I actually really like this type of therapy and the technique of externalizing. I personally work in addictions counseling and to use externalizing on an addiction would really help the individuals feel rid of the stigmas that are associated with addiction and the label of "addict." It was helpful in this role play that the therapist helped the client recognize that her worry is more or less an outside entity and not who she is.
I'm halfway through undergrad school. I plan on continuing into my masters. Although iv consider the doctoral degree, I'm getting older ugh. Great video though to help with real life situations.
I really appreciate the demonstration of narrative therapy in action. I did some research on this form of therapy but actually seeing the therapist remove the worry from client instead of making or allowing the client to feel like it is apart of them was very useful.
Though Narrative Therapy may use awkward techniques, it offers simplicity in finding a means with which to relate. Most people understand the elements of a story: Protagonist, plot, theme, etc. After assessing duration and severity of the anxiety, the counselor suggests that the client view the problem (worry) as an external factor, which seems unusual at first. However, the alternative narrative brings new meaning. The personal constructs become the client as a competent person and worry as the manipulator trying to sabotage her. The power of words such as describing worry as a "disruptor" and "manipulator," sets the stage so to speak. The act of challenging the manipulator is clear. This reframe not only makes sense for the client, but also is positive. The client's personal construct changes from a worrier to a competent individual able to challenge worry so that she can function as desired.
This video is a very brief yet clear display of how Narrative Therapy would help a client. By introducing the process of externalizing the problem, which is the "worry", the counselor helped the client see the problem as it was from the outside of the client herself. That way, it made more sense and gave the client more motivation/reason to challenge or fight with the external strength. Great illustration!
I have found a lot of interest in narrative therapy and seeing Dr Grande utilize the technique of externalizing the worry from the client was very helpful in my understanding of the therapy type. Dr Grande used simple language where the client could understand what was going on but told the client what was happening so she could still tell her story and find clarity
This was a super helpful source/example for my clinical and counseling psych class! My partner and I are giving a presentation on narrative therapy and need examples, and I think this one should do nicely!
I like how Dr. Grande took the client's narrative of excessive worry and helped the client challenge those thoughts. He took the client's perception of her worries with hiring qualified candidates at her workplace and reinterpreted them into an easily understandable way for the client. She was challenged to be in control of the worry rather than allowing the worry to control her since she was using false evidence of why she may do poorly. Dr. Grande ended on a positive note of reflecting the strengths of the client in her previous performances which I found beneficial to the client.
Thanks Dr.Grande for this demonstration. Nice to see how reframing the Worry can put the client back into power. Its no longer controlling me, I can chose how to feel. That's great. Also mentioning the client's past performances and how she shouldn't disregard them seemed influential.
I participated in a Narrative therapy role-play for test anxiety and with reinforcement this technique can work. Separating one's self from the issue and then re-framing the negative thoughts with positive thoughts can be beneficial in many ways.
I really like how this approach externalized the worry that the client felt. Once she took a step back and looked at the problem from the outside she was able to see what it was doing to her. She than could realize the good that she had done for the company and ease the worry she had.
Very true, it is interesting how we get affected when we externalize versus internalize things. I liked the intervention he used to think of worry as an external thing that is trying to encroach in her space, and by viewing it in that light, helps her be less anxious.
This exercise not only helps me with my schooling for professional counseling, but as a person, too. It is so easy to fall into the trap of, "I am depressed; therefore, I am a depressed person." This exercise puts some healthy distance between the person and their malady. Thank you for posting this.
Dr. Grande was effective in externalizing the excessive worry described by the client by saying "the worry" instead of "your worry". I liked how they collaboratively examined what impact the worry was having on her day to day functioning. I think narrative therapy would be a great to use in the first several sessions in order to understand the client's presenting concern and the history of it. As therapy continues, the client and counselor can continue to tell the story, but instead find new ways to address the issues and build resilience based on the client's own experiences. This is a theory that resonates with me and I can see myself implementing many of these concepts in my work with clients.
I think that Dr. Grande, even in this short span of time, provided a highly valuable look into how narrative therapy can work for an individual to separate themselves from their concerns. I liked his questions "what is the worry trying to do to you?" as well as "what can you say to worry?" to help her better conceptualize the worry as a separate entity. I believe the discussion of seeing the worry as a manipulator vs. what evidence there is to support the worry was highly helpful to the client in providing empowerment to challenge her anxiety.
Chelsea Reeve I agree that seeing the worry as a manipulator can be empowering to the client because they are able to regain confidence knowing that there is something wrong with worry, not necessarily with them as an individual. This should make the client feel that they can conquer the problem.
I enjoyed watching this role play. I didnt realize when Dr. Grande said externalize the worry that they literally were going to talk about worry as if it were a person and was no longer a part of the client. Also I think giving a homework assignment was a great way to close the session.
This was a great role-play because I was easily able to recognize the techniques used. In helping the client to construct her narrative, the counselor asked questions about the client's past worrying and job performance to see how the problem influences the client. The counselor also attempted to help the client reframe her narrative by externalizing her worry as being separate from the client. The counselor and client gave the worry a separate identity with separate personality traits as being manipulative, doubtful, and having low confidence. They set a goal to have the client attempt to communicate to her worry in the future as a separate identity, and hopefully the client will begin to reconstruct a new narrative and form a new identity.
Dr. Gande did a great job helping the client separate herself from her worry and externalize the problem. The client was able to realize that being worrisome is not "who she is." Like she had said prior to the technique being used.
I agree that Dr. Grande did a great job at helping the client separate herself from her worry. In the beginning she stated that she is a worry, that's who she is but through this theory, she realized that was not the case. I believe this is a great way for clients to disassociate themselves from negative perceptions about themselves.
I found this technique to be very interesting. I like how Dr. Grande was able to get her thinking that worry could be seen outside of her, but did acknowledge to her at the end that he realizes that worry is a real part of her. I think reframing worry as it was done in this video is something that would be useful for many people.
I liked how Dr. Grande led the client to see that the worry is a separate piece of her and not who she is as a person. Through narrative therapy he was able to help the client rewrite the story by focusing on her actual experiences.
Externalizing the client's feelings and challenges is really beneficial for all involved. While I don't feel like this would be a type of therapy that I would use often, it was still interesting to watch in action. As a result, it assisted me in gaining a better understanding of the theory as well as how it would play out in an actual therapy session. Dr. Grande did a really good job and I appreciate watching his role plays because they really help me to better understand the theory in addition to how the therapist can implement it into a therapy session.
This approach from narrative therapy allowed the client to explain her conflicts/ problems. The counselor sat and listened mostly in the beginning, and then started asking questions to get a further detailed description of the issue at hand. This was a great example of reframing within narrative therapy to show how the technique is utilized.
