Journal Potuguese Release - February 2024 - Flipbook - Page 32
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D: Yeah, we had to come here because she got a job here…(notices the mother's
tears) Mom, are you crying??!!!!
T: I think you were all very sad to have moved to another city. Nothing happened
as you expected...
A: He says I'm not a good mother, I feel very guilty. I do everything for them, I can
hardly even work…
T: Yeah... one of these evil ghosts' tricks is to make mothers feel guilty. They
disrupt the whole family's life.
D: Not my father’s life! He works and comes home late and just sits on the couch
watching TV, right mom? (Aurora laughs).
Looking for the influence that the problem has on the life of Daniel and his family,
I highlight the following excerpt:
T: What does he want for your life?
D: That I become evil? He wants me to be mean!!! (His eyes are wide open,
pointed at his mother).
It is important to note here the change in the child's expression that seems to
reflect on the influence the problem has on his life and suddenly discovering his
real purpose. And continuing:
T: And what does he want for your family?
D: He wants us to fight, stay in front of the TV alone, without talking to our
mother, without playing... He doesn't just disturb the family, he also goes
to my (maternal) grandparents' house. The most nervous is my
grandfather. He drives my grandfather crazy.
D: Mom, grandpa needs to come here too!
Michael White says that this type of conversation, through influencing questions,
compares to investigative journalism and its first objective is “to develop an
exposition of the corruption associated with abuses of power and privileges”
(White, 2012, p. 28) imposed by the problem. Like investigative journalists,
The Bad and the Good Ghosts: A Story of Reauthoring in Narrative Therapy with Children
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, February 2024 Release, www.journalnft.com, p. 2446.