Awfulizing in Psychology

 

Awfulizing is a term coined by Albert Ellis, the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). It refers to a cognitive distortion where an individual tends to focus on or exaggerate the negative aspects of a situation, often making it seem worse than it actually is (Tobias, 2015). Essentially, awfulizing involves thinking about an event as horrific and terrible, which can lead to unhealthy negative emotions like anger, anxiety, and depression. Ellis emphasized that challenging this tendency to awfulize events can be helpful for coping and mental well-being.

Examples

School- missing an assignment deadline.

I’m going to fail this class. I’ll never get a good recommendation.

Challenge: Communication and corrective action may improve the situation. A professor’s recommendations are often based on a history with a student rather than a one time event.

Relationships: A minor disagreement in a relationship

That’s it. It’s over. We’ve come to a parting of the ways.

Challenge: It’s normal for people to disagree. If there was an offense, it can be forgiven.

 

Religious- an exaggerated moral failure

I’m a sinner. I can never do anything right. I’m headed for hell.

Challenge: All people struggle to do what is right. There is grace and mercy. Sins can be forgiven.

 

References

Ellis, A., & Harper, R. A. (1975). A new guide to rational living. New York: Prentice-Hall. [Read a summary]

Tobias, K. (2015). Awfulizing time. Albert Ellis Institute. Retrieved from (https://albertellis.org/2015/07/awfulizing-time/).

Sutton, G. W. (2024, April 24). Awfulizing in psychology. PSYCHOLOGY concepts and theories. Retrieved from https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2024/04/awfulizing-in-psychology.html

Related Posts

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Classical Conditioning

 Classical conditioning is a type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus elicits the same response after it is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally produces a response. After frequent pairings of the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus, the neutral stimulus produces the same response and is therefore referred to as a conditioned stimulus.

The discovery is attributed to the work of Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov in the 1800s. In psychology texts, Pavlov conditions a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell without food after the bell had been paired with the presentation of food. The salivation was a natural response to food but after the bell was paired with the presentation of food, salivation became a conditioned response.

Classical conditioning has been applied to psychotherapy.

Some phobias can be reduced or eliminated when the eliciting (trigger) stimulus is successfully paired with a stimulus that produces a calm and relaxed emotional state.

Other interventions based on a classical conditioning model include:

Aversive conditioning

Systematic Desensitization

Exposure Therapy

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

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Spiritual Bypassing and Psychotherapy

Spiritual bypassing (Welwood, 1984) refers to the use of spirituality to avoid dealing with psychological factors important to psychological wellbeing.

The phenomenon was known to psychotherapists who observed people using their religiosity or spirituality to avoid doing the hard work needed to deal with their mental health issues.

The construct was operationally defined by Fox and others (2017) in the Spiritual Bypass Scale. Two factors appear to represent the construct: One is Psychological Avoidance and the other is Spiritualizing.

Comments

A spiritual bypass is analogous to a drug that temporarily reduces distress without offering a long-lasting cure.

A spiritual bypass may be evident in sayings that distract a patient from their symptoms or getting the treatment they need. 

A few examples:

"When God closes a door, He opens a window."

"All things happen for a reason."

"God doesn't give you more than you can handle."

"God will protect you."

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

"God has you in the palm of his hand."

"I'll pray about it."

"God works in mysterious ways."

Although some find the foregoing sayings comforting, the expressions may interfere with health or mental health if they are used to avoid treatment or end treatment too soon. Thus the examples are not about a particular saying or belief, but rather cues to think about any spiritual message that is a barrier to improved functioning.

Hypothesis: Patients prone to using a spiritual bypass may benefit from faith-based counseling or pastoral counseling.

Related post

See the Spiritual Bypass Scale

    Spiritual Bypass Scale-13

Fox, J., Cashwell, C. S., & Picciotto, G. (2017). The opiate of the masses: Measuring spiritual bypass and its relationship to spirituality, religion, mindfulness, psychological distress, and personality. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 4(4), 274-287. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/scp0000141

Sutton, G. W. (2023, September 4). Spiritual bypassing and psychotherapy. PSYCHOLOGY Concepts and Theories. Retrieved from https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2023/09/spiritual-bypassing-and-psychotherapy.html

Welwood, J. (1984). Principles of inner work: Psychological and spiritual. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 16, 63–73.

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   X @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.