This role play of narrative therapy was very useful to me because I have no idea what this type of therapy should look like in a session. The way narrative therapy seems is that the client makes up a story and tells it, but in reality they just tell their story and the counselor helps to reframe it to develop alternative ways of being or acting. I wasn't expecting him to be so direct as the counselor but it was helpful in allowing the client to recreat her story and work to defeat the problem.
Dr. Grande did a great job illustrating how to speak to a client in a way that separates their issue from them. In this case the clients worry needed to be externalized. I think that this technique would be helpful in getting people to address their issues without feeling plagued by it since they are being taught to see it as separate from themselves. Externalizing also allows the client to examine the issue without feeling attacked.
Jamie-I agree that externalizing issues is a good way to explore issues however, it does allow for the client to push responsibility away from themselves which in certain populations is already a barrier. I agree though it is a way to help the client not feel attacked!
I appreciate how Dr. Grande presented the idea of viewing “worry” as a separate entity. It allows the client to disconnect from the concept, therefore preventing herself from identifying as a worrier, but rather seeing how “worry” can affect her thoughts and view of self. By using such a technique the client is able to have awareness of when “worry” is approaching, and work to challenge the effects that “worry” brings. In this respect, the client may alter the effects to become positive, therefore allowing the client to have confidence in her abilities and prevent “worry” from taking form and manipulating her mindset.
Dr. Grande was specific to encourage the client to create a narrative and ultimately externalize the problem. Using questions to gather more information and reframing the client's worry regarding various aspects of her job, the clinician was successful in rewriting the client's narrative more positively/from a different point of view. I personally like this technique and feel as though it can be productive for clients in session.
I really liked how Dr. Grande helped the client see her worry as something outside of herself rather than a part of who she is. I think that this could help her to view her worry (or any other symptom she may experience) as something that she can change. I also liked how he helped her to see/remember times when she did perform well, to also help in alleviating some of her worry.
Dr. Grande- I enjoyed watching this session about helping the client manage how she worries. The technique you used allowed the client to be calm, comfortable and more open. The appropriate use of challenging the client and externalizing the worrying. It was important that you talked to her what the entities of her worries. Importantly, this type of therapy allowed the client to think and come to her own conclusions in what her worries mean to her. Great job!
I appreciated how the counselor in this role play was able to bring light to the client's past performances to ease her excessive worry she experiences now. The technique seemed to enlighten the client on the positives rather than the negatives she was facing prior to the session. When individuals experience negative emotions, they begin to feel as though the negatives define who they are as a person, and the counselor was able to remind the client that that is not the case.
Making the worry it's own "thing" and separating it from the actual issue before he is a great technique. Worrying is not going to change her ability to choose the right person for the job. He separated the worry from her and gave it a face. It gave her the opportunity to change the story. I use this technique often for myself and others seeking empathy with worry.
I agree, the worry seemed to be seen as a part of who the client is however, by enabling her to see that she's had past success she is able to rewrite her story.
I really enjoyed this role-play. I felt that there was a good use of this technique. The counselor, Dr. Grande identified the client’s source of worry and focused on it. I like that he focused on one issue instead of a variety of issue. He then walked his client, April through the process of her worry. Together they identified how her worry was negatively impacting her life. Dr. Grande suggested that April challenge the worry and treat it as an external entity. I myself am I big worried and I really found this technique helpful on a personal level.
Externalizing the worries of the client was a fascinating technique in helping the her gain more self-confidence. She needed to rely on the evidence of her job to challenge the worries. It was helpful.
Thank you for the role play. I liked the use of externalization to separate the worry from the individual. The reframing techniques seemed helpful to offer an alternative narrative for the client. The exercise seemed practical and offered skills that the client can use immediately to improve functioning.
This is very interesting. I really like narrative therapy but when I think of it I think about story telling. I like how Dr. Grande used the technique externalizing the problem. I like how when using this technique he made the client desperate the worry from her life. This allowed her to see the worry as a culprit. This helps her to see how this worry can affect her life at work. Although this was super brief he was able to kind of deconstruct the problem in efforts to find a solution.
I really enjoyed this role-play. Narrative therapy is very interesting and I can see myself using it in the future with my clients (being as though I wish to work with children). The way Dr. Grande externalizes the client's excessive worrying seemed to benefit her. She stated that the "worry voice" is too loud, but Dr. Grande tries to remind her of different ways she can continue to externalize this worry voice.
I liked how he identified that worrying has been an ongoing issue for the client however he was able to identify the current problem. He was able to get her to separate herself from worrying and identifying how it causes her to question her judgment.
It is evident that the client's worry is controlling her life and she can't even remember a time when she didn't worry about things in her life. I think that using Narrative Therapy's method of externalizing her worries, was very effective for this client. The client was able to understand how worrying effects her daily life by lowering her confidence and question her abilities. Instead of letting worrying be apart of her, the client successfully created solutions for how she can separate herself from her worrying. This use of therapy seemed to truly empower the client and help her take back her confidence.
Wow, what an excellent example of narrative therapy! Truly stupendous. I think I noticed a few examples of "Carl Rogers w/ a Twist" - very nicely done! Great exmaple.
I really liked how Dr. Grande had the client think about how she has been successful in the past in an attempt to make her realize that she is worrying based on something that has happened to someone else and not to her. Dr. Grande did not discount that the client has always worried about things, but attempted to have her try reframing her thoughts when worrying.
The counselor demonstrated skills good by allowing the client to differentiate the difference between the person she was and the worry she was experiencing. He allowed the client to discuss her story by asking good questions.
This was a very interesting concept, trying to externalize "the worry". I liked how she got to see that the worry doesn't change who she is as a person and that she could stand up to "it". Rather than telling herself, this is who she is and will always be, she was able to look at it from a different point of view. She said gave examples as to why she shouldn't worry, such as her boss trusts her to do this job and she has done a good job in the past.
This approach seems like it would be beneficial to the client. By identifying the worry as it's own entity and speaking to it as if it were another person, reminded me a bit of REBT with irrational thoughts and working through the thought process to eliminate the irrational thought. Being aware of how you're feeling in the specific situation is a great first step. Implementing this practice that Dr. Grande demonstrated could certainly be effective.
I think it was a good idea to clarify if the client's current problem of worry was the most significant, because it seemed to help both the client and counselor focus on one problem at a time amongst all of the client's worries. I wondered if the counselor should have dug deeper to ask about other problems at first, but I was pleased to see that he did not, so that he could help the client focus on one problem at a time, rather than bringing up more problems and not addressing them at once. It was a good way to focus the conversation more. I also thought it was a good idea to have the client reflect on strengths and encouraged them to think about those strengths when they are presented with worry for the presenting problem, along with reframing their thoughts.
