INFUSED APPROACH
Narrative Therapy
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Critical Race Theory (CRT) x Intersectional Feminism
Limitations of Narrative Therapy
While narrative therapy is an intervention with many strengths, it also has several limitations that must be considered within a critical social work practice. The following section highlights some of the main limitations of narrative therapy.
Neglects Impacts of Structures of Oppression
Some of the limitations of narrative therapy stem from the same limitations adhered to postmodern theories. Postmodernism provides social workers with a helpful lens to question and deconstruct concepts and discourses, especially in regard to the needs of service users and how social work professionals respond to these needs in practice (Healy, 2014, p. 206). However social workers should be cautious to ensure that the pursuit of deconstruction does not preclude them from recognizing the real life impacts that result from oppression based on structures that maintain inequities between people.
Essentially, while narrative therapy can enable individuals to reconstruct a more helpful narrative in understanding their sense of self and the options they have, this does not mean that narrative therapy has the capacity to remove or lessen constraints of structural oppressions which have real impacts on the ideological and material contexts of an individual’s life.
Healy (2014) asserts that a focus on the language practices that shape [a person’s] situation should not distract [social workers] from the pressing material needs...or recognition of the broader contexts of oppression” facing certain individuals (p. 223). While changing a person’s perspective on the problem may be helpful to their understanding of their identity, it does not change the root of the problem.
Does not take into account the implications of power dynamics in the social worker and service user relationship
As stated previously, the social worker holds a significant role when supporting a service user through narrative therapy: they must skillfully guide the dialogue with language and questions that assist service users to tell their story of self, deconstruct harmful or unhelpful narratives by identifying alternative stories or themes, and reconstruct or co-construct a second narrative.
In this facilitative role, a social worker holds considerable power in this intervention, especially with respect to how their own positionality and perspectives may have influence on how a service user externalizes problems or develops their second story.
Lack of moral framework
As mentioned previously, limitations of narrative therapy can be linked to critiques of postmodern theories. Here, we consider how postmodernism’s belief in the complexity of meaning and rejection of universal truths dismisses moral and political standings essential for social justice (Healy, 2014, pp. 223-224). Ricks et al. (2014) assert that “narrative therapy works to separate the problem from clients; and after this is accomplished, clients can work on their relationship with the problem” (p. 100).This assertion, however, disregards how problems are understood or explained by the service user and/or the social worker.
Without incorporating a critical lens, narrative therapy fails to incorporate “guidelines about who is to be empowered and for what ends” (Fook, 2002, p. 47). Jan Fook (2002) states “unless we ask the more important questions like ‘empowerment for what?’ and ‘for whom?’, we are left with the possibility of perpetuating oppressive structures for someone” ( p. 48).
A CRT x Intersectional Feminist-Infused Approach
In response to these limitations, we put forth an example of how a social worker could use the critical theoretical lens of CRT and intersectional feminism to address some of the issues discovered in narrative therapy as addressed above:
Suggestions Based on CRT x Intersectional Feminism-Infused Narrative Therapy
A Critical Framework to Recognize and Acknowledge Structures of Oppression
As theoretical positions that look in-depth at the structural forces of oppression that impact people based on their positions of identity, especially with regard to race, CRT and Intersectional Feminism provide a helpful framework for applying a more critical perspective when practicing narrative therapy. In approaching narrative therapy, this framework could assist in raising the consciousness of an individual regarding the impact of structures, such as systemic racism, patriarchy, colonialism, xenophobia, homophobia, on their narrative.
While the root of the problem impacting their narrative may be beyond their capacity to change, the service user’s awareness of the embeddedness of structures in society and institutions may challenge how they view this problem in relation to their sense of self. This is potentially a helpful realization for a service user in the reconstruction of their narrative, including how they can influence discourse at the micro-level to challenge these structures.
Reflective Questions for Social Workers
What structures impact the narrative of a service user?
How do connections between hegemonic structures magnify experiences of oppression?
For example:
How do structures of white supremacy impact the narrative of a person who is racialized and/or Indigenous?
How do structures of patriarchy impact the narrative of a woman?
How do structures of white supremacy and patriarchy impact the narratives of racialized women?
Critical Reflexivity on Power Dynamics in the Social Worker and Service User Relationship
This framework can help a social worker critically reflect on their intersections of identity and how power dynamics within the social worker and service user relationship are generated and maintained based on these positions. Recognizing and acknowledging these power dynamics can be helpful in mitigating the reinforcement of oppressions when practicing narrative therapy because it asks the social worker to critically reflect on how their perspectives may influence their language when framing questions and comments. As well, recognition of their intersectional position’s influence on their perspectives can help them apply critical reflexivity in their dialogue with a service user, in both their own interpretation and understanding of a service user’s commentary and the service user’s interpretation and understanding of the dialogue based on their own intersectional position.
Reflective Questions for Social Workers
How do the language, dialogue and questions you use reinforce or diffuse power?
How does your intersectional position impact your interpretation of an individual’s narrative of self?
Applying a Critical Moral Framework to Narrative Therapy
While supporting a service user in realizing their narrative and reconstructing their story of self, a social worker can use a CRT/Intersectional Feminist framework to position their values and beliefs to orient their aims and how they facilitate these goals in practice. In particular, this framework would ask a social worker to recognize the inherent inequalities between people which are maintained and informed by complex, intertwined, and mutually-reinforcing categories of oppression and social structures” (Mattson, 2014, pp. 9-10) This provides a critical moral framework for how narrative therapy can challenge diverse structures of oppression, avoid reinforcing inequalities and collaboratively engaging as well as respecting service users’ own beliefs and understandings.
Reflective Questions for Social Workers
What values and beliefs orient your critical social work praxis?
How can you apply an anti-racist and intersectional approach to narrative therapy?
How can you assist a service user in challenging structures of oppression that impact their narrative?
Concluding tensions:
As narrative therapy draws heavily from postmodern theory, one of its core tenets is to not seek the “truth” of the causes impacting the lived experience of the service user and, instead, to assess how their narrative impacts their understanding of who they are and the options they have. However, this avoidance of “truth” inhibits narrative therapy from both recognizing the material impacts of hegemonic structures on peoples’ lives and from providing an orientation for how to address these structures at the individual and community level.
CRT and Intersectional Feminism provide a valuable lens to address these limitations by considering the links between structures of oppression and a person’s narrative. They also offer guidance for how a social worker can both critically reflect on their own intersectional position, in order to try and avoid reproducing these oppressions, as well as to support consciousness raising regarding the impacts of structures with the service user. With that being said, applying this critical lens to narrative therapy will not change the material conditions of a person’s life and therefore attention must also be paid to addressing these issues as in addition to how they impact a service user’s narrative.