Application: Applying Narrative and Solution-Focused Therapy
Narrative and solution-focused therapy are postmodern theories of working with couples and families. In terms of counselor-client relationship, both forms of therapy can be viewed as more collaborative than other theories discussed thus far in the course. They emphasize a more equal distribution of power between counselor and client. They also promote movement away from a traditional metaphor of couple/family relations toward conceptualizing couple/family relationships as networks of co-constructed meanings. Clients are seen as active construers of reality, which, according to these theories, are infinitely re-authorable. In this way, change comes from reconceptualizing and rewriting the ways couples and families make meaning of their relationships.
To prepare for this Application Assignment, view two of the videos in this week’s Learning Resources (at least one narrative and one solution-focused video). Identify the couple’s or family’s issue(s) and begin to think about short- and long-term goals you might include in treatment plans for them. As you consider techniques or interventions to accomplish these goals, think about how you would measure progress in re-authoring or storytelling.
The assignment (4–6 pages)
Based on the theory demonstrated in the narrative video:

Define the problem.
Formulate a treatment plan including short- and long-term goals.
Describe two theory-based interventions you would use and justify your selection.
Explain one anticipated outcome of each.

Based on the theory demonstrated in the solution-focused video:

Define the problem.
Formulate a treatment plan including short- and long-term goals.
Describe two theory-based interventions you would use and justify your selection.
Explain one anticipated outcome of each.

Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course.
Learning Resources
This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of this week’s assigned Learning Resources. To view this week’s embedded media resources, please use the streaming media players below.
 
Required Resources
Media

Video: Psychotherapy.net. (Publisher). (1994). I’d hear laughter: Finding solutions for the family [Motion picture]. [With Insoo Kim-Berg]. United States: Psychotherapy.net.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Video: Psychotherapy.net. (Publisher). (1994). Irreconcilable differences: A solution-focused approach to marital therapy [Motion picture]. [With Insoo Kim-Berg]. United States: Psychotherapy.net.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Video: Allyn