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Self‐narrative as meaning construction: The dynamics of self‐investigation
Author(s) -
Hermans Hubert J. M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1193::aid-jclp3>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - psychology , meaning (existential) , narrative , self , dialogical self , social psychology , metaphor , storytelling , theme (computing) , dream , epistemology , psychotherapist , linguistics , philosophy , computer science , operating system
Starting from the metaphor of the person as a motivated storyteller, a theory of meaning construction and reconstruction is presented. Two motives are assumed to be particularly influential in the process of meaning construction: The striving for self‐enhancement and the longing for contact and union with somebody or something else. A self‐confrontation method is discussed and illustrated, enabling clients to perform, in close cooperation with the psychotherapist, a self‐investigation on the content and organization of their personal meaning units. The method represents a gradual transition between assessment and change. Three functions of the method are discussed: assessment, process promotion, and evaluation. These functions are illustrated with a diversity of clinical phenomena: the finding of a central theme in the client's self‐narrative, the experience of hopelessness and helplessness, the organized nature of depression, and the construction of a scenario for emerging from a depressive state. Finally, the multivoiced and dialogical nature of the self is illustrated by the dream of a murderer who was perceived by the client as both inside and outside the self. Special attention is given to the shifting boundaries between self and nonself. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 55: 1193–1211, 1999.