Narrative Inquiry in the Psychotherapy Professions: A Critical Review

Abstract

We examine how the concept of narrative has entered several psy-chotherapy professions in the United Kingdom and the United Statesover the past 15 years, with special emphasis on research applications. Approaching our task from distinctive standpoints and locations, the chapter reviews definitions of narrative, criteria for “good enough ” narrative research, and patterns in the literatures of social work, counseling, and psychotherapy. Our eval-uation uncovered fewer studies in the United States than in English language jour-nals in Europe and Canada and fewer studies in social work in contrast to the volume of narrative research in counseling1 and psychotherapy. Four exemplars of narrative inquiry—“model ” research completed by social workers, counselors, and psychotherapists—show the knowledge for practice that can be produced with careful application of narrative methods, in all their diversity. Drawing on our respective locations and experiences, we cautiously suggest some reasons for the paucity of quality research in the United States and greater representation in English language journals in Europe and for differences between the interlinked overlapping professions of counseling, psychotherapy, and social work. Context for Our Review Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing at a hectic pace, the idea of narrative has penetrated almost every discipline and profession. No longer the sole province of

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