Post Modern Definitions

Question 1

What is an Alternative Story?

Answer 1

The story that develops in counseling in contradiction to the dominant story embedded in a client’s problem.

Question 2

What does Coauthoring mean?

Answer 2

The process by which the therapist and client share responsibility for developing alternative stories.

Question 3

What is Deconstruction?

Answer 3

The exploration of meaning by unpacking the taken-for-granted categories and assumptions underlying social practices that pose as truth.

Question 4

What is a Dominant Story?

Answer 4

A widely accepted narrative within a culture that appears to represent ‘reality.’ These stories shape how people see, feel, and do.

Question 5

What are Exception Questions?

Answer 5

Solution-focused questions exploring times when problems did not occur, helping clients recognize that problems are not all-powerful.

Question 6

What are Exceptions?

Answer 6

Past experiences in a client’s life when problems could have been expected but did not occur.

Question 7

What is an Externalizing Conversation?

Answer 7

A way of speaking in which the problem is spoken of as a separate entity from the person.

Question 8

What is the Formula First Session Task?

Answer 8

Homework assigned to clients after the first therapy session, asking them to observe what they want to continue happening in their lives.

Question 9

What are Mapping-the-Influence Questions?

Answer 9

Questions aimed at helping clients understand the relationship between themselves and their problems.

Question 10

What is the Miracle Question?

Answer 10

A solution-focused technique asking clients to imagine how their life would change if their problem no longer existed.

Question 11

What is a Narrative?

Answer 11

A social constructionist conceptualization of how people create meaning in their lives.

Question 12

What is Narrative Therapy?

Answer 12

A postmodern approach based on creating a climate that encourages clients to rewrite their stories, finding new meanings and possibilities.

Question 13

What does Not-Knowing Position refer to?

Answer 13

A therapist’s stance inviting clients to become experts on their own narratives.

Question 14

What is Positive Psychology?

Answer 14

Focuses on what is right and working for people, rather than on deficits or weaknesses.

Question 15

What is Postmodernism?

Answer 15

A philosophical movement that critiques assumptions of established truths, acknowledging complexity and relativity.

Question 16

Who is a Postmodernist?

Answer 16

A believer in subjective realities that cannot exist outside observation, focusing on problems agreed to exist.

Question 17

What is Pretreatment Change?

Answer 17

Inquiry at the first session about positive changes that occurred since scheduling the appointment.

Question 18

What is a Problem-Saturated Story?

Answer 18

The narrative clients bring to therapy, often focused on problems they feel dominate their lives.

Question 19

What is Reauthoring?

Answer 19

A process in which the client and therapist co-create a new, alternative life story.

Question 20

What are Scaling Questions?

Answer 20

Solution-focused questions asking clients to rate changes in their feelings, moods, thoughts, or behaviors on a scale of 0 to 10.

Question 21

What is Social Constructionism?

Answer 21

A therapeutic perspective emphasizing the importance of meaning-making within relationships.

Question 22

What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)?

Answer 22

A postmodern, future-oriented approach emphasizing client strengths and creating solutions rather than focusing on problems.

Question 23

What are Totalizing Descriptions?

Answer 23

Categorical descriptions that confine individuals to one-dimensional identities.

Question 24

What is a Unique Outcome?

Answer 24

Aspects of lived experience outside dominant narratives or contradictory to problem-saturated stories.