Some functions of narrative in the assimilation of problematic experiences.

We present three current, complementary formulations of the assimilation model: (a) the schema formulation, based on cognitive developmental concepts: (b) the voices formulation, in which assimilation is understood as the construction of a meaning bridge between active internal voices; and (c) the cognitive science formulation, which uses cognitive concepts of memory types to understand the failure of memory in cases of warded-off and avoided experiences. These views of assimilation are used to understand the varied functions that narratives (stories about real or imagined events outside of therapy) may play in psychotherapy, including narratives that avoid encounters with threatening material, narratives that approach such material indirectly or symbolically, narratives by which clients reexperience trauma, and narratives that help construct a mature understanding.