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Narrative Therapy Centre |
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Of Toronto |
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Review |
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Children, Trauma and Subordinate Storyline Development By Michael White International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work Responding to Trauma Part 2 -2005 Nos. 3 & 4 Click here to read this article
A short review by Ruth Pluznick….
It is with great pleasure that NTC links Narrative Voices readers with Michael White’s article, Children, Trauma and Subordinate Storyline Development. An article of great significance to practitioners hoping to engage narrative ideas and practices with children who have experienced trauma, Michael White poses the central question, “How can we ensure that children are not vulnerable to an experience of re-traumatization in the context of speaking about what they have been through”?
Beginning with the central premise of narrative therapy that our lives are multistoried, Michael White offers a way of working with children who have experienced trauma that does not confine them to the role of ‘passive recipient’. Instead he explores the rich territory of children’s responses to trauma, and this provides the foundation for what he calls “subordinate storyline development”. The responses of children to trauma (often unacknowledged) are viewed as “protests” to the violation of what is precious to them and this offers an entry point to learn more about what it is that children value in their lives and their hopes and dreams for themselves.
For example, a young boy steps in front of his mother in an attempt to protect her from abuse by her husband. While one might legitimately be concerned about the effects on the boy of the violence against his mother, a subordinate storyline might also emerge from an exploration of why it is important to the boy to intervene, what it says about what he values for his life, what is the history of these values, etc. Other examples might be elicited of times when the boy took actions in keeping with these values. A different relationship to the violence is being storied.
It is further possible to develop a subordinate storyline by looking at the knowledges and skills reflected in children’s responses to trauma and the social, relational and cultural genesis of these knowledges and skills (for example, the contribution of important figures in the child’s history)
According to Michael White, “Subordinate storyline development provides a foundation for action for children to proceed with their lives. As these subordinate storylines become more richly known and experienced, it becomes more possible for children to take initiatives that are in harmony with what they give value to, with what they intend for their lives, and that are shaped by the knowleges and skills that are of their own histories. It also becomes more possible for them to further develop their connections with those who are significant to them and with valued aspects of culture and history.” (p. 14).
Ultimately, a subordinate storyline is intended to offer possibilities for children to restore or develop a sense of personal agency in their lives. How the subordinate storyline develops is clearly mapped out by Michael White in this article and illustrated with examples from his own work. It is a very different way to think about and work with children who have experienced trauma. In an area of practice rife with ideas about the “damaging effects of trauma”, this article is a great inspiration and a reminder that children are always more than the problems they face.
Click here to read Michael White’s article.
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Children, Trauma and Subordinate Storyline Development |
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