Narrative Counselling / Narrative Therapy

Advancing the difference-sensitive narrative counseling approach in the field of social work by combining German concepts of narrative reflexive counseling with Anglo-Saxon »narrative therapy«- and »narrative counseling«-concepts

Project Modality: Research projects (in USA and Canada)

Run Time: February - august 2011

Brief Description: Research in the field of counseling concepts, research in the field of counseling practice regarding the aspects trauma, social inequality, interculturality and intersectionality. Development of an advanced training for »New Counseling Concepts in Social Work« for psycho-social fields of action. The research aims at entering into and revealing a discourse which, in the German-speaking world, has largely been neglected so far (this also includes relevant counseling approaches). The objective is to critically assess »Narrative Approaches«, which evolved from Social Constructionism - and which find their concrete implementation in »Narrative Therapy«/»Narrative Counseling« concepts -- and relevant intersections with narrative interview techniques which, in Germany, evolved from reconstructive hermeneutic biographical research. It is focusing on adapting biographic narrative interviewing techniques to psychosocial counseling practices. These different approaches are, simultaneously, based on both different and similar theoretical traditions (Interpretative Paradigm, Linguistics, Discourse Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Narrative Psychology). Here, the research is primarily aimed at elaborating specific attitudes and/or characteristics which are typical for counseling processes (interaction), and which deal with diversity (gender, race, class, sexual orientation).