`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 GergenPART ONE: CONSTRUCTING THE THEORETICAL CONTEXTA Reflexive Stance for Family Therapy - Lynn HoffmanThe Client is the Expert - Harlene Anderson and Harold Goolishian A Not-Knowing Approach to TherapyTherapeutic Process as the Social Construction of Change - Laura FruggeriPART TWO: FORMS OF PRACTICEReflections on Reflecting with Families - Tom AndersenPostmodern Thinking in a Clinical Practice - William D LaxConstructing Therapeutic Possibilities - Gianfranco CecchinA Proposal for Re-Authoring Therapy - David Epston, Michael White and Kevin Murray Roses Revisioning of her Life and a CommentaryPART THREE: CONSTRUCTION IN ACTIONTherapeutic Distinctions in an On-Going Therapy - Karl, Cynthia, Andrew and VanessaHistory becomes Her Story - William Hudson OHanlon Collaborative Solution-Oriented Therapy of the After-Effects of Sexual AbuseNarrations of the Self - Annibal Coelho de Amorim and Fatima Goncalves Cavalcante Video Production in a Marginalized SubculturePART FOUR: REFLECTION AND RECONSTRUCTIONBeyond Narrative in the Negotiation of Therapeutic Meaning - Kenneth J Gergen and John KayeReconstructing Identity - Sheila McNamee The Communal Construction of CrisisConstructionist Therapy - Jay S Efran and Leslie E Clarfield Sense and Nonsense