I thought that this therapy was really interesting. I liked that Dr. Grande got the client to see that the excessive worry wasn't exactly who she was as a person. Dr. Grande helped the client to take this worry and externalize it from herself. I think that this therapy could be helpful for clients that believe they are what they feel.
I agree, I like how narrative therapy externalizes the problem. For those who see worrying or anxiety as who they are, making it a separate entity can help them to see that they aren't that feeling and they choose how they feel.
I can see that the client can gain some self confidence by externalizing the worry so she can better deal with it. This technique can be helpful for clients in similar situations with low confidence. I liked how Dr. Grande help the client and she can self talk to externalize a situation next time.
I enjoyed watching this approach. I liked that the counselor could have the client see the excessive worry. I really think this type of therapy could help individuals that are encountering situations in their life. I like the re-framing idea.
The video was helpful in showing how Narrative therapy works. This is not a therapy I would use very often, however because it does not seem like it would be very effective in long term healing. I think it is a good short term therapy style and can be useful in situations that are not very severe.
I liked how separating the client from the worry helped her to see it in a different light. By doing that the client may be able to see it as something that she can manipulate rather than it manipulating her. Reframing technique was good to see in action.
I like how Dr. Grande re-frames the worry as an external entity, and got the client to see the worry as an outsider. This technique would be really effective especially for client's who internalize things and are constantly anxious and worried. This was almost like the empty chair technique in a way.
I noticed the similarities of this technique to the empty chair technique as well! In this respect, this theory seems like it would integrate well with Gestalt therapy.
Hi. I am a clinical Psychologist and I have come to realise that the work we do is so pathetic because some of us think we know everything and the fact is that we don't. In the pas 15 years, I have learned through personal experience that humans are very complex machines or organism if you like, and we need to treat them not just like a brain but as a whole. We are not just flouting talking heads, we have a body that get affected when we are stress and that has to be treated too. If we can help our patients understand that stress can have such a huge impact on the body and help them prevent the damage to the body before it happens, they will recover sooner. You see, I've learned this because I became a patient myself and know what people need now we don't need some university arrogant person to tell us how to change our behaviour, but we need companion and understanding.
I really like the externalizing technique used in narrative therapy. Most of us often identify ourselves with the problem, as if we are part of it and it effects how we respond. In separating the issue from ourselves and giving it its own life, it is a way to view it outside of ourselves and then objectively analyze its impact on us.
Narrative therapy seems like a great way for clients to externalize issues so that they can directly communicate to them. Treating worry as a separate entity gave the client power of her worry, feeling that she could make a change since it no longer lived internally. It can seem easier to address external forces rather than internal ones. Dr.. Grande used the word reframe as means to give the client a new way to look at her issue and draw it from within. I like this particular therapy since many individuals deal with internal forces of which they feel they have no control.
I really liked the externalizing technique because it contradicts the idea that excessive worry (or any other presenting symptomology) is an inherent part of a client. Dr. Grande further empowered the client by having her identify all of the good hires she has made for the workplace, therefore easing her fears by highlighting specific examples.
Dr. Grande, thank you for this role play as it helped me deepen my understanding of Narrative therapy. Externalizing the "problem" is an effective tool in bringing the client autonomy. Seeing how separating the problem, in this case being the client worry, from the client is effective in giving the client the strength to view the worry and be able to address it in a way that does not cause stress. Thank you for sharing.
This role play provided a great example of how to use this therapy in a counseling session. After the client expresses her worry and anxiety, the counselor gives her the floor to dive deeper into what is causing the worry. The counselor has the client separate herself from the worry to help her process why she was feeling anxious. I think it helped the client dive deeper into her struggles at work and how the thought of not doing well or being a failure was overpowering her work and how she can re-frame those thoughts to reduce her worry.
I thought that this was a great technique for someone who worries a lot. I can see how it could be used for other issues too such as shyness, anger, etc. It seemed to help the client with the issue because she identified herself as a worrier so taking that and making it separate from herself was a good strategy. It helped her to see that she was doing a good job at work and gave her a good way to combat that worry when it comes up again in the future.
This is an interesting way to view worry and problems. Looking at it from an "outside" perspective can relieve the pressure and anxiety it causes when we view this from an internal perspective. I like how you guided the client to look back at previous experiences and how they worked out favorably for the client. I applied this view to some challenges I am having in my life and will work towards challenging my own thoughts and try to look at worry as an outsider.
This technique helps the client take something that she has internalized, "I am a worrier", and externalizes it allowing her to take the label off of herself that she put there.
I liked the approach, reminded me a lot of cognitive self talk technique. I think when the counselor separated the two from each other she was able to look at the situation with a different lens, without labeling herself. I feel she will be able to control those thoughts as they approach her with this strategy over time.
Yes, it is like constantly reminding yourself to believe in your capability to bring about success in what you do. It's like telling yourself to stop doubting yourself.
i'm pretty much eclectic in many areas - narrative therapy would be very useful to integrate into treatment. i think the separation of symptom and the individual is a good way to think about one's "problem".
The narrative role play helped the client detach from the worry and treat it as a separate entity. This was effective for the client to create a different picture and relationship with worry. She implied that it has been almost an excessive part of her life by worrying about everything. This reframe is a good start for her to replace a habit with something more positive.
She was having the experience of worrying. Dr. Grande showed her that re framing it as worry coming in. Rather than her being a worrier. She then was to challenge those thoughts which would help her re frame.
i thought it was cool to watch this technique in action. Until my readings and viewing this video, i did not know much about narrative therapy or techniques used in it. It was interesting to watch how Dr. Grande had the client view her worry as something outside of herself and a separate entity. It seemed as if it was useful for her to disassociate from it and not label herself as a worryer
I like how Dr. Grande pushes the client to externalize her troubles she is having with some stress in her life. I also enjoyed the question of, "What is this anxiety trying to do to you?" I really like how that question is used here.
Narrative therapy has a lot of different techniques and when reading about them, it has been difficult to envision it. Here the description is put right into a step by step visual, where the client has to make the worry a separate entity, almost as a person. where the individual has to describe it and then talk to it to combat it (evidence and challenge).
Since narrative therapy has a lot of different techniques i think it is sometimes difficult to truly understand what the goals of this theory are and how it can be utilized. I agree that seeing it done through this role play was helpful.
This one was interesting for me. I can relate to the client's excessive worry. I think it is interesting to think of the worry itself as an external entity instead of being something that's inherent. I am not sure how effective the technique would be however, especially when the voice of the worry gets really loud, like the client stated. Interesting!
I agree that reframing her worry as something external is very interesting. I also think that it would be something difficult to do if the voice of worry gets too loud but think that it would be worth a try.
I think it was good for the client to understand that she may worry but that does not make her a worrier. Identifying with the problem may lead the client to expect to act like that in every situation.