For measures related to Spirituality and Religiosity, see 

Assessing Spirituality and Religiosity   

Available On AMAZON

Aligning in psychology

 

Aligning is a psychological strategy for coping with anxiety-provoking events rather than avoiding those events, which could worsen if not addressed. Many people may be driven by emotions to avoid dealing with distressing events. Aligning involves identifying or clarifying one's values and responding to life events in terms of one's values rather than unpleasant emotions.

Aligning is a type of impression management. A person may use aligning when their behavior seems unacceptable or inappropriate. They then create a narrative that attempts to make the behavior seem reasonable or rationale.

Mutual alignment refers to a spontaneous synchronous action like a standing ovation at a performance. See Froese & Apata-Fonseca (2017).

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.

Approaching in psychology

Approaching is a psychological strategy for taking small steps toward an anxiety-provoking situation instead of avoiding a situation, which is likely to worsen if not addressed. A person who is anxious about public speaking might begin by reading a set text in front of a small group.

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.

Shifting in psychology

Shifting is a psychological strategy to cope with anxiety by challenging anxiety-provoking thoughts by asking oneself questions that could lead to a different and less anxiety producing perspective. A person who is anxious in a relationship might consider times or situations when they responded well in a relationship and see if a similar response would work in the current anxiety-producing relationship.

Orientation and Mental Status in Psychology

Orientation is a mental state of being aware of and oriented to one's surroundings. It includes awareness of oneself, one's location, and the time. Orientation is typically assessed as part of a mental status examination (MSE).



Mental status examination is a brief evaluation of a person's mental state. It includes an assessment of the person's appearance, behavior, speech, mood, thought process, and orientation. Orientation is typically assessed by asking the person questions about their name, date of birth, current location, and the time.

Person, place, and time are the three main components of orientation. Person orientation refers to the person's awareness of their own identity. Place orientation refers to the person's awareness of their current location. Time orientation refers to the person's awareness of the current date and time.

Disorientation is a loss of orientation. It can be caused by a variety of factors, including delirium, dementia, head injury, and intoxication. Disorientation can be partial or complete. Partial disorientation refers to a loss of orientation in one or two of the three components of orientation. Complete disorientation refers to a loss of orientation in all three components of orientation.

Disorientation can be a serious sign of a medical condition. If you are concerned that someone you know is disoriented, you should seek medical attention immediately.

Here are some additional details about the three components of orientation:

Person orientation: Person orientation is the ability to identify oneself. This includes knowing one's name, age, and other personal information. Person orientation is typically assessed by asking the person simple questions about themselves, such as "What is your name?" and "How old are you?"

Place orientation: Place orientation is the ability to identify one's location. This includes knowing the name of the place where one is located, as well as the city, state, and country. Place orientation is typically assessed by asking the person simple questions about their location, such as "Where are you right now?" and "What city are you in?"

Time orientation: Time orientation is the ability to identify the current time. This includes knowing the date, the time of day, and the day of the week. Time orientation is typically assessed by asking the person simple questions about the current time, such as "What is the date today?" and "What time is it?"

Disorientation can be a sign of a number of medical conditions, including:

Delirium: Delirium is a state of confusion and disorientation that is caused by a medical condition, such as a stroke, infection, or head injury.

Dementia: Dementia is a progressive decline in mental function that is caused by damage to the brain.

Head injury: A head injury can cause a loss of consciousness, which can lead to disorientation.

Intoxication: Intoxication from drugs or alcohol can cause a loss of consciousness, which can lead to disorientation.

If you are concerned that someone you know is disoriented, you should seek medical attention immediately.

boomerang effect in psychology

The boomerang effect in psychology refers to a phenomenon where attempts to persuade individuals to change their attitudes or behaviors can sometimes lead to the opposite effect, resulting in a reinforcement of the original beliefs or behaviors. This effect can occur when the persuasive message is perceived as threatening to the individual's sense of freedom or autonomy, leading to reactance and a defensive response that strengthens the original behavior or belief.

For example, a study found that anti-smoking campaigns that used graphic and fear-based messages resulted in some smokers actually increasing their smoking behavior, as they felt their freedom of choice was being threatened (Miller & Prentice, 2016).

Parents and teachers may observe this effect when trying to change a child's behavior. Other strategies may be more effective.

Reference

Miller, C. H., & Prentice, D. A. (2016). Changing norms to change behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 339-361. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015013

A book offering different strategies may be helpful for parents and educators.

