ABSTRACT
Michael White (1991) has suggested that the process of therapy from a narrative perspective is viewed as a means by which the clients and therapist work collaboratively to deconstruct old stories and construct new, more useful, stories. Through a “redescription” process, families become aware of the existence of alternative stories and begin the process of “re-authoring their lives” (White, 1989). Part of this re-authoring process is externalizing the problem, a linguistic method used to separate the problem from the symptom bearer. Based on the idea that the problem is the problem, rather than the person being the problem, White (1989) suggested that by externalizing the problem, family members can mobilize themselves against the problem, thus freeing individuals from blame and blaming. During an externalizing discourse, conversational and perceptual space opens, allowing the family to enter new dialogue around the problem. Since all clients are assumed to have a wealth of resources and strengths, individuals are expected to be able to acknowledge their unique strengths and to take responsibility for victories over the problem (Kowalski and Durrant, 1990).
