Narrative Identity

topic

Narrative identity is the internalized, evolving story a person constructs of their own life — integrating the past (where they have been and what they have experienced), the present (who they are now), and the anticipated future (where they are going) into a coherent narrative that provides the psychological coherence, continuity, and sense of directedness that constitute identity at the deepest level. Dan McAdams' research establishes the quality of the life narrative (whether it is characterized by contamination sequences — good turning bad — or redemption sequences — bad turning to good through meaning-making) as a primary predictor of psychological wellbeing.

Role

Narrative identity is the meaning dimension that therapy most directly addresses through the re-authoring of life stories — with narrative therapy's fundamental insight that the problem-saturated story a person tells about their life is not an objective account of their history but one possible narrative among many, with different selections, emphases, and interpretive frames producing stories of incompetence and victimhood or stories of resilience and growth from identical biographical facts. The ability to construct a redemption narrative — to find the thread of growth, learning, or meaning that runs through even the most difficult experiences — is among the most powerful psychological resilience resources available and one that can be deliberately developed through narrative practices.

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