Rethinking Narrative Therapy: An Examination of Bilingualism and Magical Realism

Abstract

Narrative therapy is often misunderstood as offering a counter story to the dominant story and, in the process, rendering a new single account that eliminates the dominant story as an influence in the client's life. Using bilingualism and the literary genre of magical realism as analogies to rethink this practice, the author argues for the importance of holding both stories simultaneously, preserving the relationship between them. Bilingual speakers are able to co-cogitate in two worlds of thought simultaneously, and magical realism authors demonstrate how to expose power differentials by inverting inequalities and undermining authorities. Such skills can be used by narrative therapists to reexamine their work and open new possibilities for clients. The article includes two illustrative therapeutic conversations.