This thesis documents a qualitative research study of twenty postmodern therapy practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on their experiences in the wider field of therapy. The participants were aligned in their subscribing to postmodern critiques of therapy as a instrument of power, and in their interest in, and use of, therapy techniques and approaches that have grown out of those critiques – including narrative therapy, critical psychology, “Just Therapy”, and feminist poststructuralist therapy approaches. I argue that these practitioners represent a social movement within the field of therapy. The thesis examines the nature of the wider therapy field in Aotearoa New Zealand, analysing the perspectives of the participants. I demonstrate how this field has become increasingly dominated by the twin forces of neoliberalism and bio-science, making postmodern therapy work difficult, particularly within public sector services. In the final substantive part of the thesis, I critically examine and appraise the strategies used by participants to negotiate and resist these forces. This discussion is divided into two main chapters, dealing first with the participants who have difficulty in engaging in official politics and who consequently attempt to operate “under the radar” of management surveillance: these participants are characterised as “battlers”, “burn-outs” and “blow-outs”. Then, I turn my attention to the second group of participants – “infiltrators”, “outsiders” and “accepters” – who strategically utilise symbolic capital to pose resistance, or simply leave the public system. I also consider the professed abilities of this second group to cultivate a postmodern sensibility and to tolerate contradiction and compromise. I conclude this investigation of the possibilites for resistance to neoliberal and bio-scientific discourses by recommending greater strengthening of this local postmodern therapy movement.

Esta pesquisa busca explorar a relaÃÃo entre narrativa e transformaÃÃo na psicoterapia, atravÃs do significado que clientes da ClÃnica Escola de Psicologia da UFC, que jà vivenciaram experiÃncias traumÃticas, atribuem: ao processo psicoterÃpico, Ãs mudanÃas percebidas, ao terapeuta inserido no processo de transformaÃÃo e à importÃncia de se narrar no setting terapÃutico. AlÃm disso, consideraram-se as implicaÃÃes culturais nas histÃrias pessoais, percebendo, assim, a narrativa nÃo sà como uma produÃÃo individual, mas tambÃm histÃrica e relacional. O referencial teÃrico utilizado foi o da Psicologia Narrativa, que postula que a experiÃncia humana se faz inteligÃvel quando transformada em narrativa. No campo da psicoterapia, essas formulaÃÃes vÃo influenciar as terapias pÃs-modernas, tais como a Terapia Narrativa e a Abordagem Colaborativa. Os principais autores utilizados nesta pesquisa foram: Harlene Anderson, Harold Goolishian, Michael White, David Epston, John McLeod, Jerome Bruner, Kenneth Gergen e Marilene Grandesso. Dentro deste vasto campo de estudo, pressupÃe-se que a construÃÃo de narrativas, por sua capacidade de gerar significados, à terapÃutica em si. Esta pesquisa transcorreu mediante trÃs entrevistas semiestruturadas, que foram transcritas e submetidas a uma anÃlise temÃtica. Observou-se que esses clientes chegaram à clÃnica com ideias preconceituosas a respeito da prÃtica psicoterÃpica, mas, ao longo do tempo, tornaram-se extremamente comprometidos com a terapia, reconhecendo o papel fundamental que esta desempenhou na mudanÃa de suas atitudes e significados atribuÃdos a suas realidades e a si mesmos. O terapeuta à visto, neste processo, como um facilitador que explora conteÃdos antes nÃo percebidos, mediando o diÃlogo do cliente com ele mesmo. A narrativa aparece na clÃnica como uma construÃÃo de sentido propiciadora de liberdade, levando a processos de ressignificaÃÃo, reautoria e reorganizaÃÃo da experiÃncia. / This research aims to explore the connexion between narrative and transformation in psychotherapy, through the meanings that the clients from the ClÃnica Escola de Psicologia da UFC, who have experienced traumatic experiences, ascribe to: the psychotherapeutic process, the perceived changes, the therapist as a part of this process, and the importance of narrating in the therapeutic setting. Furthermore, it is important to analyze the cultural implications into personal stories. This way, it is possible to perceive the narrative not only as an individual production, but also as a historical and relational process. The theoretical framework used was the Narrative Psychology that points out that human experience becomes intelligible when transformed into narrative. In the field of psychotherapy, this theory contributed to the emergence of the postmodern therapies, which have as important icons the Narrative Therapy and Collaborative Approach. Some of the most important authors used in this research were: Harlene Anderson, Harold Goolishian, Michael White, David Epston, John McLeod, Jerome Bruner, Kenneth Gergen and Marilene Grandesso. Within this broad field of studies, it is assumed that the construction of narratives, by its ability to generate meanings, is therapeutic in itself. This study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with three clients. The interviews were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. It was then observed that in the beginning, all clients had some prejudice about the practice of psychotherapy, and over time, they become extremely committed to the therapy, which played a key role in changing attitudes and meanings ascribed to themselves and their realities. The therapist is seen in this process as a facilitator who explores some contents that were not perceived before, mediating the dialogue between the client and himself. The narrative emerges in the psychotherapy as a construction of meaning that leads to a sense of freedom, and prompts processes of resignification, agency and reorganization of experience.