Name of Theory
Postmodernism
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Introduction
The “postmodern turn” in social sciences has not bypassed couple and family therapy. Lyotard defined postmodern as “incredulity toward metanarratives” (p. xxiv). Postmodernism entered family therapy in 1980s (e.g., Anderson and Goolishian 1988; Hoffman 1990; White and Epston 1990). It brought along a radical reconceptualization of family therapy practice and concerns and experiences families bring to therapy. Postmodern therapies – also referred to as relational, dialogical, discursive, conversational, open-dialogue, poststructuralist, and constructionist– share in common an interest in meaning-making, language, and stories. Postmodern influences originate in the work of constructivist and social constructionist scholars (e.g., Maturana, Varela, von Foerster, von Glasersfeld, Watzlawick, Dell, Gergen, Berger, Luckmann). Most commonly cited postmodern approaches include narrative therapy, collaborative therapy, and...
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Smoliak, O., Strong, T. (2017). Postmodernism in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_218-1
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