Constructions of Disorder: Meaning-Making Frameworks for Psychotherapy

This collection of articles from constructivist, narrative and social constructionist theorists and therapists describes alternatives to dia gnoses and treatment that humanize the assessment process and allow fo r therapeutic change. This book focuses on the question of how psycho therapists can think of human distress in a way that gives direction t o the course of therapy without stigmatizing or pathologizing their cl ients. The approaches in this volume emphasize the personal and socia l processes of language and meaning making in creating and resolving p roblems. The authors focus on such techniques as the experiential exp loration of the client's tacit processes of self-construction and the deconstruction of oppressive cultural discourses. The result is a boo k that explores the relevance of postmodern clinical theory and fleshe's out emerging alternatives to diagnosis that are more personally viab le, contextually sensitive, and ethically defensible.