Stories we tell each other: A comparison of families' and their therapists' explanations of presenting problems

Abstract

This study reports the explanations of presenting problems given by 10 mothers of children referred to a department of child and family psychiatry and their therapists. Video-recordings of therapists' pre-session meetings and the initial therapy sessions were searched for explanatory statements. These statements were then coded. It was found that therapists referred to past events, present circumstances, relationships, and possible future events in their explanations of presenting problems significantly more frequently than mothers. It was rare for mothers to speak in terms of past or future events at all. The mothers explained difficulties in terms of character traits significantly more often than did the therapists. The implications of these findings are discussed.