Narrative therapy and Community practice draw their inspiration from the social constructionism movement (Gergen), Postmodern perspectives in philosophy (Foucault, Derrida), developments in cultural anthropology and sociology (Myerhoff, Geertz, Bruner, Goffman), the third wave of feminist theories, among others. It is categorized under collaborative therapies, placing particular emphasis on the egalitarian relationship between therapist and client, and was developed by the team of Michael White, an Australian psychotherapist, and David Epston, a New Zealand psychotherapist.
Narrative Therapy is practiced by specialized narrative therapists worldwide, including in Greece, and has a wide range of applications, such as in mental health, business, education, and collective social actions (activism). You can refer to the Institute of Narrative Therapy and Community Practice in Thessaloniki via the attached link below to seek further information about the activities of Narrative Therapy in Greece.
https://narrativetherapy.gr/αφηγηματική-ψυχοθεραπεία-2/
Narrative Therapy offers a critical and reflective perspective on prevailing views in modern psychotherapy that suggest individuals are composed of specific and inherited characteristics, and it understands reality as relationally and socially constructed. The goal of Narrative Therapy is to highlight power relations that produce, maintain, or perpetuate people’s problems, to deconstruct dominant social discourses that lead to the pathologization of the individual and the cultivation of a passive stance, and to challenge privileged foundational knowledge in therapy and the world. Through the above, clients, in collaboration with the therapist, proceed to co-construct new meanings for their lives, free from the omnipotence of dominant and internalized problematic narratives about their lives.
