Nursing.

Experiential and Narrative Family Therapy

The Smiths, a family of five, present with their 14-year-old male son, Joshua, who is identified as “the patient.” Almost immediately, the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner notices the subtle struggle between the parents to be heard first, often talking over one another. Joshua finally blurts out, “You see, you two are crazy, and you think it’s me.” Joshua’s father immediately becomes angry, and Joshua’s mom is quick to rush to Joshua’s side. She begins to argue with her husband about his treatment of their son.

The Smiths and other clients like them may be candidates for both experiential therapy and narrative family therapy, and it is important to note that these are distinctly different therapeutic approaches. Experiential therapy examines experiences of the “here and now,” whereas narrative family therapy focuses on retelling one’s story to understand why one behaves in certain ways. When assessing client families and selecting one of these therapies, you must not only select the one that is best for the clients, but also the approach that most aligns to your own skill set.

This week, you compare experiential family therapy and narrative family therapy.

Assignment: Experiential Versus Narrative Family Therapies

Although experiential therapy and narrative  therapy are both used in family therapy, these therapeutic approaches have many differences in theory and application. As you assess families and develop treatment plans, you must consider these differences and their potential impact on clients. For this Assignment, you compare Experiential and Narrative Family Therapy.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Compare experiential family therapy to narrative family therapy


• Justify recommendations for family therapy

To prepare:

• Review this week's Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on experiential and family therapies.

The Assignment

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following: 

• Summarize the key points of both experiential family therapy and narrative family therapy. 


• Compare experiential family therapy to narrative family therapy, noting the strengths and weakness of each.


• Provide a description of a family that you think experiential family therapy would be appropriate, explain why, and justify your response using the Learning Resources. 

Note: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The sample paper provided by the Walden Writing Center provides examples of those required elements (available at  http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

Part 2: Family Genogram

Develop a genogram for the client family you selected. The genogram should extend back at least three generations (parents, grandparents, and great grandparents).