Discipline With Respect  on AMAZON and elsewhere.

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.

 

Delusion in Psychology

 In psychology, a delusion is a strongly held idiosyncratic belief system or idea, which is not supported by evidence or reason. A delusional idea or belief system is personal and not shared by a person's society or culture.

******

A definition by Kiran and Chaudhury (2009)

A delusion is a belief that is clearly false and that indicates an abnormality in the affected person’s content of thought. The false belief is not accounted for by the person’s cultural or religious background or his or her level of intelligence. The key feature of a delusion is the degree to which the person is convinced that the belief is true. A person with a delusion will hold firmly to the belief regardless of evidence to the contrary. Delusions can be difficult to distinguish from overvalued ideas, which are unreasonable ideas that a person holds, but the affected person has at least some level of doubt as to its truthfulness.

******

Delusions are common in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.

In delirium, delusions do not last long and are usually not elaborate.

In a delusional disorder, delusions may be complex.

**********

Common types of delusions include:

  Delusional jealousy (false beliefs of a partner's unfaithfulness) is also known as pathological jealousy, morbid jealousy, Othello delusion/ syndrome.

  Delusions of grandeur (Unsupported beliefs that an individual is more powerful, wealthy, intelligence, athletic, or otherwise grander than others.)

  Delusions of persecution

  Delusions of reference (Delusional beliefs that events have special personal significance. For example, a breaking general news story is about them.)

  Delusions of being controlled

  Somatic delusions (false beliefs about disease or the functions of bodily organs)

  Nihilistic delusions (beliefs that one's mind, body, or the world does not exist; delusion of negation)

  Bizarre delusion (strongly held ideas or belief systems that are obviously false)

  Fragmentary delusion (one or more undeveloped false beliefs that are disorganized and inconsistent)

  Systematized delusion (a false belief or belief system that is complex, organized, and internally consistent)

  Religious delusion (false beliefs involving religious beliefs). For example, in Western cultures, some present themselves as Jesus Christ. Religious delusions are common and often linked to delusions of grandeur (Iyassu et al., 2014). The grandeur type may present as God's special calling because the person is exceptional or they are a saint. Paranoid religious delusions may refer to being watched or pursued by demons or God. Koenig (2007) reported that more than a quarter of patients with schizophrenia present with religious delusions

References

Ashinoff, B. K., Singletary, N. M., Baker, S. C., & Horga, G. (2022). Rethinking delusions: A selective review of delusion research through a computational lens. Schizophrenia research, 245, 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2021.01.023

Iyassu, R., Jolley, S., Bebbington, P., Dunn, G., Emsley, R., Freeman, D., Fowler, D., Hardy, A., Waller, H., Kuipers, E., & Garety, P. (2014). Psychological characteristics of religious delusions. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 49(7), 1051–1061. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0811-y

Kiran, C., & Chaudhury, S. (2009). Understanding delusions. Industrial psychiatry journal, 18(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-6748.57851

Koenig HG. Religion, Spirituality, and Psychotic Disorders. Revista de Psiquiatria Clínica. 2007;34(1):40-48. doi:10.1590/S0101-60832007000700013

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.

Mindfulness in Psychology

Mindfulness is an intentional act to focus attention on the present without forming judgments. During mindfulness a person becomes more aware of their emotions and physical status.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us.

Mindfulness can be cultivated through formal meditation, but it can also be practiced in everyday activities, such as eating, walking, or working. When we practice mindfulness, we pay attention to our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment without judgment. We simply observe what is happening, without trying to change it.

Mindfulness has been shown to have a number of benefits, including reducing stress, improving focus and concentration, and increasing self-awareness. It can also help us to cope with difficult emotions and to live more fully in the present moment.

Two Components of Mindfulness


Mindfulness strategies focus on the two components of attention and acceptance.
Attention is the focus on one's breathing, thinking, feelings, and physical sensations.
Acceptance is observing without judging that which has been observed during the attentional process. (APA, 2019)

Measuring Mindfulness

Use the links to read about scales that measure dimensions of mindfulness.

  Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure CAMM

  Mindful Attention Awareness Scale MAAS

Some mindfulness strategies
Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed.
Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight.
Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
Notice the sensations of your breath as it enters and leaves your body.
If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breath.

Continue to focus on your breath for 5-10 minutes.


