Nothing is lost for us: narratives of psycho-social help of families raising children with disabilities

Abstract

Using a qualitative narrative paradigm, this article examines the narratives of psychosocial support provided to families raising children with disabilities. It presents data from a participatory action research study involving eight couples who participated in the family counselling process. The support process is reconstructed according to the stages of narrative therapy: problem-saturated history, deconstruction, externalization of the problem, and creation of alternative narratives. Understanding the phenomenon under analysis based on the narrative approach which allows us to understand that although couples face the difficulties of informal care or the acceptance of a child’s disability, positive family resources, the ability to manage the necessary services for the child, the deconstruction and acceptance of disability help parents overcome the challenges of informal care. The dynamics of experiences not only reveal a deeper understanding of the phenomenon but also help to plan the process of psychosocial help.