Narrative Therapy

Unfolding Your Story

What is Narrative Therapy?

Narrative therapy is a style of therapy that helps people become and embrace being an expert in their own lives. In therapy we explore the stories that you develop and carry with you throughout your life, the meaning to those experiences, and how they influence how you see yourself and the world around you. The goal of this style of therapy is to help people find their voice and develop a healthier, more positive narrative.

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You can hold multiple stories at once, such as the story of your self-esteem, your abilities, love relationships, your career. Our inner narrative is important as it helps inform, and understand our daily life experiences. They become an issue when a problematic or unhelpful story plays out in our lives over and over. We want to skip this chapter in the book, but our thumb keeps finding its way back to that page.  Narrative therapy helps you heal and move past problematic narratives that are playing out in your life. 

Key Points of this Therapy Style Include:

  • Respect: It can be very difficult to step forward and tell your story. In therapy, you and your experience are treated with respect to work through your life's challenges.

  • Non-blaming: We do not focus on placing blame during the exploration of your story. We also encourage you not to place blame on others. Instead, we focus on recognizing and changing unwanted and unhelpful stories about themselves and others.

  • You are the Expert on You: In a session, we work together in collaboration to help you grow and heal. Narrative therapy holds the belief that you know yourself well and better than anyone, and exploring what you know about yourself will allow for change and healing.

What is a Narrative Therapy Session Like?

A Narrative Therapy session involves talking about your problems as well as your strengths. We will work together to explore the dominant story in-depth, discover how it may be contributing to emotional pain, and uncover strengths that help you approach problems in different ways. We will also work to reevaluate your judgments about yourself. Sometimes people carry stories about themselves that have been placed on them by others. Narrative therapy encourages you to reassess these thoughts and replace them with more realistic, positive ones. We will also focus on separating yourself from your problems. This process helps you learn to give yourself credit for good decisions made, or behaviors that bring you closer to living as your most authentic self.

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How Can Narrative Therapy Help Me?

Narrative therapy challenges dominant problematic stories that prevent people from living their best lives. 

The Benefits of Narrative Therapy Are:

Identifying alternative stories

  • Expanding your views of self

  • Challenge old and unhealthy beliefs

  • Developing strength-based language to tackle issues

  • Open your mind to new ways of living that reflect a more accurate and healthy story

This process can look like:

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Telling Your Story

Through the telling of your life story, we begin to piece together the events and moments of your life and the meaning and impact that it had on you. As the story is stitched together, you become an observer to your own story and work to identify dominant and problematic narratives.

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Externalization

Putting the story together allows distance between you and the issue. This is called externalization. The distance allows you to focus on changing and understanding unwanted behaviors. Through externalization, you can become empowered to create capable change. We can use art making to support this process.

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Deconstruction

In therapy we deconstruct the narrative to help gain new perspectives. When a problematic narrative has been around for a long time, we may use general statements or get twisted about telling our own story, I work with you to break it down into smaller parts, adding clarity to the problem and making it more approachable.

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Unique Outcome

Sometimes stories can feel stagnant, and it feels like you may be stuck in a narrative that is impacting decision-making, behaviors, experiences, and relationships. When a story feels concrete like this, as if it could never change, any idea of alternative stories goes out the window. In Narrative Therapy, I work to help you not only challenge your problems but widen your perspective by considering alternative new stories.