ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a framework of concepts that can help people to take a narrative-based approach. Family therapy offers a number of key concepts that are useful in everyday primary care. Most of these are based on familiar words but used in specific ways. The fundamental reorientation for taking a narrative approach involves seeing the world in terms of circular processes rather than linear ones. It also involves seeing the consultation as a shared act of creation between someone with a problem and some else with a body of expert knowledge and skills. The chapter discusses six main concepts from family therapy work such as conversations, curiosity, circularity, contexts, co-creation, and caution. Each of these concepts has been extensively discussed in the family therapy literature. The chapter presents them in a way designed to bring out their relevance for primary care, but they are referenced so that readers who wish to can explore their theoretical origins.
