A Study On The Spiritual Comfort Of Empty Nesters By Social Work Intervention In Rural Areas Under The Narrative Therapy Model

With the acceleration of the modernization process,the traditional economic structure and way of life in rural areas have undergone tremendous changes,a large number of people have migrated out,and the family structure has also changed.The traditional expanded family structure in rural areas is gradually changing to nuclear family,and "empty nest" has become an important form of the current family structure in China’s rural areas.At the same time,the"empty nest" has also caused a series of reactions.The family’s ability to respond to the spiritual needs of the rural elderly group has been weakened,which has brought a lot of psychological and physical pressure to the rural empty-nest elderly group.Emotional experiences and negative self-perceptions require social attention.At present,the services for the spiritual comfort of the rural empty-nest elderly are relatively lacking.Based on this,this study asks the following questions:Can the service of the narrative therapy model solve the spiritual comfort of the rural empty-nest elderly?Where does the service work and what resistances exist?How can we better improve the service effect?In this study,we selected the rural empty nesters as the target population and used the action research method,guided by the concept of narrative therapy,to conduct four service sessions for the case of the elderly in X village in Jinan City.We also conducted observations and summaries during the service,and explored effective intervention strategies for narrative therapy to intervene in the spiritual comfort of rural empty nesters.The study showed that the narrative therapy model was effective in improving the spiritual comfort of rural empty nesters,enhancing the sense of self-worth,strengthening social ties,and improving adverse emotions.By reflecting on the whole research process,the author elucidates the mechanisms of action of narrative therapy to enhance the spiritual comfort of rural empty nesters:first,externalization strives for initiative and weakens environmental control;second,rewriting brings open space and affirms personal value;third,witnessing consolidates selfidentity and rebuilds social connection;fourth,narrative satisfies emotional appeals.At the same time,there are many obstacles in the process of applying the narrative therapy model,specifically the difficulty of externalizing the problem and the difficulty of finding exceptions,which require social workers to apply the concept and techniques of narrative therapy flexibly.Finally,the author also suggests that in the process of applying narrative therapy,social workers should:clarify the scope of service interventions;control the strong desire to help people and manage expectations;clarify the treatment goals and control the direction of the dialogue in order to better utilize the function of narrative therapy and improve the service effect.