Narrative-Based Practice in Health and Social Care is a book which highlights the importance of a narrative-based conversation between healthcare professionals and clients in their everyday clinical practice. This book describes quite wonderfully the difference between a narrative- and a normative-based consultation between professionals and their patients, providing real-life scenarios throughout.
The book starts by portraying the friction that could result from the narrative the patient brings to the consultation as opposed to the normative approach the healthcare professional takes to understand and formulate a diagnosis of the patients’ symptoms. The author brings together the concepts of both narrative and normative conversations with patients, enabling professionals to understand their patients in the most meaningful and holistic way. The book emphasises that both approaches, when used together, allow both the healthcare professional and the patient to feel content at the end of their consultation.
My favourite chapter focuses on mental health. The author discusses how a narrative-based consultation helps professionals to understand the ‘story that fits the uniqueness of what each person is going through.’ This in turn leads to the diagnosis not just being a label but rather taking on the form of a whole narrative of the patient. The author covers various topics within the chapter, including depression and psychosis, and provides written case examples and narrative questions that we could all use in our day-to-day clinical consultations.
Overall, I would recommend all professionals and students who have regular encounters with patients to read this book if they would like to enhance their consultations.
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