MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page i M A P S of Narrative Practice MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page ii A Norton Professional Book MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page iii M A P S of Narrative Practice Michael White B W. W. Norton & Company New York • London MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page iv All cases presented in this book are composite case studies. Copyright © 2007 by Michael White All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First Edition For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 Manufacturing by R. R. Donnelley, Harrisonburg Book design by Anna Oler Production Manger: Leeann Graham Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data White, Michael (Michael Kingsley) Maps of narrative practice / Michael White. — 1st ed. p. ; cm. “A Norton professional book.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-70516-4 (hardcover) ISBN-10: 0-393-70516-1 (hardcover) 1. Narrative therapy. I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Psychotherapy—methods. 2. Narration. WM 420 W586m 2007] RC489.S74W45 2007 616.89’165—dc22 2006038468 ISBN 13: 978-0-393-70516-4 ISBN 10: 0-393-70516-1 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110 www.wwnorton.com W. W. Norton & Company Ltd. Castle House, 75/76 Wells St., London W1T 3QT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page v I dedicate this book to my mother, Joan, ever- loving and generous, and indefatigable in her intention for her children to have opportunities in life that were not available to her. MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page vi MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 3 1 Externalizing Conversations 9 2 Re-Authoring Conversations 61 3 Re-Membering Conversations 129 4 Definitional Ceremonies 165 5 Conversations That Highlight Unique Outcomes 219 6 Scaffolding Conversations 263 Conclusion 291 Suggested Reading 293 References 295 Index 00 MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page viii MapNarr4PP 3/13/07 4:36 PM Page ix Acknowledgments S ome time ago I was approached by W. W. Norton to write a book that would be an introductory text on narrative practice, and that would also be informative for readers with a strong famil- iarity with this subject. I was excited about this idea, and responded to this invitation in the affirmative. Now, three years later, it’s com- plete! I would like to acknowledge some of the people whose support enabled the completion of this project. First and foremost, thanks to Cheryl White, who believed in the existence of this book long before I had written a word of it, and who provided encouragement throughout this writing project. Second, thanks to David Denborough for his unflagging interest in the development of this writing project, and for his enthusiastic response to, and feedback on, early versions of the chapters. Without these contributions from Cheryl and David, this book would not be. Thanks also to Susan Munro who originally proposed this book project when she was an editor with W. W. Norton, and to Deborah Malmud, for her general support and for her endorsement of early drafts of these chapters. Susan’s confidence about this proposal, and Deborah’s endorsement of it, confirmed and sustained my efforts.