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NARRATIVE THERAPY: AN INTRODUCTION FOR COUNSELLORS
Second Edition (2006)

MARTIN PAYNE
Sage Publications

Some comments on the First Edition (2000):

‘On reading Martin Payne's account I instantly had a sense of being understood. I found this particularly refreshing, as so much that is written in the name of narrative therapy doesn't at all fit with my understanding of its philosophical, ethical and political considerations. He has succeeded in representing his own voice in this, which really makes for engaging reading and accessibility of these ideas.’
Michael White.

‘This is a fascinating and important book … Unlike the majority of counselling writing currently being published, this is a genuinely radical book.’
John McLeod, Professor of Counselling at the University of Abertay, Dundee.

‘There is much here which feels of immediate relevance to the stories our patients tell us every day ... this is a wonderfully supportive and stimulating book.’
Family Practice.

‘I found this book a good review of the area and most usefully, of the theory which underpins it.’
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy.

Martin Payne originally trained as a counsellor in the Rogerian person-centred tradition. He believes that Narrative Therapy, developed in Australia and New Zealand by Michael White and David Epston, embodies similar values to Rogerian therapy. However, it has roots in a quite contrasting philosophical base and invites reconsideration of many of the assumptions and practices of traditional counselling, offering fresh and exciting ways of defining counselling and working with people facing difficulties.
In this updated, extended and revised second edition the author describes the ideas and practices of Narrative Therapy in detail, illustrated with vivid accounts of his own narrative work with individuals and couples.

Contents include:

An Overview of Narrative Therapy
Ideas Informing Narrative Therapy
Assisting the Person to Describe the Problem
Encouraging a Wider Perspective on the Problem
Asking Questions
Therapeutic Documents
Telling and Re-telling
Examples of Narrative Practice for Depression and for Recovery from Abuse
A Fresh Look at Assumptions in the Therapy Culture
Examples of Narrative Practice for Post-Traumatic Reactions and for Working with Couples

The book is available from bookshops, from www.narrativebooks.co.uk or direct from Sage Publications at www.sagepub.co.uk

ISBN 1-4129-2013-2 (paperback)
ISBN 1-4129-2012-4 (cloth)