The ‘Narrative Turn’ in Psychology

Abstract

The history of narrative psychology can be construed in different ways. Given that psychologists conduct their research most often through language—by either interacting with their subjects in experimental conditions or as clients in therapy—narrative accounts can be identified within many psychological schools and practices. Some scholars draw attention to the role of narrative in psychoanalysis and share Donald Polkinghorne’s (1988: 120) view that ‘Sigmund Freud made an important contribution to narrative theory’, while Mark Freeman (1993), Jens Brockmeier (1997), Michele Crossley (2000) and some others (e.g. Ammaniti and Stern 1994) question Freud’s methodology and theoretical assumptions about narrative. They highlight the danger of naturalization of phenomena and structures that Freud described and emphasize the necessity to approach Freud’s work historically. These researches allow us to outline both the continuity and influences of psychoanalysis on modern narrative psychology and the latter’s radical difference from the former.