Masters of Narrative and Collaborative Therapies

Book excerpt: Tom Andersen, Harlene Anderson, and Michael White have shaped the landscapes of dialogical, collaborative, and narrative therapies. This unique book archives one of their gatherings and, in the spirit of therapeutic practice, is conversational and captures the presentations and exchanges between the three main contributors and international discussants. Tom Andersen invites us along to navigate the ‘forks in the road’ he faced in his emerging career, and he revisits the development of his pioneering ideas such as reflecting teams. Harlene Anderson paints the picture of her experiences in collaboration with women in Bosnia. Michael White, co-founder of the narrative therapy tradition, then provides a clear example of the frontiers of collaborative post-modern therapies. Through the introduction of the theory and application of Vygotskian ideas Michael excites the reader about what is possible to know and do in a therapeutic conversation.