Mindfulness Interventions
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)- Weekly sessions or classes that teach exercises.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) - An addition of mindfulness techniques to cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Effects of Mindfulness

Representative effect sizes based on the largest number of studies were identified across a wide range of populations, problems, interventions, comparisons, and outcomes (PICOS). A total of 160 effect sizes were reported in 44 meta-analyses (k = 336 RCTs, N = 30,483 participants). MBIs showed superiority to passive controls across most PICOS (ds = 0.10–0.89). Effects were typically smaller and less often statistically significant compared with active controls. MBIs were similar or superior to specific active controls and evidence-based treatments. (Abstract, Goldberg et al., 2022)

Effect-size estimates suggested that MBT is moderately effective in pre-post comparisons (n = 72; Hedge's g = .55), in comparisons with waitlist controls (n = 67; Hedge's g = .53), and when compared with other active treatments (n = 68; Hedge's g = .33), including other psychological treatments (n = 35; Hedge's g = .22). MBT did not differ from traditional CBT or behavioral therapies (n = 9; Hedge's g = − .07) or pharmacological treatments (n = 3; Hedge's g = .13). (Abstract, Khoury et al., 2013)

Mindfulness and Relationships

Mindfulness in relationships involves a non-judgemental focusing on being together and includes an increased awareness of the other person and their needs.

Findings from this review suggest that higher levels of mindfulness, both dispositional and learned, are consistently correlated with greater relationship satisfaction. Research indicates a handful of specific mechanisms, seemingly fostered through mindfulness, that may account for the repeatedly demonstrated association between mindfulness and relationship enhancement. Proposed mechanisms that may explicate this connection are examined, including individual wellbeing, emotion skillfulness, enhancements in sexual satisfaction, increased empathy, and healthier stress responses. (Abstract, Kozlowski, 2013)

To summarize the heterogeneous quantitative literature regarding individual outcomes, mindfulness interventions for couples seem to increase mindfulness, self‐compassion, well‐being, and quality of life. Additionally, we found initial evidence of beneficial effects on relieving psychopathological symptoms and psychobiological stress measures. Measures of relationship quality were the predominant dyadic outcome. (Abstract, Winter et al., 2021)

Sexual mindfulness
Sexual mindfulness is being fully present and aware of oneself and one's partner in the moment of sexual intimacy.

Defined as present-moment, non-judgmental awareness, mindfulness skills have been incorporated into both individual and group treatment programs and found to be effective for significantly improving several domains of sexual response and decreasing sex-related distress. (Abstract, Brotto, 2013)

Mindfulness and behavioral addictions

"Results suggest that mindfulness-based interventions are effective in reducing mental distress and craving reactions. Reductions in craving levels were reported in four of six studies with biggest effects for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy. Successful reductions in mental distress were identified in five of seven studies that used diverse mindfulness-based techniques. However, no more than one study on mindfulness-based interventions reporting improvements in self-control, inhibitory control, maladaptive decision-making, and cognitive biases could be identified. (Abstract, Brandtner et al., 2022)

Mindfulness and Christianity

The current study incorporated explicitly religious constructs to create a Christian accommodative mindfulness (CAM) protocol that was used with a small group of Christian psychotherapy clients seeking treatment for symptoms of depression or anxiety. Shame, which is often at the root of many psychological and spiritual health conditions, was also measured as were a variety of resiliency factors to determine the effectiveness of the CAM protocol in a real-world, clinical setting. Results from this N-of-1 time-series study using five subjects revealed significant effect sizes (more than half of the total individual effect sizes measured were found to be 'very effective') that associate CAM with decreased depression, anxiety, and shame and increased resiliency measures in the sample. (Abstract, Jones et al., 2021)

References

American Psychological Association. (2019, October 30). Mindfulness meditation: A research-proven way to reduce stress. https://www.apa.org/topics/mindfulness/meditation

Brandtner, A., Antons, S., King, D. L., Potenza, M. N., Tang, Y.-Y., Blycker, G. R., Brand, M., & Liebherr, M. (2022). A preregistered, systematic review considering mindfulness-based interventions and neurofeedback for targeting affective and cognitive processes in behavioral addictions. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 29(4), 379–392. https://doi.org/10.1037/cps0000075

Brotto, L. A. (2013). Mindful sex. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 22(2), 63–68. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2013.2132

