Running head: Exploring the Benefits of Storytelling for Women in the Therapeutic Relationship 1 Exploring the Benefits of Storytelling for Women in the Therapeutic Relationship Maedean Yvonne Myers A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Counselling (MC) City University of Seattle Vancouver BC, Canada site APPROVED BY Chris Shelley, PhD, Thesis Supervisor, Counselling Faculty Dr. Karen Grant, Faculty Reader, Counselling Faculty Division of Arts and Sciences Exploring the Benefits of Storytelling for Women in the Therapeutic Relationship 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my mother and grandmother for sharing their stories. They were the first to make me curious about women’s lives-their challenges and triumphs. As a young woman, I was determined to do things differently and I did. I could not have done so without their honesty, courage, and humour. I am grateful to my family in general, for always being supportive in all my endeavours, even when it meant letting me go. I want to thank my partner for supporting me through school emotionally and financially. It was a privilege to be able to only work part time and have the time to focus on my studies. I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Chris Shelley for being such a finely tuned instrumentof encouragement and guidance. I would also like to thank my second reader, Dr. Karen Grant for introducing thought provoking questions and avenues of further exploration. I learned to appreciate the value of encouragement and curiosity in making any sort of attempt at something new. I really appreciate your time and support. Thanks Coral Payne, for getting me on the right path from the beginning! I saved countless hours because of your guidance. Also, thanks to Dr. Colin Sanders and Dr. Avraham Cohen for taking the time to engage in helpful conversation-I too found that talking through my “stories” helped me make choices that matched my needs and goals. Exploring the Benefits of Storytelling for Women in the Therapeutic Relationship 3 Abstract Various counselling interventions can help women navigate difficulties. However, storytelling in and of itself, may be uniquely useful as a process through which women understand themselves. Throughout time, people have used different kinds of storytelling from oral, written, and dramatic traditions to make sense of experience, connect, and heal. For example, both First Nations and African American communities have a tradition of oral storytelling as a curative experience. Talk therapy itself is based on the hypothesis that speaking with another person, un-silencing, has intrinsic therapeutic value. However, those whose stories do not fit in with the dominant narrative, a narrative that prizes speed, power, and external achievement, may feel pressured to conform. Consequently, such groups may experience silencing in the therapeutic process. "Storytelling has always held particular importance for women and other "silenced" minority groups who have had to rely on oral traditions to transmit knowledge, establish continuity, and share information, sometimes even dangerous or subversive information" (Goering, 1996p. 1 ). As counsellors are increasingly pressured to work under tight time and budgetary constraints the healing value of simply listening may be lost. This narrative literature review aims to increase counsellor’s knowledge by exploring benefits of female oral storytelling in the therapeutic relationship from a feminist perspective. Exploring the Benefits of Storytelling for Women in the Therapeutic Relationship 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. 2 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Rationale................................................................................................................................................ 7 Storytelling in Historical Context ........................................................................................................ 8 Writing as Storytelling Therapy .......................................................................................................... 9 Drama as Storytelling Therapy .......................................................................................................... 11 “Storytelling” –What is it? What if? ................................................................................................ 14 African American Storytelling Tradition .......................................................................................... 15 Aboriginal/Indigenous Storytelling ................................................................................................... 17 The Connecting Thread ...................................................................................................................... 19 Definitions ........................................................................................................................................... 20 Marginalization ............................................................................................................................... 20 “Dominant Culture” or “Why This Thesis is not a Poem” .......................................................... 21 Assumptions/Conceptual Framework............................................................................................ 22 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................................. 25 Therapeutic Value of Storytelling ..................................................................................................... 26 Benefits of Storytelling for Women .............................................................................................. 28 The Influence of Dominant Stories in Therapy ................................................................................ 29 Possible Therapeutic Tasks for Women ............................................................................................ 29 Empowerment ................................................................................................................................. 30 Exploring the Benefits of Storytelling for Women in the Therapeutic Relationship 5 Storytelling as a Sense Making Experience .................................................................................. 34 Relationships and Connection ........................................................................................................ 35 Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 38 Definition of a Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 41 Why a Literature Review ............................................................................................................... 42 Description of Narrative Literature................................................................................................ 44 Databases and Keywords ................................................................................................................... 47 Role of the Researcher ....................................................................................................................... 48 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................................... 53 The Story of “Results” versus “Findings” ........................................................................................ 53 Storytelling: What is it good for? ...................................................................................................... 54 Recalling the Ways to Tell a Story .................................................................................................... 55 Feminist Therapeutic Aims-Shifting Relationships with Power ..................................................... 60 Setup for the Discussion Chapter or “The Part Where I Practice Fumbling” ................................ 62 Chapter 5: Discussion or Let’s Talk .................................................................................................. 64 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................................... 64 Intersectionality ............................................................................................................................... 65 Meanings/Interpretation ................................................................................................................. 66 Feminist Meanings/Interpretations ................................................................................................ 69 Possibilities for Further Exploration ................................................................................................. 72 The limitations of the study or “I am only human” .......................................................................... 74 Exploring the Benefits of Storytelling for