I can see how externalizing the problem allows the client to separate the emotions tied to it so that she can deal with it more rationally or cognitively. It is a good idea in theory and may work for some, but it seems to me only a certain set of clients. In this case, the client is able to identify her strength against "worry." I would have liked to have seen a little more drama in the video. I think externalizing requires imagination and creativity. I think it would be helpful to have the client experience HOW she would talk to worry (perhaps sternly).
This intervention puzzled me a little. Not because it wasn't good, but because I couldn't see why it's called "narrative therapy". I saw clear elements of traditional cognitive therapy (challenge your thoughts), and maybe something of ACT (distance yourself from your thoughts), but where is the narrative itself? I have the feeling that the kind of data that supports narrative therapy should give room to a completely different type of intervention.
I'm so glad you mentioned cbt and ACT...I thought the same. I'm trying to understand narrative, can't figure out the 'narrative' part in this role play 🤔💭
What a closed posture the therapist has, crossing his arms and taking shelter behind them... warding off the client and her emotions. Same with his leg crossed on top of the other in a really high position, again warding off the client. Also. I don't feel like the central theme to be tackled here is 'worries'. There a greater (dominant and oppressive) narrative underlying this. Hint: client mentions 'intuition' several times.... As opposed to 'they' trust me....
I'm not as particularly fond of this theory. I struggle with the concept of externalizing feelings because it doesn't seem like it would be easy to accomplish. It's such an abstract thing to try to do with a client that it would almost have to be forced. However, that being said, I think Dr. Grande did a really good job at making this concept seem more smooth. I just don't think I would be able to accomplish the same in my own practice.
The best alternative therapy is Hypnotherapy, the best way to heal these issues directly from the subconsciousness mind. In 3 to 5 sessions and it will be gone.
I cannot say enough positive things about Mindfulness and Awareness meditation. Postmodern therapy and M&A meditation both address narratives but PM seem to fall dangerously short in a particularly seductive way. M&A is about noticing narrative, objectifying the narrative, and seeing it as merely narrative. It is true that the narrative is a narrative but the narrative isn't in itself true. The idea is get out of the way of one's natural intelligence and objectivity. Postmodern therapy seems to be about replacing the narrative. Instead of developing trust in uncertainty, it tries to seal it up again which is the problem on the first place. It seems to me that PM is just sophistry to encourage people's natural tendency to rationalize. I strongly suspect the cost is put upon everyone around the patient. I suspect it pushes forward weaponizing the sophistry and making false accusations. It's hard to distinguish this from a tarot card reading if one looks past the sophisticated sounding language.
Her supervisor may be instilling worry to make her feel like shes lucky to have a job and wants her to work harder and faster; whereas, a healthy supervisor would commend her for her good work (which typically inspires improvement) and ignore minor shortcomings as it smacks of micro-management and expecting perfection.
so the "narrative" refers to an internal narrative the person tells themselves about themselves? is that what I'm seeing there? goal is to pause that narrative long enough to make the person aware of it, then equip them with tools needed to counter the narrative of internal dialogue or preconception?
In my honest opinion as an aspiring psychologist, the way the Dr. seats, is not acceptable. As a professional, I believe the way we seat, behave and in general, our body posture could actually determine whether a client will open up, feel comfortable, or trust you. I will like to have a respond from you!
I think this technique was helpful to the client because by externalizing the problem, she can change her perspective to be a worrier to recognize that worry is something out of her. Also she could explore how even she was worried of performing poorly at her job, experience proved that she was actually doing a good job.
I wonder how easily a client who has crafted their identity around problems such as anger, worry, temper, and depression would take to this technique of externalizing the problem. These individuals may believe the problem is inherent in them and their personality and may not be receptive to this or any reconstruction of their narrative. In that case, would narrative therapy be the best approach?
I agree that this role-play was done in such a short time, and that many clients could have difficulty externalizing the problem so quickly. I think that Narrative Therapy usually takes more time in helping clients achieve new goals and reconstructing their stories. It may require sketching a timeline of their lives onto paper, like we did in Human Development class. It could also require some self-talk or writing letters. I do think that in time, clients could bring themselves to reconstruct a new and more positive identity. However, other clients may benefit from a quicker solution to their problems.
I'm one of these! It's been incredibly hard to let go of an identity built on mental illness, especially when identifying that way helped me curb intense shame, and also connected me to community. It takes a lot of therapeutic trust and validation first, and it's hard to get rid of a problem which is "part of" oneself without identifying something to replace it with.
Luis Natal Not always, I'm seeing many non-high school GED clients right now. Many clients vent a ton (regardless of education or ses), only a handful are reserved, which tend to be more rare. Clients as a whole open up most of the time during session gradually, only a small portion are "more reserved" so to speak. It's usually only 1-4 clients like that out of 20 or so from what I've had so far, both group and individual.
If you meant this particular "client" in the video, I agree with you. However, this video is for illustration and education purposes. Its goal is to briefly and clearly show the process of "externalizing the problem" technique from narrative therapy. I think it's done its job.
In this video, I can see your point. Externalizing feelings is such a confusing concept to me, but in the video it was so smooth and seamless which could be explained because she understood the theory herself and knew what was supposed to happen.
Very helpful and easy to understand, however, I wish the therapist would change his body language. Crossed arms are not a great way to portray an eager to listen stance.
what about there is a culture that try to eliminate the 'inner voice'' for instance to achieve peace, or a group with not much of knowing themselves and self-communication? how should we presume this voice of stress are ''harmful''? was the doctor potentially ''lead'' the conversation or the moment to be deviating the ''inner voice'' by using the word ''worry'', which is a negative word, should we change patients' negative wording by intervention, such as to ''warns'' or ''alarms''... or use a neutral term, such as ''the thought/voice/idea'', I don't really get narrative therapy still after watching your videos, can you please use very simple language to explain it? what i have perceived so far from your videos was that to listen to the patient and separate the ''issues'' from the ''patient''....
I actually really like this type of therapy and the technique of externalizing. I personally work in addictions counseling and to use externalizing on an addiction would really help the individuals feel rid of the stigmas that are associated with addiction and the label of "addict." It was helpful in this role play that the therapist helped the client recognize that her worry is more or less an outside entity and not who she is.
And you have also call the devil by its name: ableism
I'm in grad school right now for counseling, this is helpful thank you
Good to know. I’m thinking about grad school and psychology is so interesting.
I'm halfway through undergrad school. I plan on continuing into my masters. Although iv consider the doctoral degree, I'm getting older ugh. Great video though to help with real life situations.
Meee to !!!! It’s helpful are you going LPCC or LMFT?
I really appreciate the demonstration of narrative therapy in action. I did some research on this form of therapy but actually seeing the therapist remove the worry from client instead of making or allowing the client to feel like it is apart of them was very useful.
