`An interesting collection of the state of the art of social constructionism and therapy, and a major contribution to reflection on therapeutic theory and practice' - Changes

`The chapters are interesting as windows into wider debates beyond therapy to those within the human sciences over the organization of meaning and change in culture... the value of this book is that it makes it possible for the reader to step back and think that therapy may mean different things to different communities, that therapy is not the touchstone but only one of many social constructions' - British Psychological Society Counselling Psychology Review

This volume explores the exciting possibilities for the therapeutic process of adopting a social constructionist perspective. A key concern is with socially constructed lives. Our senses of self, identity and life purpose are socially and culturally embedded, but no single cultural `script' proves all-powerful. In social constructionist therapy, client and therapist work to co-create new, more satisfactory `stories' in ways which recognise their social, relational character.

The book firstly examines the theoretical basis for this process. It also looks at the implications for client-therapist relationships and discusses various approaches in practice, including `irreverent therapy', the `not-knowing therapist' and the role of reflexivity. A number of case studies are presented. The final section offers an exhilarating mix of overview, self-critique and agenda for the future.

Introduction - Sheila McNamee and Kenneth J Gergen
PART ONE: CONSTRUCTING THE THEORETICAL CONTEXT
A Reflexive Stance for Family Therapy - Lynn Hoffman
The Client is the Expert - Harlene Anderson and Harold Goolishian
A Not-Knowing Approach to Therapy
Therapeutic Process as the Social Construction of Change - Laura Fruggeri
PART TWO: FORMS OF PRACTICE
Reflections on Reflecting with Families - Tom Andersen
Postmodern Thinking in a Clinical Practice - William D Lax
Constructing Therapeutic Possibilities - Gianfranco Cecchin
A Proposal for Re-Authoring Therapy - David Epston, Michael White and Kevin Murray
Rose¿s Revisioning of her Life and a Commentary
PART THREE: CONSTRUCTION IN ACTION
Therapeutic Distinctions in an On-Going Therapy - Karl, Cynthia, Andrew and Vanessa
History becomes Her Story - William Hudson O¿Hanlon
Collaborative Solution-Oriented Therapy of the After-Effects of Sexual Abuse
Narrations of the Self - Annibal Coelho de Amorim and Fatima Goncalves Cavalcante
Video Production in a Marginalized Subculture
PART FOUR: REFLECTION AND RECONSTRUCTION
Beyond Narrative in the Negotiation of Therapeutic Meaning - Kenneth J Gergen and John Kaye
Reconstructing Identity - Sheila McNamee
The Communal Construction of Crisis
Constructionist Therapy - Jay S Efran and Leslie E Clarfield
Sense and Nonsense