Narrative Therapy and Post Traumatic Stress - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theNarrative Therapy and Post Traumatic Stress. Answer: Though children and adolescents (hereafter called children) are flexible after traumatic experiences, some develop different emotional, as well as behavioral symptoms, which may be severe and long-lasting. Between 60 percent and 90 percent of children presenting for outpatient mental treatment have been exposed to trauma, especially post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Though a child trauma is more pronounced and pervasive mental health condition, it is potentially one of the most treatable conditions (Thompson Henderson, 2010). The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) recommends that trauma might also build resilience, which indicates that children that receive timely might not only recover, but again tools and capability to cope more successfully with prospect stress. The use of narratives with traumatized children, particularly with PTSD is a widespread therapeutic method applied to assist the children to resolve persisting symptoms of PTSD and return to their normal routines. Art and play may offer prospects to tell their stories and gain master over potential fears because of the traumatic experiences. Traumatized children usually take part in developing narratives via art activities, like painting, drawing, as well as sculpture. Narrative therapy is one the therapies that have been successfully used to treat PTSD among the children, and it is recommended by counselors and clinical experts. An individual struggling with PTSD may feel threatened, hyper-attentive, or encounter hyper arousal. PTSD is a stress disorder, which develops after one is exposed to an extreme traumatic stressor that involves direct individual knowledge in the event that is traumatic experience either genuine or endangered death or grave harm. In the case of children, children may be bullied or experience to violence at home or school. Children that have been exposed to traumatic experiences usually will suffer PTSD. In addition to different psychological signs, these children might experience forceful guilt regarding the things they did endure or even has ended. The primary schema, as well as personal trauma, has become one defined by trauma. Furthermore, when children are exposed to therapy, such as drawing and painting, they classically present with a litany of flaws along with failures (Geldard Geldard, 2014). The therapists will investigate through the parents through a consent form what their children are passing through and what might have promoted the PTSD. This will allow the therapists to understand the child and administer the right therapy technology (Thompson Henderson, 2010). Through reclaiming competency in children and re-acknowledging the resources, which brought them to the therapist they are looking for a solution, narrative therapists assist their clients (children) move independently with a deliberately positive, and life-affirming direction. The narrative therapy is effective in making children suffering from PTSD to forget the past experiences either in school or at home and move forward into adulthood life without any trauma. The majority of the studies has focused on children that have traumatic experiences of war. Narrative therapies for children who suffer from PTSD symptoms because of the experiences of war have been well-documented. In general, traumatized children, narrative therapy based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has constantly been established to be efficient in lowering PTSD along with other signs. For children impacted war, particularly, different groups and individual interventions have been implemented, as well as studied throughout the world through the use of narrative therapy (Peltonen Punamki, 2010). Sories et al (2015) say that military children are amongst a group of elite along with resilient individuals that may adapt to constant changes, frequent relocation, fluid family structure, as well as a greater loss (Sories et al, 2015). However, the losses these children encounter may be overpowering and result in pathological symptoms, which need care and treatment from a counselor. While numerous children become accustomed well to parental deployments, and are in a position to go through the stages of anguish and loss following the death of a martial member, a smaller group of children will develop signs, which meddle with the grieving process, which means that the intervention that will be required is narrative therapy. This means that this may sometimes result in children that might try to fill in the details, reconstruct images or scenarios of the way their parent have died resulting in PTSD symptoms (Miller Forest, 2009). According to Sories et al (2015), experiences align with childhood traumatic grief. Play therapy through narrative therapy has emerged as an efficient treatment in children below the age of 17 years. Characteristically, there is a room filled with items, like a dollhouse, puppets, art supplies, as well as other items, which promote expression. The emphasis of play therapy depends on supporting the parent-child association and assisting parents to learn skills, which will be important towards promoting attachment, as well as lower problem behaviors at home. For play therapy to be effective, it is not only should be a cooperative effort between the therapist, child, and parent, but also entailing the siblings. Narrative