Three narrative-based coding systems: innovative moments, ambivalence and ambivalence resolution

Abstract

Narrative and dialogical perspectives suggest that personal meaning systems’ flexibility is an important resource for change in psychotherapy. Drawn from these theoretical backgrounds, a research program focused on the identification of Innovative Moments (IMs) - exceptions to the inflexible meaning systems present in psychopathological suffering - has been carried out. For this purpose, three process-oriented coding systems were developed: the Innovative Moments Coding System (IMCS), the Ambivalence Coding System (ACS), and the Ambivalence Resolution Coding System (ARCS). They allow, respectively, for the study of change, ambivalence, and ambivalence resolution in therapy. This paper presents these coding systems, the main findings that resulted from their application to different samples and therapeutic models, the main current and future lines of research, as well as the clinical applications of this research program.