Storytelling functions as a means for making sense of and reframing difficulty. The translational storytelling heuristic of communicated narrative sense-making theory proposes that storytelling interventions which facilitate narrative reflection, positive re-framing, and interactional sense-making will positively benefit individuals and families. In this article we describe the process of synthesizing CNSM theory with narrative medicine, narrative theory of identity, and narrative therapy to create a translational storytelling intervention called narrative connection. We then offer a case study using an adaptation of this intervention in the context of parenting. Nine parents in two groups completed the three-week narrative parenting intervention. Preliminary results of the case study suggest that the intervention resulted in an overarching sense of solidarity among parents, facilitates feeling understood, contributes to deeper (self) awareness, and facilitates reassurance, reframing, curiosity, and validation. Overarching benefits included feeling not alone and future plans to be more vulnerable with other parents.

Guided by Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and Communication Theory of Identity (CTI), the purpose of this study was to investigate how families communicatively negotiate religious differences and how that negotiation is related to parent-child relational solidarity. Specifically, we examined the direct effects of (non)accommodative communication on relational solidarity and indirect effects digitalcommons.unl.edu

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Metaphors provide the opportunity to make sense of our experiences and share them with others. The current research qualitatively examined interviews with adoptive parents who had adopted through intercountry or private adoptions. Throughout their interviews, each participant used at least one metaphor in describing their experiences of adopting and raising their child. Overarchingly, the metaphor of “Adoption is a journey” encapsulated parents’ experiences. To demonstrate the journey, parents used metaphors to describe the past, present, and future. Metaphors of the past focused on their child's trauma and the origin of how the child came to join their family. Metaphors used to describe the present were challenge metaphors, including child's behaviors and finding support, coping metaphors, and balance metaphors. Lastly, metaphors of the future included guiding and commitment metaphors. In addition to metaphors, parents used symbolic rituals to connect their children with their past and current family. From metaphors, we offer several practical implications for postadoption intervention. First, interventions should be developed to meet participants where they are. Second, interventions should focus on the overall picture of adoption, as parents make sense of their past experiences and their ideals about the future. Lastly, services should focus on tools, not fixes.

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