Counseling Theories Within a Postmodernist Epistemology: New Roles for Theories in Counseling Practice

Counseling theories have traditionally been considered within a modernist epistemology. Reconsidering theories from a postmodern vantage point opens up new possibilities for theory utilization in the counseling process. The author discusses 3 of these possibilities—theories as narrative structures, theoretical truth redefined as pragmatic utility, and egalitarianism in the counseling relationship—along with their implications for counseling practice.