Brief Narrative Practice in Single-Session Therapy

Brief Narrative Practice in Single-Session Therapy emphasizes collaboration, meaning making, and relational ethics in single-session conversations. Chapters provide a thorough orientation to the therapy and address the diverse circumstances clinicians face in these conversations. Separating from many long-held traditions in therapy, this book explores a guiding framework and the accompanying micro-skills that therapeutic conversations demand. In these pages, readers will learn how to recalibrate their listening habits and talk differently about problems in ways that help them quickly hear and generate possibilities. All those who provide psychotherapy, counselling, and coaching in time-constrained contexts will find this book useful and engaging, including those working in crisis and call-in settings, walk-in clinics, medical centres, and live-in contexts where change conversations are brief.

Scot J. Cooper is a registered psychotherapist and manager for child and youth mental health services in Ontario, Canada. With over 25 years of practice and teaching, Scot is one of the key voices shaping the quick access mental health service landscape in Canada.

1. The Therapeutic Landscape 2. Key Concepts in Brief Narrative Therapy 3. Re-Visioning the Therapeutic Context 4. Calibrating Your Brief Narrative Ear 5. Phase One: Beginnings 6. Phase Two: Meaning Generation and Story Expansion 7. Phase Three: Conversation Endurance 8. Co-Crafting Take-Away Documents 9. Leave-Behind Documents 10. Externalizing Conversations 11. Counter-Storying in Single Session Therapy 12. Addressing the Effects of Trauma in a Single Session 13. The Game Plan 14. Re-membering Conversations 15. Single Session Therapy and Crisis Conversations 16. Navigating Children's Experience of Separation/Divorce 17. Developing Concepts for Living 18. Quality Assurance in Single Session Therapy 19. Conclusion