Narrative Theory in Clinical Social Work Practice

This theory-to-practice guide offers mental health practitioners a powerful narrative-based approach to working with clients in clinical practice. It opens with a primer on contemporary narrative theory and offers a robust framework based on the art and techniques of listening for deeper, more meaningful understanding and intervention.Chapters expand on these foundational concepts by applying them to a diverse range of populations and issues, among them race and ethnicity, human sexuality, immigration, and the experience of trauma, grief, and loss. The author-s engaging voice, thoughtful pedagogical style, and extensive use of examples and exercises also work together to inform the reader-s own narrative of growth and self-knowledge.Included in the coverage:- Encountering the self, encountering the other: narratives of race and ethnicity.- Surviving together: individual and communal narratives in the wake of tragedy.- Spiritual stories: exploring ultimate meaning in social work practice.- Sexual stories: narratives of sexual identity, gender, and sexual development.- Leaving home, finding home: narrative practice with immigrant populations.- Moving on: narrative perspectives on grief and loss.Narrative Theory in Clinical Social Work Practice is geared toward students as well as seasoned social workers, and professionals and practitioners in related clinical fields interested in informing their work with a narrative approach.

John P. McTighe is currently an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Ramapo College of New Jersey. He received his masters degree in social work and Ph.D. in clinical social work from the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, and his M.Div. from the Washington Theological Union in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has published numerous articles in journals such as British Journal of Social Work, Journal of Traumatic Stress, and Clinical Social Work Journal, in addition to contributing a chapter to Critical Thinking in Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis. He is also in private practice in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.

Narrative Theory: An Introduction and Overview.- Encountering the Self, Encountering the Other: Narratives of Race and Ethnicity.- Surviving Together: Individual and Communal Narratives in the Wake of Tragedy.- Spiritual Stories: Exploring Ultimate Meaning in Social Work Practice.- Sexual Stories: Narratives of Sexual Identity, Gender, and Sexual Development.- Leaving Home, Finding Home: Narrative Practice with Immigrant Populations.- Moving On: Narrative Perspectives on Grief and Loss.- Who I Am and Who I Want to Be: Narrative and the Evolving Self of the Social Worker in Clinical Practice.