In a client’s story, the ‘self’ is not only reconstructed based on memory, but also actively constructed in interaction with him- or herself, others, and the social environment. A process-oriented psychotherapy will eventually lead to the reconstruction of a client’s self-story. This reconstruction reflects the exact same facts in a different assignment of meaning and hierarchy. Through this process, factual events can even acquire a different content, because embedded in the story they are subjective.
I open this article with a theoretical exposition that interprets the ‘self’ as being fluid, or in motion, which is also the starting point of a client centered approach of therapy. Next, I address the more technical aspects of a self-story that during its construction and expression is structured in a certain way. Language, cognition, experience, and memories all play a part in this structure.
Subsequently, I look at the dynamics of a story in psychotherapy in a more philosophical way. In this I reserve a central place for the ideas of the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur, who makes a connection between the concepts of identity and self-story. This is followed by a short excursion to the postmodern perspective on narrative.
I then focus on the impact that drastic changes in the life of a client can have on a life story that is in motion. Using a case study, I will demonstrate how important is to be able to share and communicate one’s life story. And finally I suggest how ‘the stories we live by’ (Bohlmeijer, 2007) fit in with psychotherapy and science.
client-centered psychotherapy, self-image and life story, narrative psychology, philosophical views on Ricoeur’s ‘self-story’
The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.
