Self-Narratives: The Construction of Meaning in Psychotherapy

by Hubert J. M. Hermans, Els Hermans-Jansen

Overview

In this book, Hubert J. M. Hermans and Els Hermans-Jansen elaborate a model of the clinical use of self-narratives—the stories people use to construct meaning out the events in their lives—in counseling and psychotherapy. Based on extensive case studies and filled with a rich variety of illustrative examples, this integrative work covers the model's theory, methodology, and clinical applications.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572307131
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	06/22/2001
Series:	The Practicing Professional
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	306
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Hubert J. M. Hermans is Professor of Psychology at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Personality of the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. His work is concerned with human motivation, valuation theory, the role of narratives in human lives, dialogical self, and self-confrontation. He is first international associate of the Society for Personology.
Els Hermans-Jansen originally worked with adolescent boys and girls with serious behavioral problems. After finishing her studies at the University of Nijmegen, she became qualified in several psychoterapeutic and counseling techniques. She is acknowledged as a psychotherapist by the Ministry of Welfare in The Netherlands. She works in private practice in Berg and Dal, The Netherlands.

Table of Contents

Acknowledments. Preface. Introduction.
1. The Person as Motivated Storyteller: Basic Metaphor
2. The Self as an Organized Process of Meaning Construction
3. The Self-Confrontation Method: Constructing and Reconstructing One's Self-Narrative
4. The Nature of Valuation: Structure and Process
5. Dreams and Myths: Routes to the Less Conscious Areas of the Self
6. Dissociations and Dysfunctions
7. Motivational Characteristics of the Self: Lifelong Development
8. Summary and Perspective
9. Manual
References. Appendices.

Interviews

Psychotherapists and counselors from a range of orientations; students of clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, counseling, and related fields. May serve as a text in graduate-level courses and in training programs for practicing professionals.

Editorial Reviews

"Aside from the wealth of practical examples of how one can study personal valuation structures, the reader will gain a general insight into how one can construct novel traditions of psychological research that unite theoretical and empirical sides of that process, with care for the phenomena, and rigor in the derivation of the data. The book is a refreshing voice among sometimes all-to-general discussions."

Culture and Psychology

"A 'must-read.'...Self-Narratives promises to make an enduring contribution to the rapidly developing field of constructivism and psychotherapy."

Contemporary Psychology

"This work is a significant contribution to the growing literature on the importance of the constructivist approach to personality organizations and clinical process in psychotherapy." —Steven Gryll, PhD, Northwestern University Medical School

"Hubert Hermans is one of the most creative theorists and researchers on the scene today in personality and clinical psychology. Hermans' ideas on valuation theory, the dialogical self, and the role of narrative in human lives have had a strong positive impact on the field and have inspired students and colleagues to emulate his commitment to a humanistic and rigorous brand of behavioral science. Now in Self-Narratives, he and Els Hermans-Jansen show us all how these rich ideas can illuminate clinical work and psychotherapy. Self-Narratives brings together psychological theory, the interpretation of myths and story, and the careful analysis of actual case studies to articulate a new and compelling vision of clinical work and psychological science." —Dan P. McAdams, Professor of Human Development and Psychology, Northwestern University

"In Self-Narratives: the Construction of Meaning in Psychotherapy, Hermans and Hermans-Jansen draw on their extensive experience as psychotherapists to present a comprehensive and systematic theory of the Self. Their theory draws attention to the integrating potential of narrative understanding to unite the disparate aspects of the self into an individualized whole. After drawing the implications of their theory for self-development, personal function and dysfunction, and cultural forms of self-meaning, Hermans and Hermans-Jansen describe how their theory is applied by therapists in working with clients. The therapeutic application of their theory, called the self-confrontational method, is fully presented in the final chapter, which is a manual for using the method. The Hermans and Hermans-Jansen book is a powerful and significant addition to the growing literature on the implications of narrative theory for the practice of psychotherapy." —Donald E. Polkinghorne, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling Psychology, University of Southern California

"This book shows the practical utility of scholarship and theory-building. It will be of particular interest to personality, clinical, social, and developmental psychologists. The authors focus attention on and provide a creative method for assessing the person's unique self-narrative that guides his or her life. They show how assessment of the self-narrative (and affect associated with it) can further the therapeutic process. The authors' aim is nothing less than the answer to the question: How do people grow psychologically and achieve personality change? A truly integrative contribution." —Irwin G. Sarason, Ph.D., University of Washington

"This is an important contribution to the growing appreciation of narrative and constructivist approaches to psychotherapy. The authors provide detailed procedures for helping clients to identify the values, meanings, and life stories that have shaped and continue to shape their patterns of experiencing. I recommend it highly." —Michael J. Mahoney, Ph.D., University of North Texas; University of Lisbon; Center for Cognitive Therapy, Rome, Italy

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Steven Gryll, PhD (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: This book attempts to formulate an empirically based clinical approach to using personal meaning and self-construct in psychotherapy.
Purpose: The purpose is to describe how a person ascribes meaning to his self-narrative and how these valuations play a central role in the organization of the self. The authors present a systematic methodology that enables clinicians to facilitate a self-confrontational process that engenders exploration of personal meaning, self and other attributions, and affects as a means of promoting substantive cognitive, affective, and behavioral change. The manual included is a significant contribution to demonstrating empirically the utility of this approach across a wide spectrum of psychopathology and by clinicians from diverse theoretical perspectives ranging from psychodynamic to interpersonal cognitive behavioral.
Audience: The primary audiences for this book are clinicians engaged in the practice of psychotherapy and clinical researchers investigating process issues in treatment and how behavior or attitudinal change occurs. Clinicians of all theoretical perspectives will find considerable wisdom and utility in the author's approach.
Features: The book contains a good discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of the approach, followed by numerous clinical examples illustrating how this methodology can be used profitably to understand the patient. A detailed manual is provided that is clearly written and especially helpful in permitting the reader to apply this approach to examples from one's own practice.
Assessment: This is a rather stimulating and successful effort at delineating how a patient's self-narrative can be used in formulating an encompassing understanding of the patient in addition to facilitating treatment planning. One of the most helpful aspects of this enterprise is that the authors have attempted to operationalize the process of self-narration and have given us some tools as well as a vantage point for observing and exploring one of the central functions of the self. This work is a significant contribution to the growing literature on the importance of the constructivist approach to personality organizations and clinical process in psychotherapy.

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