Post-modern theories of counseling include a non-deterministic view of human nature that is rooted in the notion that reality is socially constructed.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
- In narrative therapy, how might this view of human nature impact the role of the counselor? How might it shape the therapeutic relationship? Provide 1-2 examples to support your response.
Introduction
The postmodern counseling theories are a group of therapies that have gained popularity in recent years. While each contains multiple sub-theories, postmodern counseling theories are generally united by their rejection of the deterministic and positivistic views of human nature embraced by more traditional counseling theories. Postmodern theorists believe that there is no objective truth about reality or about how people should behave; instead, they contend that all truths are socially constructed and relative to the context in which they’re expressed (and understood).
While each contains multiple sub-theories, postmodern theories of counseling are generally united by their rejection of the deterministic and positivistic views of human nature embraced by more traditional counseling theories. Postmodern theorists argue that there is no single “true” or “real” self, which makes it impossible to know who someone really is.
In addition to disagreeing with the idea that it is possible to develop objective understandings of people’s experiences (i.e., “what counts as evidence”), postmodern counselors believe that social structures cannot be understood apart from their context: they are part of a larger whole rather than independent entities unto themselves. This means that any discussion about how social structures influence behavior must take into account historical and cultural factors.
Postmodern counseling theories tend to be relativistic in their approach to truth, meaning, and knowledge.
Postmodern counseling theories tend to be relativistic in their approach to truth, meaning and knowledge. According to postmodernism, there is no such thing as objective truth or knowledge; instead of being fixed or immutable, these concepts are socially constructed by individuals and groups. In other words: reality is socially constructed!
Postmodern counselors recognize that your beliefs may not always align with the reality you experience on a daily basis—but they also believe that this doesn’t mean those things aren’t real. They believe that if you can accept this fact and come up with new ways of interpreting your experiences then you’ll be able to find peace within yourself
While postmodern theorists reject the idea that it is possible to develop objective understandings of people’s experiences, they do not believe that all truths are equally valid or true.
While postmodernists reject the idea that it is possible to develop objective understandings of people’s experiences, they do not believe that all truths are equally valid or true. They argue that there is no such thing as an objective reality and therefore no single truth can be identified. Instead, they assert that each person creates their own reality based on their perceptions of their environment and interactions with other people.
Postmodernists also believe in relativism (the idea that all cultures are equally valid), which means that while one person may consider something like racism wrong while another person sees it as acceptable behavior in some circumstances; these two views cannot be compared because they apply to different contexts: race-related issues for one culture versus sexism/racism issues for another culture.
A common theme across all postmodern counseling theories is that reality is socially constructed, meaning that our understandings of the world are formed and maintained by language.
A common theme across all postmodern counseling theories is that reality is socially constructed, meaning that our understandings of the world are formed and maintained by language. In this way, reality itself is not an absolute but rather something we construct based on our experiences and interactions with others.
Postmodern counselors believe that there are no inherent truths about ourselves or others; instead, we depend on language for our understanding of ourselves and others in order to make sense of the world around us (Bograd & Schwalbe). This means that each individual has his/her own unique perspective on things like relationships or work environments because they are shaped by their unique backgrounds as well as personal experiences throughout life (Bograd & Schwalbe).
Reality is a social construct.
Social constructivism is a theory of knowledge that states that knowledge is constructed by social processes, rather than discovered by individuals. It is an epistemological theory in which the nature of reality and how we know things depend on the way people interact with their environment and each other.
Conclusion
While each postmodern counseling theory contains multiple sub-theories, they all agree on the idea that reality is socially constructed. As such, we need to look at how language affects our understanding of reality in order to develop better therapies and help people with their problems.