: The therapist should be caring towards the client.
- Respecting privacy: The therapist should not disturb the client's privacy.
- Open-minded: The therapist should be open to all stories from different clients.
- Participant observer: The therapist acts as a participant observer and process-facilitator.
- Constructive stories: The therapist helps the client construct more useful stories to get rid of the problem.
- Collaborator: The therapist collaborates with the client, valuing the client's knowledge.
12) What kind of therapeutic relationship is required in Narrative counseling?
- Respect and Optimism: The therapist should show respect, optimism, curiosity and persistence.
- Collaboration: The relationship is a collaboration where the therapist values the client's knowledge.
- Client as Expert: The client is treated as the expert of their own life.
- Exploring Alternatives: The therapist helps the client discover new perspectives and resources.
13) Describe the ‘questioning technique’ in narrative therapy. Give the importance of questioning in narrative approach of counseling.
- Uncovering Meaning: Questioning is used to uncover meaning and generate new experiences, rather than just gathering information.
- Context-Based: Questions relate to the context provided by the client.
- Not Probing: Questions are not probing but are intended to enable the client to experience new perspectives.
- Understanding Client Progress: Questions help understand the direction in which the client is progressing.
- No Assumptions: Questions should be based on the client's material without assumptions.
- Alternative Perspectives: Questions help the client understand different dimensions of their problems.
- Joint Venture: The therapist encourages the client to find alternatives together, rather than offering a quick solution.
- Unique Story: The therapist assures the client that their story is unique, and the therapist is curious to work through it.
14) What is meant by ‘search for unique outcome’?
The 'search for unique outcomes' involves the therapist asking questions to help the client remember times when they were able to overcome or resist the problem, even briefly. The goal is to identify exceptions to the problem-saturated story. This helps in converting unique outcome stories into solution stories.
15) Describe the alternative stories and re authoring.
Alternative stories and re-authoring are about helping the client create new, more coherent and comprehensive stories. The process involves deconstructing the old, problem-saturated story, and encouraging the client to construct a new, more positive story.
16) What is meant by documenting evidence?
Documenting evidence means that the therapist writes letters to the client regarding the changes they observe, highlighting the client's achievements and the client’s efforts to make their life meaningful. This is meant to reinforce the new narrative. This process can be done with techniques such as poetry and journal writing.
17) Compare narrative approach with other approaches of counseling with the help of basic concepts and techniques.
- Focus: Unlike other approaches that may focus on internal states or behaviors, narrative therapy emphasizes the client's stories and their cultural context.
- Client's role: Narrative therapy views the client as the expert of their own lives, a departure from approaches where the therapist is the expert.
- Externalization: Many other approaches focus on problems as internal to the individual and seek solutions internal to the person. Narrative Therapy encourages looking at the problem as something separate from the individual and often shaped by social context.
- Techniques: While other therapies might use techniques like cognitive restructuring or behavioral modification, narrative therapy focuses on deconstructing and re-authoring stories through questioning and exploration.
- Emphasis on language: Other approaches may place more emphasis on behaviors or thoughts. Narrative therapy is especially focused on the importance of language and stories in creating meaning and identity.
- Non-directive approach: Narrative therapy is non-directive in the sense that it allows the client to find their own solutions, while other approaches may involve more specific guidance from the counselor.
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