Psychology Commons^™

Personality And The Coherence Of Psychotherapy Narratives, Jonathan Adler, Joshua Wagner, Dan Mcadams

Jonathan M. Adler

The stories people construct about themselves and their social worlds are key aspects of their identities [Bruner, J. S. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5, 100–122]. Whereas certain expected life experiences (e.g., leaving home, getting a job) may be relatively easy to narrate, more unexpected and difficult events, such as undergoing psychotherapy, may pose a challenge to successful narration. Yet it is especially important to successfully narrate one’s experience in psychotherapy in order to maintain the gains from treatment [Frank, J. D. (1961). …