Though Narrative Therapy may use awkward techniques, it offers simplicity in finding a means with which to relate. Most people understand the elements of a story: Protagonist, plot, theme, etc. After assessing duration and severity of the anxiety, the counselor suggests that the client view the problem (worry) as an external factor, which seems unusual at first. However, the alternative narrative brings new meaning. The personal constructs become the client as a competent person and worry as the manipulator trying to sabotage her. The power of words such as describing worry as a "disruptor" and "manipulator," sets the stage so to speak. The act of challenging the manipulator is clear. This reframe not only makes sense for the client, but also is positive. The client's personal construct changes from a worrier to a competent individual able to challenge worry so that she can function as desired.
It doesn’t use awkward techniques at all, but certainly this presentation was
This video is a very brief yet clear display of how Narrative Therapy would help a client. By introducing the process of externalizing the problem, which is the "worry", the counselor helped the client see the problem as it was from the outside of the client herself. That way, it made more sense and gave the client more motivation/reason to challenge or fight with the external strength. Great illustration!
I literally loved the way you demonstrated narrative therapy..... Your videos always helpful Dr. Grande..... and it makes learning easy
I have found a lot of interest in narrative therapy and seeing Dr Grande utilize the technique of externalizing the worry from the client was very helpful in my understanding of the therapy type. Dr Grande used simple language where the client could understand what was going on but told the client what was happening so she could still tell her story and find clarity
This was a super helpful source/example for my clinical and counseling psych class! My partner and I are giving a presentation on narrative therapy and need examples, and I think this one should do nicely!
I like how Dr. Grande took the client's narrative of excessive worry and helped the client challenge those thoughts. He took the client's perception of her worries with hiring qualified candidates at her workplace and reinterpreted them into an easily understandable way for the client. She was challenged to be in control of the worry rather than allowing the worry to control her since she was using false evidence of why she may do poorly. Dr. Grande ended on a positive note of reflecting the strengths of the client in her previous performances which I found beneficial to the client.
Thanks Dr.Grande for this demonstration. Nice to see how reframing the Worry can put the client back into power. Its no longer controlling me, I can chose how to feel. That's great. Also mentioning the client's past performances and how she shouldn't disregard them seemed influential.
I participated in a Narrative therapy role-play for test anxiety and with reinforcement this technique can work. Separating one's self from the issue and then re-framing the negative thoughts with positive thoughts can be beneficial in many ways.
I really like how this approach externalized the worry that the client felt. Once she took a step back and looked at the problem from the outside she was able to see what it was doing to her. She than could realize the good that she had done for the company and ease the worry she had.
Very true, it is interesting how we get affected when we externalize versus internalize things. I liked the intervention he used to think of worry as an external thing that is trying to encroach in her space, and by viewing it in that light, helps her be less anxious.
This exercise not only helps me with my schooling for professional counseling, but as a person, too. It is so easy to fall into the trap of, "I am depressed; therefore, I am a depressed person." This exercise puts some healthy distance between the person and their malady. Thank you for posting this.
Dr. Grande was effective in externalizing the excessive worry described by the client by saying "the worry" instead of "your worry". I liked how they collaboratively examined what impact the worry was having on her day to day functioning. I think narrative therapy would be a great to use in the first several sessions in order to understand the client's presenting concern and the history of it. As therapy continues, the client and counselor can continue to tell the story, but instead find new ways to address the issues and build resilience based on the client's own experiences. This is a theory that resonates with me and I can see myself implementing many of these concepts in my work with clients.
I think that Dr. Grande, even in this short span of time, provided a highly valuable look into how narrative therapy can work for an individual to separate themselves from their concerns. I liked his questions "what is the worry trying to do to you?" as well as "what can you say to worry?" to help her better conceptualize the worry as a separate entity. I believe the discussion of seeing the worry as a manipulator vs. what evidence there is to support the worry was highly helpful to the client in providing empowerment to challenge her anxiety.
Chelsea Reeve I agree that seeing the worry as a manipulator can be empowering to the client because they are able to regain confidence knowing that there is something wrong with worry, not necessarily with them as an individual. This should make the client feel that they can conquer the problem.
I enjoyed watching this role play. I didnt realize when Dr. Grande said externalize the worry that they literally were going to talk about worry as if it were a person and was no longer a part of the client. Also I think giving a homework assignment was a great way to close the session.
This was a great role-play because I was easily able to recognize the techniques used. In helping the client to construct her narrative, the counselor asked questions about the client's past worrying and job performance to see how the problem influences the client. The counselor also attempted to help the client reframe her narrative by externalizing her worry as being separate from the client. The counselor and client gave the worry a separate identity with separate personality traits as being manipulative, doubtful, and having low confidence. They set a goal to have the client attempt to communicate to her worry in the future as a separate identity, and hopefully the client will begin to reconstruct a new narrative and form a new identity.
Dr. Gande did a great job helping the client separate herself from her worry and externalize the problem. The client was able to realize that being worrisome is not "who she is." Like she had said prior to the technique being used.
I agree that Dr. Grande did a great job at helping the client separate herself from her worry. In the beginning she stated that she is a worry, that's who she is but through this theory, she realized that was not the case. I believe this is a great way for clients to disassociate themselves from negative perceptions about themselves.
I found this technique to be very interesting. I like how Dr. Grande was able to get her thinking that worry could be seen outside of her, but did acknowledge to her at the end that he realizes that worry is a real part of her. I think reframing worry as it was done in this video is something that would be useful for many people.
I liked how Dr. Grande led the client to see that the worry is a separate piece of her and not who she is as a person. Through narrative therapy he was able to help the client rewrite the story by focusing on her actual experiences.
This was a really great video! I think I may try to think this way myself! I've never heard of this or thought this way before! Thanks Dr. Grande!
Externalizing the client's feelings and challenges is really beneficial for all involved. While I don't feel like this would be a type of therapy that I would use often, it was still interesting to watch in action. As a result, it assisted me in gaining a better understanding of the theory as well as how it would play out in an actual therapy session. Dr. Grande did a really good job and I appreciate watching his role plays because they really help me to better understand the theory in addition to how the therapist can implement it into a therapy session.
This approach from narrative therapy allowed the client to explain her conflicts/ problems. The counselor sat and listened mostly in the beginning, and then started asking questions to get a further detailed description of the issue at hand. This was a great example of reframing within narrative therapy to show how the technique is utilized.
This role play of narrative therapy was very useful to me because I have no idea what this type of therapy should look like in a session. The way narrative therapy seems is that the client makes up a story and tells it, but in reality they just tell their story and the counselor helps to reframe it to develop alternative ways of being or acting. I wasn't expecting him to be so direct as the counselor but it was helpful in allowing the client to recreat her story and work to defeat the problem.
