What is Narrative Therapy?

• Narrative practice works around the idea that our lives are shaped by how we interpret our experiences
• Narrative holds up Story as the basic unit of experience, the way Cognitive does accurate thinking and Systems therapy focus is around family interaction
• Dominant culture discourses often disfavor unique individual narrative and focus on what we should be rather than on what we are.
• When challenges arise therefore problem becomes internalized as part of the person and can paralyze.
• Externalizing conversations are used to extricate problem from person and contexts are created where tactics of the problem are discussed as separate from person.
• Naming the problem, mapping and evaluating its effects motivate toward new strategies of action and justification of "Problems” presence helps uncover glimmers of a preferred hidden story .
• Telling and retelling elicit a richer story and a respectful curiosity opens up multiple entry points to this preferred narrative.
• This process of meaning making shapes Future.

Orah Ursula, is a Narrative practitioner living in Jerusalem.