Some functions of narrative in the assimilation of problematic experiences

We present three current, complementary formulations of the assimilation mo del: (a) the schema formulation, based on cognitive developmental concepts: (b) the voices formulation, in which assimilation is understood as the con struction of a meaning bridge between active internal voices: and (c) the c ognitive science formulation, which uses cognitive concepts of memory types to understand the failure of memory in cases of warded-off and avoided exp eriences. These views of assimilation are used to understand the varied fun ctions that narratives (stories about real or imagined events outside of th erapy) may play in psychotherapy, including narratives that avoid encounter s with threatening material, narratives that approach such material indirec tly or symbolically, narratives by which clients reexperience trauma, and n arratives that help construct a mature understanding. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.