This presentation was done in 2009 as an assignment in one of my final courses required for licensing in the US. Given that I had already been practicing as a clinician in Canada for a number of years, I chose this topic to better understand Michael White\'s (Narrative Therapy) "scaffolding conversations" within the context of psychotherapy.

1. Zone of Proximal Development,
Scaffolding and
Directional Therapeutic Inquiry
LaSalle University – Psychology 504BA
April 29, 2008
Presented by: Mineela J. Chand

2. What is the problem...?
Narrative (a la Michael White & David Epston) is a
powerful way of working with people but not empirically
supported...like so many other clinical practice theories...
What is the “zone of proximal development” and
“scaffolding”?
Is there a way to intentionally direct conversation with a
client using therapeutic inquiry?

3. Thesis Statement
Provide understanding of zone of proximal development
(ZPD) and scaffolding
Brief review of literature
Attempt to connect ZPD and scaffolding to Narrative
practice
Implications for psychotherapy and therapist education

4. Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky defined the zone of proximal development as...
“the distance between the actual developmental level as
determined by independent problem solving and the level
of potential development as determined through problem
solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more
capable peers” (Vygotsky in Burkhalter, 1994, p. 5)
Therefore, acquisition of knowledge/skills occurs within a
social context.

5. In other words....
What is possible to know (upper limit)
What is known (lower limit)

6. Scaffolding
Scaffolding is the process by which a teacher guides a child
in incremental successive cognitive steps toward the upper
limit of the zone in collaboration with the child to reach the
target goal or skill (Belmont, 1989) using different
strategies (for example questioning and feedback).
Scaffolding can be likened to the structural scaffolding used
in the construction of a building before it is left to stand
independently.

7. In therapy....
What is possible to know (upper limit) – new possibilities, knowledge of self and
problem/life and skills of living; personal agency
Therapeutic inquiry – it’s all about the
questions therapists ask....
The questions create a chain of association
that leads to more complex ways of
thinking that involves establishing bonds
and relationships between each connected
piece in manageable increments.
What is known and familiar (lower limit) – “problem saturated stories”

8. White’s “Scaffolding Conversations Map”
What is possible to know (upper limit) – new possibilities, knowledge of self and
problem/life and skills of living; personal agency
Very High Plans for action
High Abstraction of learnings &
realizations
Reflections on chain of association,
Medium High
learnings, & realizations
Medium Unique outcome taken into chain of association
Low Characterizing the unique outcome
What is known and familiar (lower limit) – “problem saturated stories”

9. An example...
bio-mother
bio-father
therapist
Child – “Brandon” step-mother
best friend
step-father
teacher

10. In practice...
stand against “lying” and stand with “truth-telling”
Very High Plans for action (co-
Levels of distancing constructed solutions)
tasks
“I don’t have to play with lying when it asks
High me to come out and play”, “I can say ‘no” and
do things that don’t get me in trouble”
“wow! I can do it!”, “it feels good not to get into trouble”,
Medium High “see, I don’t always lie”, “I can do hard things that are right”
Medium “kept my privileges”, “avoided going to the principal’s office”, “didn’t
get mom and dad and my teachers mad at me”, “didn’t get into trouble”
“walking away from lying”, “telling the truth”, “hard but I did it”
Low
“figuring ‘who needs it’”, “not losing it”, “keeping one’s mind”
“lying gets me into trouble”, “I can’t not lie”, “it’s not my fault”, “I am a liar”

11. ZPD/Scaffolding Strategies in Therapeutic Context
Therapeutic alliance is collaborative, reciprocal, and dynamic (Vare, 1993)
Determine, with the client, the lower and upper limits of the ZPD (Seng,
1997); give words to/name the problem and the goal
Begin at the lower limit; starting somewhere else will not lead to sustained
change or generalizability (Belmont, 1998); starting at an upper limit will
require reminders and starting in the middle will lead to an inability to
generalize
Aim for a quality of relationship exemplified by genuine respect and care,
bringing a human(e) element into the process
Share responsibility with the client – you have yours and they have theirs!
– Theirs – to work just as/harder than you
– Yours – to scaffold appropriately
Check in with the client occasionally to make sure you are talking about
what is most vital to the client (Ge & Land, 2001)

12. ZPD/Scaffolding Strategies in Therapeutic Context
Set a positive emotional tone conveying warmth, respect, & listening attitude
(Shuster, 2000)
Build shared understanding by repeating client’s own words, restating, &
seeking clarity
Extend understanding by asking “meaningful, open-ended questions to
stimulate, provoke, expand thinking, and voiced limited conversation to a
sense of a ‘right’ answer” (p. 291)
Questions are powerful (Ge & Land, 2001); they can:
– Direct attention to information which may not have been previously considered
– Help represent the problem
– Make connections between resources and constraints
– Link to solutions
– Help think about alternative solutions and their viability
– Organize thinking
– Break down the problem into small steps