What the mystery is being replaced with, I feel, is so much more empowering. Imagine, for example, stepping into a therapist's office, and he asks you if there is anything you would like to know about him before you start? And he answers you – not with vague jargon which continues to hold him in the "one-up" position, but with honesty and modesty. Tom Andersen, one of the Narrative Therapy guru's often does this to open up a therapy session. He is also an extremely humble person, and one can understand how people who see him for therapy can feel empowered. He truly believes in allowing the client to start the session, to speak first, to set the tone in therapy.
Imagine, too, being privvy to what the doctor's say about you. Imagine being able to witness them when they discuss you? From the therapist's point of view, if we know they are listening, then perhaps we would treat them with more respect. Perhaps we would be more careful in our formulation of their problems. Wouldn't this also help the way we see the person? When we talk positively about the person, then surely we are also thinking positively about them? Would this not be subtly conveyed to them?
One of the big things, now, in the Narrative therapy movement, is the introduction of reflecting teams. Not teams which sit behind one-way mirrors, out of sight, but watching the process in front of them as scientists might observe laboratory rats. Narrative therapy reflecting teams usually consist of one or two therapists. At certain times during the session, they might discuss what their opinions of the clients are – in front of them. This has been shown to be extremely effective when it comes to "change". People are there when you "talk about them". They may hang on every word, and they take home what they want to – and this is usually very powerful. Tom Andersen talks of sitting with a fellow therapist, collecting the words they use, and which seem to be important to them, and "putting them in a basket". Then, when called upon to talk about his impressions, he will repeat the words, as closely as possible to the way they were said originally. For example, someone might use the phrase "I can't cope. I am really finding it difficult to cope", then the reflecting therapist would talk about how the patient believes, at this moment, that they have difficulty coping.
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