USE OF THE HEROIC JOURNEY NARRATIVE IN THE DIAGNOSTIC INTERVIEW AND TREATMENT WITH FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

The aim: To explore and corroborate personal and family narratives within the framework of "heroic journey", delineate function of the narrative in the diagnosis and treatment of families of children with special needs, and to describe the process of improving psychological well-being of these families. Materials and methods: The study material consisted of articles on the subject found in American and international databases (Springer, Thompson ISI's Web of Science, Scopus and PsycINFO, Google Scholar), using keywords "family and child psychotherapy", "heroic journey", "differentially able", "attachment", "narrative", "therapeutic storytelling". Two case vignettes, parents of a) a special-needs adult and b) a pre-teen psychotherapeutic patient, illustrate application of the heroic journey narrative in psychotherapeutic treatment. Conclusions: Formation of the narrative identity is simultaneously the ends and the means: while a parent is encouraged to tell the story repeatedly over time, a new narrative identity emerges. Purpose, roles, patterns, and the structure of the storytelling process are outlined. Increased coherence of the family stories leads to strengthening attachment patterns. Using personal and family narratives for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment; incorporating and interpreting stories told in treatment can become a useful tool in the clinicians' toolbox.