FKC – Archived Lesson 3

"Deconstruction & Therapy" was one of the first articles I ever read by Michael White. Here he outlines what later became more distilled into future writings, culminating in "Maps of Narrative Practice." Throughout the remainder of the course, we will focus on specific narrative practices that build on deconstruction. First...two questions: What intentions underpin our interest in unpacking discourses? What does "deconstruction" mean in the context of your work?

How is it that some stories have more space to exist than others? What do you notice about what helps alternative stories come into co-existence - and even prosper- in the presence of a dominant story?

After watching Chimamande Adichie: The Danger of the single story: What stood out most to you in watching this TED talk? What are some of the single stories that people bring to you about their lives? What are some of the single stories that exist about the people you work with? What do you notice about the effects of these single stories on people’s lives and relationships?

As a bonus for anyone keen to think further about the relevance of the narrative metaphor, I'm including Maggie Carey's Keynote: The Narrative Metaphor in current times - How is it standing up? What are your thoughts and questions after watching Maggie's keynote? Do you have any illustrations from your own work and life that might further show the relevance.  

Are there ways that the narrative metaphor is useful in approaching your own work? For example, is there a story that comes to mind that demonstrates multi- stories? Any reflections on what you might have learned "the hard way" about single storied assumptions that might do well to be re-examined?

Reading about postmodernism, poststructrualist inquiry, and distinctions between structural and non-structural approaches: - Which ideas stand out as most important to you? - Is there relevance of these ideas to your work? - Can you illustrate with a story?

Does the idea of "intentional understandings of identity" make sense to you? What stands out to you about "intentional understandings of identity? Do you have any stories from your own life, practice or teaching experiences that best illustrate intentional understandings of identity, and distinctions between this approach and internal states approach to identity?  How do you describe your approach to identity to others who are not yet familiar with narrative practice (without resorting to [...]

Peggy Sax Before joining this conversation, please review Lesson 3 where we briefly explore three key ideas influencing narrative therapy: the role of questions, the narrative metaphor,  intentional understandings of identity Then let’s get some conversation going! What are you thinking about now? What stands out to you the most? What is the relevance to your own work? What questions might you ask others who are joining us here? [...]