Narrative Practices in Mental Health

Abstract

Abstract Narrative practices can support mental health. This chapter offers a way of defending at least some narrative-based therapies from three crippling challenges. It gives close attention to McConnell and Snoek’s (2018) account of how narrative interventions might positively influence the prospects of recovery from addiction. It then details three skeptical challenges that threaten to cast doubt on the acceptability of the aims and methods of narrative therapy, as well as, potentially, casting doubt on the acceptability of other, similar narrative-based approaches to mental health. Finally, the author argues that it is possible to address these trio of challenges by recasting certain assumptions about the core aims and methods of narrative therapy. It is proposed that by focusing on the “fictive” rather than the “factual” character of its narrative practices, it is possible to rethink how narrative therapy might work in practice in such a way that would protect it from the said skeptical challenges.