Case Formulation in Poststructural Narrative Therapy

Abstract

This article offers a formulation structure for poststructural narrative therapy. As a self-declared constitutionalist approach, narrative therapy has neglected the issue of formulation, perhaps out of concern that it might lead to an essentialist and seemingly objective account of the person. However, provided care is taken around these dangers, there are advantages to formulation: It can provide much needed theoretical discipline in our thought, encourage us to reflect on how persons become trapped in problem-saturated identities and situations, and permit previously unforeseen intervention strategies. This article offers a simple structure for the development of a narrative therapeutic formulation, presented in four parts: subject positions, discourses, normalizing judgments, and disqualified knowledges. An example of a case is used to illustrate.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work is based on research supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF). Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors, and therefore the NRF does not accept any liability in regard thereto.