Co-constructing Narratives using the ‘My Story’ Protocol

Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of being human (Keyon & Randall, 2001). In fact, stories contribute to our identity and provide a lens through which we view ourselves (McAdams, 2008). Stories are a way to make meaning out of traumatic events, such as in the case of having aphasia (Neimeyer, 2001). People with aphasia are disadvantaged in participating in this meaning-making experience due to their reduced language capacity — a necessary tool in storytelling. Speech-language pathologists (SLP) are particularly well suited for supporting identity renegotiation through narratives using their skills and expertise. Further, SLPs report having a role in supporting the renegotiation of identity in their clients with aphasia, yet also report not having the knowledge or skills to target such work directly (Strong, 2012). Generating personal narratives in therapy may be one way to target identity more directly. Interest in how the process of creating stories relates to identity renegotiation and improved well-being is gaining of interest in aphasia research and practice (Bronken et al., 2012; Kirkevold et al., 2014; Corsten et al., 2014; Corsten et al., 2015; Strong, Lagerwey, & Shadden, 2018). This poster will highlight one method of co-constructing narratives, the ‘My Story’ protocol (Strong, 2015). The premise of the ‘My Story’ protocol is that targeting communication and language through personal narratives about stroke and living with aphasia may impact identity in persons with aphasia, which may contribute positively to their adjustment to living with aphasia. The ‘My Story’ protocol was designed to co-construct and share a personal narrative about their life. The narrative used the following framework: “Who I was before my stroke and aphasia,” “My stroke and aphasia,” “Who I am today,” and “My future goals.”