Constructions of disorder: Meaning-making frameworks for psychotherapy.

This collection of articles from constructivist, narrative and social constructionist theorists and therapists describes alternatives to dia gnoses and treatment that humanize the assessment process and allow fo r therapeutic change. This book focuses on the question of how psycho therapists can think of human distress in a way that gives direction t o the course of therapy without stigmatizing or pathologizing their cl ients. The approaches in this volume emphasize the personal and socia l processes of language and meaning making in creating and resolving p roblems. The authors focus on such techniques as the experiential exp loration of the client's tacit processes of self-construction and the deconstruction of oppressive cultural discourses. The result is a boo k that explores the relevance of postmodern clinical theory and fleshe s out emerging alternatives to diagnosis that are more personally viab le, contextually sensitive, and ethically defensible. Annotation This collection of articles from leading constructivist, narrative, and social constructionist theorists and therapists describes alternatives to traditional diagnoses and treatment that humanize the assessment process and promote meaningful therapeutic change. By emphasizing the personal and social processes of language and meaning making in creating and resolving problems contributors consider how psychotherapists can conceptualize human distress in a way that gives direction to therapy without stigmatizing or pathologizing their clients. Integrating postmodern theory and clinical practice, authors focus on such techniques as experiential exploration of the client's tacit self-knowledge, narrative reconstruction, and the deconstruction of oppressive cultural discourses. Throughout, the discussion is achored with detailed case illustrations CONTENTS......Page 5 I......Page 13 AS HUMAN ENTERPRISE......Page 27 Sexism and Racism in Diagnosis: Bias......Page 36 Reality as Existential Assumption......Page 61 Self-Continuity as Personal Identity......Page 63 Power as Possibility......Page 64 Functionless Anxiety......Page 76 Functional Panic......Page 85 Reelaboration of the Developmental Story......Page 120 III......Page 128 Construing Everyday Life......Page 155 Broader Clinical Applications......Page 174 Individual Blame......Page 270 Desecration of Tradition......Page 271 In this book, leading theorists and therapists from constructivist, narrative, and social constructionist traditions describe alternatives to psychiatric diagnoses that humanize the assessment process and allow for problem-dissolving therapeutic change. Case studies, clinical vignettes, and therapeutic dialogue anchor these meaning-making perspectives in the concrete reality of day-to-day practice, hence bridging the gap between theory and therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved) Univ. of Memphis, TN. Provides a compilation of articles on constructivist views of disorder. Describes alternatives to psychiatric diagnoses that humanize the assessment process and allow for problem-solving therapeutic change. Includes case studies, clinical vignettes, and therapeutic dialogue. For therapists. This is a collection of articles from constructivist, narrative and social constructivist theorists and therapists describing alternatives to diagnosis and treatment that humanizes the assessment process and allows for therapeutic change.

the Book Contains Black-and-white Illustrations.

biography

neimeyer, Robert A., Phd (univ Of Memphis); Raskin, Jonathan D., Phd (suny)