Dr. Grande did a great job illustrating how to speak to a client in a way that separates their issue from them. In this case the clients worry needed to be externalized. I think that this technique would be helpful in getting people to address their issues without feeling plagued by it since they are being taught to see it as separate from themselves. Externalizing also allows the client to examine the issue without feeling attacked.
Jamie-I agree that externalizing issues is a good way to explore issues however, it does allow for the client to push responsibility away from themselves which in certain populations is already a barrier. I agree though it is a way to help the client not feel attacked!
I appreciate how Dr. Grande presented the idea of viewing “worry” as a separate entity. It allows the client to disconnect from the concept, therefore preventing herself from identifying as a worrier, but rather seeing how “worry” can affect her thoughts and view of self. By using such a technique the client is able to have awareness of when “worry” is approaching, and work to challenge the effects that “worry” brings. In this respect, the client may alter the effects to become positive, therefore allowing the client to have confidence in her abilities and prevent “worry” from taking form and manipulating her mindset.
Dr. Grande was specific to encourage the client to create a narrative and ultimately externalize the problem. Using questions to gather more information and reframing the client's worry regarding various aspects of her job, the clinician was successful in rewriting the client's narrative more positively/from a different point of view. I personally like this technique and feel as though it can be productive for clients in session.
I really liked how Dr. Grande helped the client see her worry as something outside of herself rather than a part of who she is. I think that this could help her to view her worry (or any other symptom she may experience) as something that she can change. I also liked how he helped her to see/remember times when she did perform well, to also help in alleviating some of her worry.
Dr. Grande- I enjoyed watching this session about helping the client manage how she worries. The technique you used allowed the client to be calm, comfortable and more open. The appropriate use of challenging the client and externalizing the worrying. It was important that you talked to her what the entities of her worries. Importantly, this type of therapy allowed the client to think and come to her own conclusions in what her worries mean to her. Great job!
I appreciated how the counselor in this role play was able to bring light to the client's past performances to ease her excessive worry she experiences now. The technique seemed to enlighten the client on the positives rather than the negatives she was facing prior to the session. When individuals experience negative emotions, they begin to feel as though the negatives define who they are as a person, and the counselor was able to remind the client that that is not the case.
Making the worry it's own "thing" and separating it from the actual issue before he is a great technique. Worrying is not going to change her ability to choose the right person for the job. He separated the worry from her and gave it a face. It gave her the opportunity to change the story. I use this technique often for myself and others seeking empathy with worry.
I agree, the worry seemed to be seen as a part of who the client is however, by enabling her to see that she's had past success she is able to rewrite her story.
I really enjoyed this role-play. I felt that there was a good use of this technique. The counselor, Dr. Grande identified the client’s source of worry and focused on it. I like that he focused on one issue instead of a variety of issue. He then walked his client, April through the process of her worry. Together they identified how her worry was negatively impacting her life. Dr. Grande suggested that April challenge the worry and treat it as an external entity. I myself am I big worried and I really found this technique helpful on a personal level.
Externalizing the worries of the client was a fascinating technique in helping the her gain more self-confidence. She needed to rely on the evidence of her job to challenge the worries. It was helpful.
Thank you for the role play. I liked the use of externalization to separate the worry from the individual. The reframing techniques seemed helpful to offer an alternative narrative for the client. The exercise seemed practical and offered skills that the client can use immediately to improve functioning.
This is very interesting. I really like narrative therapy but when I think of it I think about story telling. I like how Dr. Grande used the technique externalizing the problem. I like how when using this technique he made the client desperate the worry from her life. This allowed her to see the worry as a culprit. This helps her to see how this worry can affect her life at work. Although this was super brief he was able to kind of deconstruct the problem in efforts to find a solution.
I really enjoyed this role-play. Narrative therapy is very interesting and I can see myself using it in the future with my clients (being as though I wish to work with children). The way Dr. Grande externalizes the client's excessive worrying seemed to benefit her. She stated that the "worry voice" is too loud, but Dr. Grande tries to remind her of different ways she can continue to externalize this worry voice.
I liked how he identified that worrying has been an ongoing issue for the client however he was able to identify the current problem. He was able to get her to separate herself from worrying and identifying how it causes her to question her judgment.
It is evident that the client's worry is controlling her life and she can't even remember a time when she didn't worry about things in her life. I think that using Narrative Therapy's method of externalizing her worries, was very effective for this client. The client was able to understand how worrying effects her daily life by lowering her confidence and question her abilities. Instead of letting worrying be apart of her, the client successfully created solutions for how she can separate herself from her worrying. This use of therapy seemed to truly empower the client and help her take back her confidence.
Wow, what an excellent example of narrative therapy! Truly stupendous. I think I noticed a few examples of "Carl Rogers w/ a Twist" - very nicely done! Great exmaple.
I really liked how Dr. Grande had the client think about how she has been successful in the past in an attempt to make her realize that she is worrying based on something that has happened to someone else and not to her. Dr. Grande did not discount that the client has always worried about things, but attempted to have her try reframing her thoughts when worrying.
The counselor demonstrated skills good by allowing the client to differentiate the difference between the person she was and the worry she was experiencing. He allowed the client to discuss her story by asking good questions.
This was a very interesting concept, trying to externalize "the worry". I liked how she got to see that the worry doesn't change who she is as a person and that she could stand up to "it". Rather than telling herself, this is who she is and will always be, she was able to look at it from a different point of view. She said gave examples as to why she shouldn't worry, such as her boss trusts her to do this job and she has done a good job in the past.
This approach seems like it would be beneficial to the client. By identifying the worry as it's own entity and speaking to it as if it were another person, reminded me a bit of REBT with irrational thoughts and working through the thought process to eliminate the irrational thought. Being aware of how you're feeling in the specific situation is a great first step. Implementing this practice that Dr. Grande demonstrated could certainly be effective.
I think it was a good idea to clarify if the client's current problem of worry was the most significant, because it seemed to help both the client and counselor focus on one problem at a time amongst all of the client's worries. I wondered if the counselor should have dug deeper to ask about other problems at first, but I was pleased to see that he did not, so that he could help the client focus on one problem at a time, rather than bringing up more problems and not addressing them at once. It was a good way to focus the conversation more. I also thought it was a good idea to have the client reflect on strengths and encouraged them to think about those strengths when they are presented with worry for the presenting problem, along with reframing their thoughts.
I thought that this therapy was really interesting. I liked that Dr. Grande got the client to see that the excessive worry wasn't exactly who she was as a person. Dr. Grande helped the client to take this worry and externalize it from herself. I think that this therapy could be helpful for clients that believe they are what they feel.
I agree, I like how narrative therapy externalizes the problem. For those who see worrying or anxiety as who they are, making it a separate entity can help them to see that they aren't that feeling and they choose how they feel.
