Postmodern and critical theories have become important theoretical paradigms encouraging therapists to honor diversity and combat oppressive social structures and practices. However, at times, these two paradigms have been thought to position therapists in contradictory ways, with critical models advocating for activism and postmodern models encouraging pluralism. In many ways, these two therapeutic positions have come to characterize two distinct ways of conceptualizing therapist roles, with little conversation about how to embrace both stances in clinical practice. Through a grounded theory analysis, fifteen family therapists known for working within postmodern and critical paradigms shared with us how they navigate between positions of activism and pluralism in clinical practice. We found that therapists described their work in similar ways, engaging in a set of shared constructionist practices: therapist transparency, Inquiry as intervention, and staying experience near, and also employed therapeutic activism in different ways, with counter activism and collaborative activism representing two distinct stances.
Keywords: postmodernism, critical theory, collaborative activism, social justice
","abstract_html":"<p>Postmodern and critical theories have become important theoretical paradigms encouraging therapists to honor diversity and combat oppressive social structures and practices. However, at times, these two paradigms have been thought to position therapists in contradictory ways, with critical models advocating for activism and postmodern models encouraging pluralism. In many ways, these two therapeutic positions have come to characterize two distinct ways of conceptualizing therapist roles, with little conversation about how to embrace both stances in clinical practice. Through a grounded theory analysis, fifteen family therapists known for working within postmodern and critical paradigms shared with us how they navigate between positions of activism and pluralism in clinical practice. We found that therapists described their work in similar ways, engaging in a set of shared constructionist practices: therapist transparency, Inquiry as intervention, and staying experience near, and also employed therapeutic activism in different ways, with counter activism and collaborative activism representing two distinct stances.</p> <p>Keywords: postmodernism, critical theory, collaborative activism, social justice</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["White, Justine Anne"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Marital and Family Therapy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Knudson-Martin, Carmen","Huenergardt, Douglas","Oloo, Winetta Baker","Tuttle, Amy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:15Z","subjects":["Counseling","Psychology","Postmodernism; Family Psychotherapy; Family Therapy; Psychoanalytic Interpretation; Psychological Theory; Self-Assessment","Collaborative Activism","Social Justice","Critical Theory","Family Therapy; Activism; Therapist Transparency"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/185","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Knudson-Martin, Carmen","Huenergardt, Douglas","Oloo, Winetta Baker","Tuttle, Amy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["White, Justine Anne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Marital and Family Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Counseling","Psychology","Postmodernism; Family Psychotherapy; Family Therapy; Psychoanalytic Interpretation; Psychological Theory; Self-Assessment","Collaborative Activism","Social Justice","Critical Theory","Family Therapy; Activism; Therapist Transparency"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/185"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Postmodern and critical theories have become important theoretical paradigms encouraging therapists to honor diversity and combat oppressive social structures and practices. However, at times, these two paradigms have been thought to position therapists in contradictory ways, with critical models advocating for activism and postmodern models encouraging pluralism. In many ways, these two therapeutic positions have come to characterize two distinct ways of conceptualizing therapist roles, with little conversation about how to embrace both stances in clinical practice. Through a grounded theory analysis, fifteen family therapists known for working within postmodern and critical paradigms shared with us how they navigate between positions of activism and pluralism in clinical practice. We found that therapists described their work in similar ways, engaging in a set of shared constructionist practices: therapist transparency, Inquiry as intervention, and staying experience near, and also employed therapeutic activism in different ways, with counter activism and collaborative activism representing two distinct stances.
Keywords: postmodernism, critical theory, collaborative activism, social justice
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Keywords: postmodernism, critical theory, collaborative activism, social justice
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/185"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"dc:subject":["Counseling","Psychology","Postmodernism; Family Psychotherapy; Family Therapy; Psychoanalytic Interpretation; Psychological Theory; Self-Assessment","Collaborative Activism","Social Justice","Critical Theory","Family Therapy; Activism; Therapist Transparency"],"dc:title":["Navigating Postmodernism & Critical Theory in Family Therapy"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Marital and Family Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:15Z"}