Pick One Of Gurman, Lebow & Snyder (2015) Approaches: Narrat ✓ Solved

Pick one of Gurman, Lebow & Snyder (2015) approaches: Narrative

Pick one of Gurman, Lebow & Snyder (2015) approaches: Narrative Couple Therapy or Solution-Focused Couple Therapy. Using the text as reference, prepare a summary report addressing: 1) the background and overview of the selected approach; 2) the structure of the therapy process and the key principles; 3) how the approach works with healthy/well-functioning versus dysfunctional couples; 4) the role of the therapist; 5) how assessment and treatment planning are completed; 6) how goal setting is handled; 7) interventions specific to the approach (list at least 3 and explain how you would apply one); 8) a take-away or insight gained and why you would recommend the approach to others.

Paper For Above Instructions

Narrative Couple Therapy (NCT) situates couple change within a social constructionist framework, emphasizing that realities of relationships are co-created through language, conversation, and shared meaning. Building on the work of White and Epston (Narrative Therapy) and adapting it to intimate relationships, Gurman, Lebow, and Snyder (2015) frame Narrative Couple Therapy as a collaborative process that helps couples externalize problems, re-author their relationship stories, and identify “unique outcomes” that challenge dominant, problem-saturated plots. The background rests on the broader shift in family therapy from pathologizing individuals to examining relational narratives and cultural discourses that shape couples’ experiences. In short, NCT treats the couple’s story as the primary vehicle for change and uses narrative questioning and storytelling as catalysts for new meanings that support healthier functioning (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015).

Background and Overview

The approach emerges from social constructionism, which argues that knowledge and problems are not intrinsic to individuals but are produced through language and social interactions. In NCT, therapy sessions center on collaborative storytelling—therapist and clients co-create meanings rather than diagnose and prescribe. Externalizing the problem is a core move: the problem is given a name and seen as separate from the couple, reducing blame and enabling joint agency. Through this stance, the therapist helps couples notice and cultivate “unique outcomes”—instances when the problem did not overwhelm the relationship, thereby expanding the repertoire of possible meanings and actions (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015). The aim is to shift from problem-saturated stories to more empowering, preferred narratives that reflect shared values, aspirations, and resources.

Structure of the Therapy Process and Key Principles

Structure in Narrative Couple Therapy typically follows a staged yet flexible sequence: (1) engagement and alliance-building within a collaborative, nonpathologizing frame; (2) externalizing the problem—naming it and separating it from the couple’s identities; (3) mapping the influence of the problem—how it affects each partner and the relationship; (4) identifying unique outcomes and moments of resilience; (5) re-authoring conversations to articulate a preferred story; (6) thickening the preferred narrative through rituals, letters, or future-oriented conversations; and (7) consolidation and future planning that reinforces new meanings (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015). Core principles include: social constructionism (reality is co-constructed), collaboration (therapist as co-learner rather than expert), externalization (separating the problem from the people), and audience and cultural considerations (the audience of the couple’s story can include family, friends, or the broader community). These principles guide how therapists frame questions, interventions, and assessments throughout treatment (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015).

Healthy/Well-Functioning vs Dysfunctional Couples

NCT is designed to work with couples across levels of functioning by focusing on meaning-making and relational repertoire rather than symptom suppression alone. In healthy or well-functioning couples, narrative work can help maintain and enrich shared meanings, deepen connection, and renew commitments through reframed narratives and strengthened collaborative problem-solving. In dysfunctional or distressed couples, externalization and re-authoring provide a pathway to disrupt negative cycles without resorting to blame. However, safety considerations remain essential: if abuse is present, the therapist must assess risk and may integrate safety planning or individual work before or alongside narrative work. The strength of NCT lies in its capacity to unlock agency and creativity, even when couples have tried conventional strategies without lasting change (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015).

Role of the Therapist

The therapist in Narrative Couple Therapy acts as a collaborative facilitator rather than an expert-advocate. The therapist’s stance emphasizes curiosity, neutrality, and respect for the couple’s voice. Through open-ended, reflective questions, the therapist helps clients externalize the problem, validate diverse perspectives within the relationship, and elicit unique outcomes. The therapist also supports the couple in co-authoring new narratives and guiding processes that honor clients’ cultural contexts and personal values. This role requires skillful listening, careful sequencing of interventions, and an ability to hold competing narratives without imposing a single “correct” interpretation (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015).

