Ⅰ. What did the writings offer?
The six articles in this series help me understand the ideas of poststructuralism and how to understand different social groups and subjects based on these ideas under different historical traditions and cultural changes, especially on some problematic and traumatic subjects, such as child abuse, gender justice, generation gap and multicultural conflict,etc.
Ⅱ. Were there any aspects of the writings that resonated with your own experiences or learnings in different aspects of your practice? If so, in what way?
By reading this series, I understand the ideas and methods of poststructuralism in narrative therapy. First, further understand the definition of "what is truth" in poststructuralism and how to understand "the truth". The answers to‘wha’t and ‘how’ complement each other:
Truth is diverse rather than unitary, so we should have respect and curiosity for different perspectives and possibilities;
Truth is constructed in the specific and local social and cultural background rather than standardized and typed labels, so we should understand it from specific individual experience and specific cultural background;
Truth is changing rather than fixed, so we should pay attention to individuals’ horizontal (exists outside the mainstream mode) and vertical (occur in different time) changes;
Truth not only includes visible facts and phenomena, but also everyone's understanding and defining meaning of it, so we should respect everyone's inner and expressed truth, and also believe that the richness of the story shapes life.
I agree with some psychotherapists’opinion quoted in Leonie Thomas' introduction to poststructuralism. One of the main positioning of narrative therapists is to help clients create and re-create their own identity. In this process, narrative therapists act as witnesses, paying attention to the social and cultural background (directly reflected in the social relations of clients) and individual life experience and the construction of identity by narration. An important small field can be used to seethe broader background, that is the relationship between the counselor/therapist and the client.
This has also been verified in my consulting work. Fortunately, I have several long-term cases of clients who are in their early twenties, which gives memore opportunities to recall their growth background repeatedly with the clients, constantly enrich their life stories, and stimulate the clients' awareness, reflection, and re-authoring of the relationship model and self identity along with the changes of our relationship. In this process, we witness the changes in the identity construction of clients, and help them get an open and positive life that can embrace more possibilities.
I really appreciate each caseand client, try to practice the concept of poststructuralism in my work, and try to imperceptibly influence clients in shaping their new attitude towards lifeby poststructuralism concept of life . On the basis of case accumulation, I am also going to compare and summarize the similarities and differences of narrative therapy practice in early adult cases. In addition, the article 《working for gender justiceacross culturres》 also provides me a demonstration to guide a general topic in the way of collective narration. I will try this with the follow-up courses. Perhaps the early adult groups in college and employment and their exploration of identity will be the first theme I try to organize.
Ⅲ. How did/could you put the ideas in the readings into practice?
The concept of poststructuralism will run through my consulting work. Combined with my understanding of this part and the actual case work, I recently realized that one of Ks, K, has relatively rigid personality characteristics in terms of psychodynamics. In his definition of identity, there is a lot of deep-rooted and extreme structuralist ideas, such as the excessive emphasis and sensitivity to social class and circle layer, authority opinions, and the compulsive pursuit of certainty and uniqueness, which restrict his development in important life fields such as real intimacy, academic, career and so on, Instead, it uses the shell of fashion star team to build a virtual royal and aristocratic system with hierarchy and circles centered on himself, in which the identity and position of him and important objects are defined under strict rules. From junior high school to now, when clients can't face the pressure of reality, he indulge in this fantasy construction world.
He knows very well that such a system construction comes from his extremely narcissistic and controlling mother. His parents' evaluation standards for people and things and the influence they exert on K with this set of standards formed in their social and family cultural background. Although K feels hurt and destroyed, what he is still used to doing is "treating them with their own way", having inherited such an extreme "structuralism" model and stuck to the relationship with parents, can seldom experience new ways to develop real relationships and position himself in real social life.
I think structuralism is not unreasonable generally. After all, all individuals and systems have relative stability in structure, which brings a sense of certainty and security to human beings. However, the extreme pursuit of structural fixity and uniqueness produces obvious conflicts and stressors. For example, K can also realize that many people and things that naturally attract his interests do not meet the defined standards and do not belong to this rigorous system, When he faces the "temptation" that is different from the mainstream framework he is familiar with, he is filled with "illegal" psychological conflict feelings. These "exceptions" can be discussed in depth, so that he can see that there are more possibilities and choices. As long as they are not extreme and hurt himself or others, they are reasonable and legal. This is the direction in our later narrative therapy, and we have begun.
Ⅳ. What differences did/could the ideas make to your practice?
Because I also have learned and continue to learn the theories and methods of different orientation of psychological counseling, among which psychodynamics is an important partfor me. It has more historical accumulation of structuralismfor classical psychoanalysis or psychodynamics, and at the same time, it has also introduced poststructuralism ideas into its new development. I think more about how to integrate the relative understanding and assumptions of certain sections obtained from the structuralism tradition and the openness of poststructuralism in counseling Combine mobility and explore more possibilities together in working with clients. Not taking "poststructuralism" as the absolute truth is in line with the ideas of poststructuralism. So, there are differences in the ‘same’things, and there are similarities in ‘different’things. There are always two sidesin one. If we are more unbiased and more flexible in choosing, applying and integrating different consulting methods, it is itself the authentic practice of poststructuralism.
Therefore, while systematically studying narrative therapy, I will try to learn to achieve complementarity and balance between structuralism and poststructuralism ways in clinical workby my own case practice and supervision and the observation of other peer cases to realize how to .
Ⅴ. What questions and/or dilemmas did they raise?
Although theoretically, I understand the relativity of structuralism and poststructuralism, and I also try to integrate them at the level of specific methods, combined with my previous experience of case supervision, I am a little worried about what kind of supervision can give me more effective guidance when I encounter specific difficulties in consulting work? Will some pure supervisors in a certain orientation deny the other side of my ideas and practices in case work? In terms of concept, it seems that the poststructuralism orientation will be more decentralized and de-authoritarianism , and will respect my personal experience as a consultant, so I prefer to use poststructuralism to be downward compatible with structuralism, hoping to get a consistent experience from senior supervisors in my practice.
Ⅵ. In what areas did they spark your curiosity?
In fact, I think there is large space for me to try and experience the understanding and exploration based on poststructuralism ideas. As mentioned above, I will start with the case and collective narrative work in early adulthood groups.