therapy has been demonstrated to have an optimistic impact on childrens challenges that range from anxiety disorders to acute behavioral matters, including PTSD (Sories et al, 2015). The narrative therapy approach originates from the assumption that human experience is organized in short or long narratives and the narration of stories belongs amongst the most popular activities where the realm of processes (events) is differentiated from the realm of consciousness (meanings). Additionally, only the integration of an experience in the realm of events, offer it some element of implication. The narrative approach using therapy is archetypal of concentrating on the diverse views of a person via narration. Thanks for the therapeutic background, these perspectives are concealed, and events are set in a certain period, are endorsed meaning, which is also interrelated. According to Epston (2009), the narrative approach in therapy stresses that individuals organize lives on the foundation of narratives and construe them founded on such narratives. And then when individuals construe them so, individuals develop a background that is accentuated by meaning (Epston, 2009). Therefore, narrative therapy views children as separate the PTSD (as the main problem) and in this manner, a counselor may assist externalize susceptible issues that the children are suffering from. This objectification dispels resistance and defenses and allows children through the therapy to look at the trauma positively rather than disturbing. Other than changing children (client), narrative therapy seeks to change the effects of the PTSD. Narrative therapy aims to get some distance from the trauma, and in this manner, it is feasible to see the way the PTSD is serving the child, other than harming him or her. For instance, PTSD may assist the client from the complex feelings linked to a trauma event, though it too leads to a host of disturbing symptoms, like anxiety. The process of externalization offered by narrative therapy through different art activities might assist children to build up superior self-compassion that, in turn, help him or her feel competent of change (Schubert Lee, 2009). In reality, some psychologists have recognized a process called post-traumatic growth that accounts for the optimistic individual change, which may happen to children that have encountered an upsetting event either through domestic violence at home. Sexually abused, or went through bullying. Furthermore, narrative therapists too assist children, and other people view their challenges within the background of social, political, as well as cultural narratives, which influences the manner the victims view themselves and their personal narratives (Schubert Lee, 2009). Many children have experienced traumatic experiences that are likely to influence their later life and have negative consequences if not intervened earlier using narrative therapy. According to Peterson et al (2005), short-term therapy has been effectively used to help cancer patients to stop the development of PTSD. Certainly, the combination of PTSD and narrative therapy has been important to provide the treatment for trauma among children and adolescents. With the focus of narrative therapy on externalizing symptoms, reconsidering, as well as restructuring prevalent narratives like art among children and building a coherent plotline, which comprises both the past and leaves room for an autobiographical, narrative therapy offer victims of PTSD both meaning along with authorship towards prospect life. This implies that the aim of narrative therapy is to permit the affected children to develop an autobiographical background of traumatic event that results in PTSD that the transitions hot memories and convert them to cold memories or fundamentally memories, which do not elicit these ruthless emotional responses (Peterson et al, 2005). In conclusion, narrative therapy entails a shift in focus from traditional theories where therapists are inspired to establish exceptional concerns in their clients. This is done through fine-tuning their listening skills, as well as displaying respectful and engaging strategy to their lives along with narratives through assisting them to discover times they experienced resourceful and empowered (Lapsley, 2002). Narrative therapy is a short-term therapy, which has been established very efficient in the treatment of PTSD among children and adolescents. There is no proof that has shown that narrative therapy could not be used in multiple stages of life. Therefore, narrative therapy could carry on to be helpful in the lives of those suffering from traumatic events, especially children displaying PTSD symptoms (Corey, 2013). References Carey, M., B.A., Walther, S., M.A., Russell, S. (2009). The absent but implicit: A map to support therapeutic enquiry. Family Process, 48(3), 319-31. Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (Ninth ed.). Mason, OH: Cenage Learning. Epston, D. (2008). Down under and up over: travels with narrative therapy. Edited by Barry Bowen, Karnac Books. Geldard, K., Geldard D. (2014). Counseling Children: A Practical Introduction. 4th ed London: Sage Publications. Lapsley, F. M. (2002). The healing of memories. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (2), 72-75. Miller, C. P., Forest, A. W. (2009). Ethics of Family Narrative Therapy. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 17(2), 156-159. Peltonen K. Punamki R.L. (2010). 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