What is Narrative Therapy?

"How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light-bulb?" goes the old joke. "Only one. But it takes a long time, costs a lot of money and the light-bulb really has to want to change!"

Want to change? So who decides who I'm going to be instead? Does that mean I am a faulty model? I wonder how someone else can possibly know what would be best for me?

That is what is so nice about Narrative Therapy; I do not have to pretend that I know what is best for you. That's your expertise. My job is quite different. I have to "personalize" your problem. Mr. Depression, Lady Anorexia, Sir Percival Panic, old Mrs. Do-you-down, Triumphant Temper, the list is endless. I find out from you these rather inconvenient characters ways. "What do they say to you, what do they trick you into doing, when are they there and, even more important, when are they not there and how do you manage to keep them away?" Give the problem a name and then find out all about it because once it is visible it can no longer pretend to be 'inside' you.

Meanwhile my ears are trained to pick up all those wonderful things you do and you believe in that the problem is preventing you from doing/achieving. I notice them and I wander with you along their fertile path. "Oh, you said that you care for x, does that mean you believe in being a caring person, where else does caring come in to your life, who else knows that you are a caring person?" Little traces of your ideals, beliefs and values always shine through, even in the most trouble filled story. I catch those traces, I ask about them, I find out their history and look forward with you to a potentially rich future ahead for this new story line.

A two pronged approach, getting Mr. Problem into a place where you can adjust your relationship with him and, at the same time, finding out in rich detail all about the bits of you that Mr. Problem would rather overshadow.

Did you hear some talk of 'internalizing'? - Not with me! Why should I try to make you swallow a huge chunk of someone else's ideas and values? You have plenty of your own!
Did you hear some suggestion of 'illness', 'pathology', 'incompetence', 'addiction' etc.? No, you are living out one of your potential story lines. It might not be the most comfortable one for you, you might choose to plump for another version as you see clearly what other stories you can come up with, but it’s a plausible way of living- because, after all, you have been living it.

Narrative helps you travel through, explore and expand upon all the ways of being you and then you can choose ways which are the most attractive to you and go with them writing your next chapter as you journey along.