Neuroplasticity, Performativity, and Clergy Wellness by Roozeboom William D.;

Author:Roozeboom, William D.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic

Chapter 4

Performativity and Plasticity

Storying Self Bi-directionally in the Embodied Brain Ecosystem

The idea that activity might change the heart or muscles is seldom questioned. The possibility that behavior could change the structure and function of the brain is seldom considered (Kolb, 1995, p. 5)

Human beings are meaning seekers and makers. As we encounter ourselves, others, and the world, we make sense of our experience by weaving together the events into a coherent narrative, a story. Furthermore, within the social constructionist, narrative theory, “storying” is not simply telling stories about one’s life, rather “storying” constructs one’s life (White & Epston, 1990; Freedman & Combs, 1996; Monk, Windslade, Crocket, & Epston, 1997). We live into the stories we tell and that are told about/around us.

Often, particularly in persons who seek help from mental health professionals and spiritual caregivers, the story of self (one’s identity) has become “problem-saturated” and “pathologized.” What this means is that individuals tend to focus exclusively on the negative aspect(s) of their experience and adopt limiting labels based on the cultural milieu of the medical model, which seeks to provide a precise diagnosis and treatment for an ailment (Goldstein, 2002; De Jong & Kim Berg, 2008). The medical model arose out of impressive achievements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as scientific discoveries made it possible to diagnose, treat, and prevent life-threatening diseases (De Jong & Kim Berg, 2008, p. 6). One of the most significant discoveries found during this time period was the link between bacteria and contagious disease by Louis Pasteur. In light of this research, physicians sought to help patients by diagnosing which diseases were causing their symptoms and then administering appropriate treatments (Ibid.). This was quite successful and the mortality rates for diseases like tuberculosis, cholera, tetanus, diphtheria, and typhoid were greatly reduced. Consequently, a new model for clinical practice of all forms was introduced—diagnose to seek out root causes and treat appropriately. This “medical model” continues to be the dominant framework for biological and mental health care (and often spiritual health care as well).

The diagnosis for root cause mentality becomes naïve, limiting, and often shaming for complex, particular persons in the postmodern milieu. Often, persons and medical professionals (and clergy) focus exclusively on one aspect of their own, or a careseeker’s, problematic experience, label it, and ignore contradictory layers of identity and experience that do not fit the problem story. The person and the story thus become problem-saturated. Narrative therapy seeks to expose the inherent bias of problem-saturation through externalization1 and help individuals see the other layers of their identity. Initially, the contradictory layers are “absent, but implicit” life-giving layers of a person’s story and thus are ignored, denied, or downplayed (White, 2007). Narrative theory reminds us that no single layer of one’s identity is all-encompassing; rather, persons are complex, multilayered, multi storied beings. When individuals get in touch with these absent stories, reclaim them, and reauthor and story them as part of a preferred future, they literally construct a new identity of self.

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