Scholarlink

<p>Narrative therapy is well known for its extensive repertoire of practices that deconstruct cultural influences, foster respectful relationships, and enhance clients’ agency. These practices rely on a decentered and influential therapeutic posture that positions therapists as experts in asking questions and clients as experts in their own lives. While foundational, this posture offers limited guidance for navigating affective nonverbal expressions, which are constitutive of therapeutic interactions in family therapy. The term <i>co-centering</i> has been proposed to describe the affective micro-adjustments therapists make in response to clients’ moment-to-moment experiences (Beaudoin, 2023a, 2023b, 2024; Beaudoin &amp; Monk, 2024). However, the specific practices through which co-centering is enacted have not yet been articulated. This article advances the concept by delineating three interrelated levels of micro-practices that can make co-centering more explicitly teachable in family therapy clinical training. Clarifying these micro-practices supports both beginning and experienced therapists in responding with greater intentionality to families’ affective and nonverbal processes.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Co-centering as a Narrative Practice: Articulating a Key Component of Therapeutic Posture in Family Therapy

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月1日

查看全文
  • Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin,
  • Gerald Monk

摘要

Narrative therapy is well known for its extensive repertoire of practices that deconstruct cultural influences, foster respectful relationships, and enhance clients’ agency. These practices rely on a decentered and influential therapeutic posture that positions therapists as experts in asking questions and clients as experts in their own lives. While foundational, this posture offers limited guidance for navigating affective nonverbal expressions, which are constitutive of therapeutic interactions in family therapy. The term co-centering has been proposed to describe the affective micro-adjustments therapists make in response to clients’ moment-to-moment experiences (Beaudoin, 2023a, 2023b, 2024; Beaudoin & Monk, 2024). However, the specific practices through which co-centering is enacted have not yet been articulated. This article advances the concept by delineating three interrelated levels of micro-practices that can make co-centering more explicitly teachable in family therapy clinical training. Clarifying these micro-practices supports both beginning and experienced therapists in responding with greater intentionality to families’ affective and nonverbal processes.