Jun
13
The Person is not the Problem, the Problem is the Problem
Filed Under Externalizing | Leave a Comment
What in the world does that title mean? This has to do with the basic philosophy of narrative therapy. The backbone philosophy of narrative therapy is the social construction of reality. At this point you have probably already stopped reading this or you might be scratching your head and thinking “what on earth does that mean”?
A basic definition of social construction of reality, according to Wikipedia, “The central concept of The Social Construction of Reality is that persons and groups interacting together in a social system form, over time, concepts or mental representations of each other’s actions, and that these concepts eventually become habituated into reciprocal roles played by the actors in relation to each other.” After reading this definition I would guess you are probably even more confused and I cannot say I blame you. This theme will run throughout many of the blog postings and it will become easier to understand as I explain it in non-jargon language.
But this still does not answer, “the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem.” And what does this mean for therapy? When someone is struggling with, for example schizophrenia, the language that is typically used in US culture is to call someone a “schizophrenic”. That somehow they are not perfect and that they are now a label. This is a derogatory way of relating. When someone has been diagnosed with, for example cancer, we do not relate to this person as a cancer, but instead we give our full sympathy and state that this person is struggling with cancer. A dramatic difference in the way we relate to another human being just by the language we use.
And how is this used in therapy? Externalizing language is incorporated. When someone states they have depression, or struggling with its effects, it could be harmful to say they “have” depression. Instead it is much more useful to talk about the depression as if it is not in them but outside of them. And to ask questions about how the depression has a hold on the client. A typical question then might be, “if the depression was sitting on that chair how does it have a grip on you and how does it make you feel?” This can be stress releasing and it opens up new territory for the therapist and client to talk about this depression and its effects.
Final words. No client “is” a mental health illness, but instead clients are surviving while the mental illness is in their lives.
Final words part two. If you have any clarifying questions please just leave a comment. This post was not meant to be so philosophical.