Kristin's Journey Through Breast Cancer: A Social Constructionist Perspective

Marriage and family therapists are often not prepared for clients entering therapy with chronic illness. This article chronicles an individual's journey through the psychological experience and survival of breast cancer. It also addresses some of the issues and problems persons with breast cancer may experience, taking their spouses and families into consideration. Throughout this paper a distinction is made between the illness experience, the illness behavior and the illness meaning. This is accomplished against a social psychological backdrop of the definitions given to the illness and the resultant scripts taken on by the individual, the couple and family members. A visualization component to a four stage therapeutic model based on social constructionist assumptions is then presented. The model is illustrated by the case material throughout.