Goldberg, S. B., Riordan, K. M., Sun, S., & Davidson, R. J. (2022). The empirical status of mindfulness-based interventions: A systematic review of 44 meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(1), 108–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620968771

Jones, T. L., Garzon, F. L., & Ford, K. M. (2021). Christian accommodative mindfulness in the clinical treatment of shame, depression, and anxiety: Results of an N-of-1 time-series study. Spirituality in Clinical Practice. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000221

Khoury, B., Lecomte, T., Fortin, G., Masse, M., Therien, P., Bouchard, V., Chapleau, M. A., Paquin, K., & Hofmann, S. G. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 33(6), 763–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.05.005

Kozlowski, A. (2013). Mindful mating: Exploring the connection between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 28(1–2), 92–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2012.748889

Winter, F., Steffan, A., Warth, M., Ditzen, B., & Aguilar, R. C. (2021). Mindfulness‐based couple interventions: A systematic literature review. Family Process. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12683

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

 

Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.

Learn about research using surveys 

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Narrative Psychology

Narrative psychology is a subfield of personality and social psychology focused on the relationship of stories and storytelling to creating a meaningful life. Stories shape memories of past and present experiences and how people think about the future.

Reference works

Narrative Psychology: The Storied Nature of Human Conduct (1986) by Theodore R. Sabin

"Narrative Psychology and Narrative Analysis" by Michael Murray in Qualitative Research in Psychology edited by Camic, Rhodes, and Yardley (2003).

Narrative Therapy- Writing Our Stories

Woman typing by a fireplace 2023
Geoffrey Sutton and Bing AI

Narrative Therapy developed by Michael White and David Epston offers people a way to separate their self-identity from their problems and difficulties, which can become the identity stories that dominate their lives.

Psychotherapists learn to listen to patients' stories and collaborate with patients to identify their skills,  competencies, abilities, values, and beliefs that can help patients view their problems in a different life context.

In everyday life, people tell snippets of their lives as short stories on social media, in conversations, in books, and in diaries. Our stories reveal what is meaningful. In psychotherapy, people may learn to rework or edit their narratives of past experiences and take a new approach to current and future stories. Changing past stories has been called re-authoring or re-storying. The analysis of older and problematic identity stories is called deconstruction.

Psychotherapists may use a position map technique to name and list the details of a problem and identify the effects in a patient's life contexts such as school, work, and relationships. Patients then evaluate the effects in each domain and consider their values in view of the effects they have identified.

My Life Story is a psychotherapy technique to organize one's life into chapters. The chapters may represent highlights or key issues of a particular time frame such as My High School Years. People may learn to recognize their history and how it may have shaped them but realize that their past does not have to determine their future.

Narrative Therapy and Transgender Identity

In Gender Identity and Faith, Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky (2022) recommend the use of narrative therapy as a way to explore gender identity.

Narrative Therapy and Spiritual Identity

Most people in the world are religious and many religious people consider their religion or their faith as highly important to their identity. People often refer to their faith journey or spiritual journey. In some Christian groups, members are asked to share their testimony, which is a life story. In these testimonies, they may interpret positive and negative life events in terms of their beliefs using phrases like God's will, God's protection, and so forth. Narrative Therapy may be useful in helping people with spiritual struggles.

Narrative Therapy and Career Counseling

Many people identify their occupation as important. It's common to ask a new acquaintance, "What do you do?" We expect the person to tell about their work or how they spend their time such as I'm a psychologist, I'm retired, I'm a teacher, I'm a student, and so forth. During periods of transition, narrative therapy may be helpful in thinking about the past, evaluating one's strengths and values, and beginning a new life chapter.

Narrative Therapy and the SCOPES model

Narrative Therapy is highly relevant to the SCOPES model because both the therapy and SCOPES model focus on the interaction of the Core Self-Identity and the interaction of the self with other dimensions of functioning, including the highly important social contexts.

How to Cite this article

Sutton, G. W. (2022, November 4). Narrative therapy--Writing our stories. Psychology Concepts and Theories. Retrieved from https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2022/11/narrative-therapy-writing-our-stories.html

Narrative Therapy Books

Maps of Narrative Therapy by Michael White (co-founder)

Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

   and see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

Narrative Therapy Founders

Michael White 1949-2008, Adelaide, Australia.

David Epston, Auckland, New Zealand.

Photo credit: Mystic Arts/ Bing search- Free to use and share