I can see that the client can gain some self confidence by externalizing the worry so she can better deal with it. This technique can be helpful for clients in similar situations with low confidence. I liked how Dr. Grande help the client and she can self talk to externalize a situation next time.
I enjoyed watching this approach. I liked that the counselor could have the client see the excessive worry. I really think this type of therapy could help individuals that are encountering situations in their life. I like the re-framing idea.
The video was helpful in showing how Narrative therapy works. This is not a therapy I would use very often, however because it does not seem like it would be very effective in long term healing. I think it is a good short term therapy style and can be useful in situations that are not very severe.
I liked how separating the client from the worry helped her to see it in a different light. By doing that the client may be able to see it as something that she can manipulate rather than it manipulating her. Reframing technique was good to see in action.
I like how Dr. Grande re-frames the worry as an external entity, and got the client to see the worry as an outsider. This technique would be really effective especially for client's who internalize things and are constantly anxious and worried. This was almost like the empty chair technique in a way.
I noticed the similarities of this technique to the empty chair technique as well! In this respect, this theory seems like it would integrate well with Gestalt therapy.
Hi. I am a clinical Psychologist and I have come to realise that the work we do is so pathetic because some of us think we know everything and the fact is that we don't. In the pas 15 years, I have learned through personal experience that humans are very complex machines or organism if you like, and we need to treat them not just like a brain but as a whole. We are not just flouting talking heads, we have a body that get affected when we are stress and that has to be treated too. If we can help our patients understand that stress can have such a huge impact on the body and help them prevent the damage to the body before it happens, they will recover sooner. You see, I've learned this because I became a patient myself and know what people need now we don't need some university arrogant person to tell us how to change our behaviour, but we need companion and understanding.
I really like the externalizing technique used in narrative therapy. Most of us often identify ourselves with the problem, as if we are part of it and it effects how we respond. In separating the issue from ourselves and giving it its own life, it is a way to view it outside of ourselves and then objectively analyze its impact on us.
Thank you so much for this! Also a MHC graduate student and this is very helpful!
Narrative therapy seems like a great way for clients to externalize issues so that they can directly communicate to them. Treating worry as a separate entity gave the client power of her worry, feeling that she could make a change since it no longer lived internally. It can seem easier to address external forces rather than internal ones. Dr.. Grande used the word reframe as means to give the client a new way to look at her issue and draw it from within. I like this particular therapy since many individuals deal with internal forces of which they feel they have no control.
this is so so good! Really well done role play Dr. Grande - thank you so very much for sharing!
I really liked the externalizing technique because it contradicts the idea that excessive worry (or any other presenting symptomology) is an inherent part of a client. Dr. Grande further empowered the client by having her identify all of the good hires she has made for the workplace, therefore easing her fears by highlighting specific examples.
Dr. Grande, thank you for this role play as it helped me deepen my understanding of Narrative therapy. Externalizing the "problem" is an effective tool in bringing the client autonomy. Seeing how separating the problem, in this case being the client worry, from the client is effective in giving the client the strength to view the worry and be able to address it in a way that does not cause stress. Thank you for sharing.
Writting an essay and I need this to get the idea of what I should write and look for! Thanks so much for ur videos🌸.
This role play provided a great example of how to use this therapy in a counseling session. After the client expresses her worry and anxiety, the counselor gives her the floor to dive deeper into what is causing the worry. The counselor has the client separate herself from the worry to help her process why she was feeling anxious. I think it helped the client dive deeper into her struggles at work and how the thought of not doing well or being a failure was overpowering her work and how she can re-frame those thoughts to reduce her worry.
I thought that this was a great technique for someone who worries a lot. I can see how it could be used for other issues too such as shyness, anger, etc. It seemed to help the client with the issue because she identified herself as a worrier so taking that and making it separate from herself was a good strategy. It helped her to see that she was doing a good job at work and gave her a good way to combat that worry when it comes up again in the future.
This is an interesting way to view worry and problems. Looking at it from an "outside" perspective can relieve the pressure and anxiety it causes when we view this from an internal perspective. I like how you guided the client to look back at previous experiences and how they worked out favorably for the client. I applied this view to some challenges I am having in my life and will work towards challenging my own thoughts and try to look at worry as an outsider.
Thanks for making such a informative video. Great initiative.
Doing a paper over narrative and externalizing so i appreciate the example. Thanks
This technique helps the client take something that she has internalized, "I am a worrier", and externalizes it allowing her to take the label off of herself that she put there.
I liked the approach, reminded me a lot of cognitive self talk technique. I think when the counselor separated the two from each other she was able to look at the situation with a different lens, without labeling herself. I feel she will be able to control those thoughts as they approach her with this strategy over time.
Yes, it is like constantly reminding yourself to believe in your capability to bring about success in what you do. It's like telling yourself to stop doubting yourself.
I took a quiz in a counseling theories class today and it said I should be a constructivist . So here I am trying to learn
i'm pretty much eclectic in many areas - narrative therapy would be very useful to integrate into treatment. i think the separation of symptom and the individual is a good way to think about one's "problem".
Is she a warrior or a worrier?
Thats kind of an interesting word-play, which is other fantastic narrative technique
Thank you for the visual aid of role play
Thank you so much Dr. Grande!❤
The narrative role play helped the client detach from the worry and treat it as a separate entity. This was effective for the client to create a different picture and relationship with worry. She implied that it has been almost an excessive part of her life by worrying about everything. This reframe is a good start for her to replace a habit with something more positive.
She was having the experience of worrying. Dr. Grande showed her that re framing it as worry coming in. Rather than her being a worrier. She then was to challenge those thoughts which would help her re frame.
This is terrific! Thank you!
i thought it was cool to watch this technique in action. Until my readings and viewing this video, i did not know much about narrative therapy or techniques used in it. It was interesting to watch how Dr. Grande had the client view her worry as something outside of herself and a separate entity. It seemed as if it was useful for her to disassociate from it and not label herself as a worryer
I like how Dr. Grande pushes the client to externalize her troubles she is having with some stress in her life. I also enjoyed the question of, "What is this anxiety trying to do to you?" I really like how that question is used here.
Narrative therapy has a lot of different techniques and when reading about them, it has been difficult to envision it. Here the description is put right into a step by step visual, where the client has to make the worry a separate entity, almost as a person. where the individual has to describe it and then talk to it to combat it (evidence and challenge).
Since narrative therapy has a lot of different techniques i think it is sometimes difficult to truly understand what the goals of this theory are and how it can be utilized. I agree that seeing it done through this role play was helpful.
Thank you for making these videos.
This was really helpful.
This one was interesting for me. I can relate to the client's excessive worry. I think it is interesting to think of the worry itself as an external entity instead of being something that's inherent. I am not sure how effective the technique would be however, especially when the voice of the worry gets really loud, like the client stated. Interesting!
