JAKOB narrative analysis: The psychodynamic conflict as a narrative model

Abstract

When a patient tells a story during psychotherapy sessions, it is both a mutual interaction between patient and therapist and a presentation of personal experience. The patient calls up and re-creates a biographical occurrence and puts it before a listener for viewing, enacting it verbally in the perspective of wish fulfillment and anxiety coping. JAKOB narrative analysis, situated in the field of psychoanalytical and narrative analytical research, is an encoding-supported qualitative instrument for the systematic reconstruction of verbal everyday narratives in the context of psychotherapeutic processes. In this study, the JAKOB narrative analysis is described in detail with the aid of an example narrative, put in relation to the therapeutic process, and discussed critically from a methodological viewpoint.

Abstract

Wenn Patienten in der Psychotherapie erzählen, ist dies sowohl eine gemeinsame, in der therapeutischen Situation entstehende Interaktion von Patient und Therapeut als auch die Darstellung persönlicher Erfahrung. Ein biographisches Ereignis wird aktualisierend vor einem Zuhörer zur Anschauung gebracht und in der Perspektive von Wunscherfüllung und Angstbewältigung sprachlich inszeniert. Die Zürcher Erzählanalyse JAKOB, verortet innerhalb des psychoanalytischen und erzählanalytischen Forschungsdiskurses, ist ein kodiergestütztes qualitatives Instrument zur systematischen Rekonstruktion mündlicher Alltagserzählungen im Kontext psychotherapeutischer Prozesse. Das Verfahren wird am Einzelfall anhand einer Beispielerzählung der Patientin „Wilma“ detailliert vorgestellt, in Bezug zum therapeutischen Verlauf gesetzt und methodenkritisch diskutiert.

RÉSUMÉ

Lorsqu'un patient raconte une histoire au cours des séances de psychothérapie, c'est à la fois une interaction mutuelle entre un patient et un thérapeute et la présentation d'une expérience personnelle. Le patient évoque et recrée une occurrence biographique qu'il propose à un auditeur et met en actes verbalement dans la perspective à la fois de l'accomplissement d'un désir et d'un faire face à l'anxiété. L'analyse narrative JAKOB, située dans le champ de la recherche psychanalytique et narrative analytique, est un instrument qualitatif pour la reconstruction systématique de narrations quotidiennes dans le contexte de processus thérapeutiques. Dans cette étude, l'analyse JAKOB est décrite en détail à l'aide d'un exemple narratif; elle est mise en relation avec d'autres processus thérapeutiques; enfin elle est discutée de manière critique d'un point de vue méthodologique.

Abstract

Quando un paziente racconta una storia durante la sessione di psicoterapia, si crea una reciproca interazione tra paziente e terapeuta e una presentazione dell'esperienza personale. Il paziente richiama alla memoria eventi biografici in relazione ad un evento che ascolta e visualizza per la prima volta, mettendo in prospettiva il desiderio dello stesso e la forte ansia scaturente. L'analisi narrativa di JAKOB, posta nel campo della ricerca e della narrativa analitica, è una codifica supportata da strumenti qualitativi che portano alla costruzione verbale e sistematica di racconti di vita quotidiana durante il processo terapeutico. In questo studio, l'analisi narrativa di JAKOB è descritta in dettaglio con l'aiuto di esempi narrativi, mettendoli in relazione al processo terapeutico,e di seguito è discusso criticamente da un punto di vista metodologico

Keywords:

• narrative
• psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy
• clinical narrative analysis
• qualitative research methods
• process research

Parole chiave:

• terapia narrativa/psicoanalitica/psicodinamica
• analisi clinica narrativa
• metodo di ricerca quantitativo
• ricerca di processo

Notes

1. URL: http://www.jakob.uzh.ch.

2. A total of 886 narratives were extracted from the complete transcriptions of all therapy sessions following the rules described later.

3. With the category system, the aim is to evaluate the “lexical choice” (Spence, 1980). An overview of the categories is available at http://www.jakob.uzh.ch/lexikon/.

4. The characteristic frequency of these verb codes for Wilma in comparison with other actors is based on evidence from a sample of 14 narratives (Stärk, 2008); statements about code frequencies cannot be made based on one single narrative.

5. A detailed description of the individual terms and work steps is provided in Boothe et al.'s (2002) JAKOB narrative analysis: Manual. Research report no. 58.

6. Example verbs for dominant: want, know, demand, fight; example verbs for submissive: give up, tolerate, do without (relinquish).

7. Example verbs for close: love, hate, seduce; example verbs for distant: admire, despise.

8. Example verbs for independent: respect, portray, play; example verbs for dependent: fear, believe, worry/be frightened.

9. JAKOB codes for German categories “zerstörend” and “erschaffend” (destructive vs. creative in the English text).

10. The detailed descriptions of the wish and anxiety themes and further defense strategies are found in the JAKOB narrative analysis manual.