Does the Model Overarch the Narrative Stream?

Source: (2006) In, Harrman, Margaret S., editor, Handbook of Mediation: Bridging Theory, Research, and Practice. Blackwell Publishing pp.217-224

On the other hand, such a reading does not preclude it from serving a useful purpose. It merely cautions against reading it in too grand a way. We would view the model as a perhaps useful way to organize a range of ideas about mediation into a relatively comprehensive account. As a “narrative” it attains a certain quality of being convincing and therefore plausible, on the grounds of its relatively comprehensive coverage. But we would caution that any narrative, any model, must leave some things out, distort some things, privilege some things over others, and squeeze some things into categories where they fit uncomfortably, simply in order to maintain coherence .This model is no exception. From the perspective of narrative mediation, there are many elements of mediation practice as we conceive of it that are not represented here, or can only be represented through performing some contortions of reinterpretation. In a way, we do not expect anything otherwise. And we are grateful for the opportunity to articulate some different assumptions in response to the model. In this way, it is indeed very useful to us. After exploring a little further some of the assumptions built into this model, this will be the main thrust of the chapter. We shall seek to make use of the model in order to articulate further a narrative perspective in mediation. We shall pose the question of how the model works from the point of view of narrative mediation, including asking about what aspects of a narrative approach might get emphasized, distorted or excluded in this model. (excerpt).