The Sage Handbook of Social Constructionist Practice. Группа авторов
detached from actionable value-based involvements and how social work is located within societal structures of a rather conservative outlook. Responding to this critique, Stan and Chris have described a number of practices of social work that have been informed (or could be informed more) by social constructionism.
In her chapter, Harlene Anderson continues her writing on Collaborative-Dialogic Practice. While most authors discuss their practices by highlighting the theoretical constructions they make and the derivative actions they take, Harlene always reminds us that a Collaborative-Dialogic Practice is a stance, an orientation from which people come together in conversation in order to decide how to go forward. A sense of not-knowing what will take shape, a genuine curiosity about the world and relationships, and a tolerance for uncertainty provide a context to assist the professional to meet with others and generate direction and momentum. Beyond the therapeutic potentials of this way of practicing, Harlene poses a challenge: ‘As practitioners, we are confronted with consistently keeping in mind that we are simply human beings in relationship with our clients, who are also human beings. We are left with what kind of person do we want to be?’
Dora Fried Schnitman writes about Generative Dialogues through which participants can stimulate unanticipated possibilities in the face of presenting problems/issues. Through their dialogue, the therapist and the client develop ways of going forward that emanate from their interconnections. Through illustrations, Dora reveals how seeds of the future are in the dialogues of the present, not only for the client but for the therapist as well. The coming together of the therapist and the client provides the context and opportunity for each to evolve their thinking about their work together and their lives beyond their work together. The use of the terms generativity and multiplicity are apt in this chapter, as new ideas and new ways to imagine the future path and the steps along the way are stimulated through the therapeutic relationship.
Jasmina Sermijn develops the notion of witnessing in narrative therapy to include ‘symbolic’ witnesses and ways that symbolic witnesses can develop connections between clients to create a sense of community. This practical application of using witnesses in therapy responds to those situations when including other people in therapy is difficult, impossible, or inadvisable. Jasmina expands this narrative element by telling the story of how symbolic witnesses have come into being, demonstrating how innovations in practices can be noticed, nurtured, and developed beyond the initial application. By sharing examples from her practice, Jasmina illustrates how using symbolic witnesses can become a step along the way to creating connections between people, helping people to become less isolated.
Emerson F. Rasera and Carla Guanaes-Lorenzi apply social constructionist ideas in the practice of group therapy, which traditionally has been aligned with psychodynamic theories and approaches. The authors clearly discuss practical ways in which social constructionist ideas can be effectively utilized in group therapy. They emphasize the importance of encouraging the generated dialogue to ‘find its own way’ – supporting the dialogues to develop without the specialist/expert shaping the process in their own preferred ways. This form of facilitation is aided by the social constructionist ideas of multiple realities and encouraging multiple voices to help group members chart their own courses forward. Applying social constructionist ideas to therapeutic group work presents profound possibilities as they do in other types or forms of therapeutic practice.
In her chapter, Lois Holzman walks us through the history of social therapeutics, explaining that this is a practice marked by taking therapy out of the therapy office and moving it into a ‘transdisciplinary practice of relating to people of all ages and life circumstances as social performers and creators of their lives’. Reading this chapter is like running a movie in our mind's eye as we watch how therapy, according to Lois, is transformed ‘from a non-diagnostic therapy to a postmodernized socio-cultural psychology of development to a new approach to social-cultural change known as performance activism’. Lois’ account of this evolutionary and revolutionary work offers ground-breaking perspectives, ideas, and practices that come from constantly learning from one's work, from never staying static. Challenging the status quo is never easy and Lois presents the many professional and societal shifts taken to push the limits of current understandings and practices.
In Marilene A. Grandesso's words, ‘ICT [Integrative Community Therapy] was progressively organized as a critical postmodern approach sensitive to communitarian relationships, fostering feelings of solidarity, compassion and respect for the other.’ Marilene is one of the most well-known proponents of this community version of therapy, taking many of the social constructionist principles and practices into much larger group work contexts. The carefully organized and culturally grounded work of ICT reaches further into community dynamics than we are accustomed to seeing. This large-scale work has enormous implications for communities and cultural collectives. Beyond addressing specific issues of concern, ICT stimulates community development and capacity building. Transformation of our worlds/communities is seen in Marilene's work in strikingly pragmatic ways that are at once focused, personal, warm, and public.
‘Standing for community and solidarity in the face of neoliberalism's insistence on individualism and competition can be powerfully transforming.’ This sentence concludes Jill Freedman and Gene Combs’ chapter and it gives us chills – impelling us to jump in and work hard to make sure that we all recognize that not all people's suffering is because of poor choices or personal deficiencies. In their chapter, Jill and Gene demonstrate a variety of narrative therapy processes that strip away the conflation between neoliberal discourses and mental health troubles affecting relationships, without ever using the word, neoliberalism. Many of us have slid down the slippery slope of traditional approaches to psychotherapy where it is common to blame the victims of the unjust and unreasonable conditions of our collective lives. Jill and Gene help us revise our understandings of the problems that people present to us in therapy and show the level of transformation possible by attending to the infusion of these discourses into professional and daily life.
Karl Tomm, well-known in the fields of psychiatry and family therapy, offers a provocative chapter, arguing that ‘the complementary paradigms of social constructionism and bringforthism provide sufficient “tentative knowledge” for us as therapists to make choices and become proactive, even in the absence of certainties’. He invites us to ponder how we, as therapists, decide what to pursue in therapy – what are the ‘truths’ we operationalize in the therapeutic encounter? What grounding do we occupy to make the decisions we make regarding what we talk about and what we do with clients. Karl discusses the potentials of social constructionism and bringforthism to navigate this issue about what ‘truth’ or understandings we choose to embrace and pursue. Be prepared to feel a little unsettled as you ponder his ideas and your own positioning.
Looking to the Future
Despite all the technology and innovations available to us, we do not see the human need and search for belonging going away. We believe that people will always have the need to connect, to be heard, to be in relationships, and to attend to those relationships. We also see that social constructionist practitioners will continue the turn toward social justice by attending to fairness in our small and daily interactions.
One of the perils we see in our world today is the trend toward polarizing into a few camps or tribes. Facing an unparalleled number of possibilities and choices can feel overwhelming, and a move toward a simpler world may appear enticing. A proliferation of ideas may seem like too much and a desire may grow to limit choices – to reassert dichotomies, to pick between ‘this or that’. This limiting of options (rather than expanding options) would reduce the potential to improve our world, a circumstance that would maintain the inequities and marginalization that a majority of persons on the planet persistently face.
This analysis of the present and the forecast into the future makes the case for continuously finding applications for social constructionist ideas, especially the inclusion of multiple ideas and perspectives, using language that is inclusive and appreciative of varied ideas, and being clear in our decision-making. If these ideas can be made manifest in our everyday personal and professional worlds, we can provide evidence for their continued applicability, utility, and development as we work together toward creating a better world.
Practitioners