Assessment and Treatment Planning

Assessment in NCT relies on collaborative interviews, conversations, and narrative mapping rather than standardized diagnostic checklists. Practitioners invite couples to tell the story of their relationship, identify dominant problem-saturated plots, and locate moments when life felt different—“unique outcomes.” These steps help delineate the problem’s influence, the couple’s strengths, and the relational resources that can support change. Treatment planning centers on cultivating a preferred narrative and specifying how the couple will practice new meanings in everyday life. Plans are often iterative, with course corrections based on ongoing narrative feedback and emerging evidence of change (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015).

Goal Setting

Goal setting in Narrative Couple Therapy revolves around the emergence of a preferred story rather than achievement of symptom reduction alone. Goals are crafted from the couple’s own language about values, hopes, and relational aspirations. Examples include establishing new communication patterns aligned with the rewritten narrative, increasing supportive interactions, and creating rituals that reinforce the preferred storyline. Because goals arise from the couple’s narratives, they tend to be more ecologically valid and intrinsically motivating, which supports sustainability after formal therapy ends (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015). In practice, therapists document and track progress by revisiting the couple’s evolving narrative and noting shifts in language, tone, and relational actions (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015).

Interventions and Mechanisms of Change (Three or More)

  • Externalization of the problem: The couple names and separates the problem from their identities, reducing blame and increasing agency. Application: the therapist guides the couple to articulate the problem as an entity that has a history in the relationship, then invites partners to describe how the problem has influenced their actions and what it would look like if the problem were absent.
  • Identification of unique outcomes and exceptions: The therapist helps the couple notice moments when the problem did not dictate behavior or when the couple acted effectively despite pressure from the problem. Application: the therapist documents and revisits these moments to build a counter-narrative that can be expanded into routine practice.
  • Re-authoring and thickening the plot: The couple collaborates to revise the relationship story, incorporating values, hopes, and ambitions into a fuller, more empowering narrative; rituals or letters may formalize this reconstruction. Application: sessions explicitly map a preferred future and plan concrete actions that reinforce the new storyline.
  • Audience and cultural scaffolding: By considering how the couple’s story might be received by family, friends, or community, therapists help broaden support and accountability for the new narrative. Application: optional readings, family conversations, or symbolic ceremonies that enlist broader social support.

Other potential interventions include narrative questioning that surfaces alternative interpretations of events, journaling or letter-writing exercises between sessions, and collaborative reflection on how language shapes emotional experience (White & Epston, 1990; Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015).

Takeaway and Recommendation

A central takeaway from Narrative Couple Therapy is its emphasis on co-created meanings, which fosters agency, resilience, and sustainable change. By reframing problems as externalized forces and spotlighting unique outcomes, couples gain new options and a sense of ownership over their stories. I would recommend NCT especially for couples who feel stuck in repetitive negative narratives, value collaborative exploration, and want a framework that honors their voices and cultural contexts (Gurman, Lebow & Snyder, 2015). It may be less suitable in cases of imminent harm where safety planning and risk management take precedence, in which case integrating narrative work with crisis-focused or individual interventions can be beneficial. Overall, NCT offers a powerful, flexible, and ethically mindful path for relational change through storytelling, language, and shared construction of reality (White & Epston, 1990).

References

  • Gurman, A., Lebow, J., & Snyder, D. (2015). Social Constructionist Approaches: Narrative Couple Therapy. In Gurman, Lebow, & Snyder (Eds.), Social Constructionist Approaches to Couple Therapy. New York, NY: Academic Press.
  • White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Change. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • de Shazer, S. (1985). Keys to Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • de Shazer, S. (1988). Clues: Investigations in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • O’Hanlon, B., & Weiner-Davis, D. (1989). In Search of Solutions: A New Direction in Psychotherapy. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company.
  • Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and Family Therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Satir, V. (1988). The Satir Model: Family Counseling and Therapy. Mountain View, CA: Science & Behavior Books.
  • Bowen, M. (1978). Family Therapy in Clinical Practice. New York, NY: Jason Aronson.
  • Nichols, M. P. (2017). Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
  • Frank, J. (2013). Three Reasons to Leave: Abuse, Addiction, and Affairs. Retrieved from GoodTherapy.org (for context on risk and safety considerations in severe relational problems).

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