Book Review: Narrative Approaches in Social Work Practice: A Life Span,Culturally Centered,Strengths Perspective

Narrative Approaches in Social Work Practice, by Edith M. Freeman, presents a simple approach to strengthening practice with clients by embracing their specific narratives. The book is grounded in a social construction framework and gives the reader the opportunity to understand the importance of acknowledging each client’s cultural context and the influence of social justice barriers on that context. The book’s clear strength is its step-by-step approach in helping the reader understand narrative practice.

In Part 1, each chapter is devoted to one of five principles that practitioners should integrate into their narrative practice. This strategy enables the reader to become familiar with the conceptual and theoretical framework, while emphasizing the importance of clients’ narratives throughout a client’s life course. Readers are guided through helping clients share narratives, engaging in assessment and intervention with narratives, and implementing interventions that are culturally, politically, and socially sound. Because examples are provided to illustrate each principle, both new and experienced practitioners will be able to relate to and see utility in the content.

In Part 2, readers are moved toward understanding how clients who are experiencing challenges during their life-stage transitions can benefit from the use of advanced narrative skills. The principles presented in Part 1 are built on, and there is an expansion of concepts. Larger issues that clients experience are tackled, including the impact of large institutional policies and practices on individuals. Part 2 also includes examples that further illustrate the importance of clients’ narratives.

Although the book in its entirety does not solely utilize a feminist or womanist lens, the concepts are highly applicable for the Affilia audience. In addition, Chapter 8 places a special emphasis on gender. The author uses specific examples to provide an analysis of gender development narratives. Examples of previously successful client strategies are shared, so that readers can strengthen their understanding of how gender can affect the narrative process. One example was the experiences of a 24-year-old female first-generation college student who faced economic hardship and ultimately had to drop out of school. Upon her return to school, the young woman sought support from her university’s Women’s Career Development Program. While in the program, she wrote her family narrative, shared it with others, and subsequently explored how gender perhaps influenced her narrative. In particular, she considered how gender might have created stress in her family life and ultimately her return to college. While exploring her narrative and considering the role that gender played in her life, she was able to alter how she made decisions and consider how she could develop a sense of agency.

Beginning and experienced practitioners will find the narrative approach as offered by Freeman useful because the discussion is simple and easily applicable to clients. Finally, one of this book’s most important contributions is that it reminds practitioners that we should acknowledge clients’ narratives because they are instrumental to them as they transition through their life stages.