This paper reports on an exploratory study of a narrative therapy group for men who have used abusive behaviors. Twelve group sessions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed from a phenomenological perspective, identifying and sorting the facilitators’ questions and comments into themes, deductively and inductively. We found that the facilitator with more training in narrative therapy usually asked questions and made statements from a narrative perspective, while the facilitator with less experience drew upon a variety of approaches. This highlights how, despite our commitments to facilitate groups from a particular perspective, it is difficult to research a “pure” theoretical approach. This is a preliminary step in documenting and examining the effects of narrative approaches.
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