Narrative in the Study of Resilience

Abstract

The authors trace the contribution of narrative studies to the study of resilience. Narrative studies infiltrated the mental health field more slowly than they did the medical and social sciences, despite its long reliance on "talking therapies. " With the development of the Adult Attachment Interview, however narrative studies began to come into their own in developmental psychology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis. Narrative studies are an especially apt tool in resilience studies. The authors discuss their use in this context, considering also some theoretical questions about the nature of narrative and its implications for psychotherapy.