Postmodern Counseling Theory

      Postmodern psychotherapists believe that it is difficult at best, and often impossible, for a mental health "expert" to be able to determine what is "psychologically healthy," since there is no truly objective measurement of mental health.  Postmodern approaches do not have a single founder. A few of the cofounders who had a large impact on postmodern therapy are:
Insoo Kim Berg
Steve de Shazer
Michael White
David Epston

    As in postmodern philosophy, art, architecture, and music, "deconstruction" is a dominant theme in postmodern psychotherapy. In psychological terms, "deconstructing" means to regard the "givens" we take for granted as true (for example, "adolescence is a time for teens to separate from their parents," or "if you don't earn a good living you're not successful") and carefully examine their usefulness/appropriateness from the client's point of view. Practitioners of postmodern therapy even question the "givens" of their own profession( the concept of transference and its relevance to working with clients), and try to pay particular attention to minimizing the unavoidable power of authority granted to the therapist by the client who comes seeking "expert" advice. This is done through working hard to be as collaborative with the client as possible.
     Postmodern therapy focuses on deconstructing common beliefs and examining their value in an individual’s life. For example, postmodern therapists question the definition of “mental health” as well as commonly held assumptions such as the definition of success and what it means to be an adolescent.
The relationship between patient and therapist is highly collaborative rather than authoritative. Change comes about primarily through open dialogue.

The three main types of postmodern therapy are:
Narrative Therapy — evaluates a patient’s thoughts and behaviors in the context of their culture and the story they have written for themselves
Solution-Focused Therapy — a short-term approach that focuses on creating solutions to problems rather than evaluating the root causes of those problems
Collaborative Language Systems — solves problems through talk and collaboration




The benefits of postmodern therapy are:
Postmodern therapy can help patients manage their mental health disorders and dramatically reduce symptoms. Patients have reported the following benefits:
Stress reduction
Improved insight and understanding
Conflict resolution
Greater sense of happiness and well-being
Postmodern therapy has been used to treat a variety of conditions, including:
Eating Disorders
Depression
Addiction
ADHD
Schizophrenia

References:

Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (9th ed. ed.). Belmont, CA:           Brooks/Cole CENGAGAE Learning.