I agree that reframing her worry as something external is very interesting. I also think that it would be something difficult to do if the voice of worry gets too loud but think that it would be worth a try.
I think it was good for the client to understand that she may worry but that does not make her a worrier. Identifying with the problem may lead the client to expect to act like that in every situation.
I thought this was very good too Roberto. I like that he identified the worry as a separate entity and reminded her that it was external.
I can see how externalizing the problem allows the client to separate the emotions tied to it so that she can deal with it more rationally or cognitively. It is a good idea in theory and may work for some, but it seems to me only a certain set of clients. In this case, the client is able to identify her strength against "worry." I would have liked to have seen a little more drama in the video. I think externalizing requires imagination and creativity. I think it would be helpful to have the client experience HOW she would talk to worry (perhaps sternly).
Really straight-forward approach to externalising issues - would you be able to provide an example of narrative therapy with children?
This intervention puzzled me a little. Not because it wasn't good, but because I couldn't see why it's called "narrative therapy". I saw clear elements of traditional cognitive therapy (challenge your thoughts), and maybe something of ACT (distance yourself from your thoughts), but where is the narrative itself? I have the feeling that the kind of data that supports narrative therapy should give room to a completely different type of intervention.
I'm so glad you mentioned cbt and ACT...I thought the same. I'm trying to understand narrative, can't figure out the 'narrative' part in this role play 🤔💭
What a closed posture the therapist has, crossing his arms and taking shelter behind them... warding off the client and her emotions. Same with his leg crossed on top of the other in a really high position, again warding off the client. Also. I don't feel like the central theme to be tackled here is 'worries'. There a greater (dominant and oppressive) narrative underlying this. Hint: client mentions 'intuition' several times.... As opposed to 'they' trust me....
I'm not as particularly fond of this theory. I struggle with the concept of externalizing feelings because it doesn't seem like it would be easy to accomplish. It's such an abstract thing to try to do with a client that it would almost have to be forced. However, that being said, I think Dr. Grande did a really good job at making this concept seem more smooth. I just don't think I would be able to accomplish the same in my own practice.
Great example thanks
The best alternative therapy is Hypnotherapy, the best way to heal these issues directly from the subconsciousness mind. In 3 to 5 sessions and it will be gone.
I cannot say enough positive things about Mindfulness and Awareness meditation. Postmodern therapy and M&A meditation both address narratives but PM seem to fall dangerously short in a particularly seductive way. M&A is about noticing narrative, objectifying the narrative, and seeing it as merely narrative. It is true that the narrative is a narrative but the narrative isn't in itself true. The idea is get out of the way of one's natural intelligence and objectivity. Postmodern therapy seems to be about replacing the narrative. Instead of developing trust in uncertainty, it tries to seal it up again which is the problem on the first place. It seems to me that PM is just sophistry to encourage people's natural tendency to rationalize. I strongly suspect the cost is put upon everyone around the patient. I suspect it pushes forward weaponizing the sophistry and making false accusations. It's hard to distinguish this from a tarot card reading if one looks past the sophisticated sounding language.
Her supervisor may be instilling worry to make her feel like shes lucky to have a job and wants her to work harder and faster; whereas, a healthy supervisor would commend her for her good work (which typically inspires improvement) and ignore minor shortcomings as it smacks of micro-management and expecting perfection.
now what do I do if my worry is trying to keep me safe and i see real reasons to be worried?
so helpful thankyou!
Lauryn Moffa in 12 step fellowships they talk about ‘the illness’ as a separate entity from the person
so the "narrative" refers to an internal narrative the person tells themselves about themselves? is that what I'm seeing there? goal is to pause that narrative long enough to make the person aware of it, then equip them with tools needed to counter the narrative of internal dialogue or preconception?
In my honest opinion as an aspiring psychologist, the way the Dr. seats, is not acceptable. As a professional, I believe the way we seat, behave and in general, our body posture could actually determine whether a client will open up, feel comfortable, or trust you. I will like to have a respond from you!
I think this technique was helpful to the client because by externalizing the problem, she can change her perspective to be a worrier to recognize that worry is something out of her. Also she could explore how even she was worried of performing poorly at her job, experience proved that she was actually doing a good job.
Similar to mindfulness exercises in ACT. Defusion techniques
I wonder how easily a client who has crafted their identity around problems such as anger, worry, temper, and depression would take to this technique of externalizing the problem. These individuals may believe the problem is inherent in them and their personality and may not be receptive to this or any reconstruction of their narrative. In that case, would narrative therapy be the best approach?
I agree that this role-play was done in such a short time, and that many clients could have difficulty externalizing the problem so quickly. I think that Narrative Therapy usually takes more time in helping clients achieve new goals and reconstructing their stories. It may require sketching a timeline of their lives onto paper, like we did in Human Development class. It could also require some self-talk or writing letters. I do think that in time, clients could bring themselves to reconstruct a new and more positive identity. However, other clients may benefit from a quicker solution to their problems.
I'm one of these! It's been incredibly hard to let go of an identity built on mental illness, especially when identifying that way helped me curb intense shame, and also connected me to community. It takes a lot of therapeutic trust and validation first, and it's hard to get rid of a problem which is "part of" oneself without identifying something to replace it with.
I assume the level of education the client has plays a huge role here.
Luis Natal Not always, I'm seeing many non-high school GED clients right now.
Many clients vent a ton (regardless of education or ses), only a handful are reserved, which tend to be more rare.
Clients as a whole open up most of the time during session gradually, only a small portion are "more reserved" so to speak. It's usually only 1-4 clients like that out of 20 or so from what I've had so far, both group and individual.
If you meant this particular "client" in the video, I agree with you. However, this video is for illustration and education purposes. Its goal is to briefly and clearly show the process of "externalizing the problem" technique from narrative therapy. I think it's done its job.
In this video, I can see your point. Externalizing feelings is such a confusing concept to me, but in the video it was so smooth and seamless which could be explained because she understood the theory herself and knew what was supposed to happen.
Very helpful and easy to understand, however, I wish the therapist would change his body language. Crossed arms are not a great way to portray an eager to listen stance.
what about there is a culture that try to eliminate the 'inner voice'' for instance to achieve peace, or a group with not much of knowing themselves and self-communication? how should we presume this voice of stress are ''harmful''? was the doctor potentially ''lead'' the conversation or the moment to be deviating the ''inner voice'' by using the word ''worry'', which is a negative word, should we change patients' negative wording by intervention, such as to ''warns'' or ''alarms''... or use a neutral term, such as ''the thought/voice/idea'', I don't really get narrative therapy still after watching your videos, can you please use very simple language to explain it? what i have perceived so far from your videos was that to listen to the patient and separate the ''issues'' from the ''patient''....
Muito bom!
nice tie