Narrative Therapy in the Work of College Students’ Ideological and Political Education

Abstract

Narrative therapy theory believes that everyone is an expert in solving their own problems, ‘people are not problems, problems are problems’. Narrative therapy mainly consists of the methods of listening to clients’ stories, using appropriate questioning skills or letter files, amongst others, to externalise and deconstruct the problem-filled main story with the client, rewriting and enriching the positive side story. Counsellors apply the concept of narrative therapy to the ideological and political education of college students, thereby facilitating the establishment of a considerably positive teacher–student relationship and helping students view problems from a dual perspective. This type of therapy can immediately shorten the inner distance between teachers and students and enable students to recognise their own emotions and immediately engage in reflection. Through the discovery of rich side stories, students are guided to visualise their neglected ‘shining points’, thereby stimulating their internal growth momentum and enabling them to grow as superior individual.

Keywords:  deconstruction; externalisation; narrative therapy; reconstruction