Narrative Therapy

I love Narrative Therapy because it can help you to explore the stories you have about yourself, others, relationships, food, your body, etc. I will support you in exploring where these stories come from and if they really serve you. Sometimes the stories we've internalized come from unhelpful family messaging and societal oppression. When you can deconstruct those stories, you get to have the power to decide what is right for you & live from that place of empowerment.

Everyone's story is different, and this approach focuses on how you want your story to be told. In sessions, we talk about the stories people have placed on you and reframe them to fit the version you want to tell instead.

In London, she participated in an intensive Solution-Focused and Narrative Therapy training at the Brief Institute. Having conversations co-constructing a narrative of self in the client’s life that fits with the client being likely to achieve their best hopes. It is a re-descriptive and value-honoring approach.

Our life is a story constantly written, with characters coming and going. In therapy, we will map your story, whether it is your individual story, relationship, or family story. We will work together to make “the problems” characters instead of part of your or a loved one's character so we can kick the “problem” out of your story.

You are the master of your own story and how you perceive the world around you. Narrative Therapy is all about reshaping and recontextualizing how you view the story of your life. Together we will go on a journey through your life to deconstruct the negative views you have about yourself. It’s my hope that we will be able to empower you by rebuilding how you see your life.

The field-defining work of Michael White and David Epston broadened my therapeutic toolkit and has greatly influenced my approach with clients. In addition to appreciating the democratic, participatory approach between client and therapist within narrative therapy, I also align with narrative therapy's emphasis on how realities are shaped by the stories we tell, by the explanations we give, and by the themes and plots we choose. My practice reflects this emphasis upon language as a "way in."

I am excited to be a participant in the 2023-2024 certificate program in Narrative Therapy through the Narrative Therapy Initiative (NTI)! I have been studying narrative therapy practices and find them to be a gentle and healing practice! As they say in Narrative Therapy, "The person is not the problem. The PROBLEM is the problem." This resonates with my whole-person view of therapy and the systems and environments that impact us, both negatively and positively.

Lucy Cotter, MFT, has a wholehearted commitment to narrative therapy and a passion for helping individuals and couples find freedom from old stories. As co-founder of the Narrative Counseling Center in Los Angeles, I have spent years dedicated to narrative practices that look at how stories get constructed and how people can get the upper hand in creating new stories for their lives.

As we go through our life, we build a narrative of our experience that frames how we perceive our decisions and relationships. Sometimes, these narratives are overly negative, narrow, or biased. I look forward to revising your narrative to one that is more inclusive, positive, and optimistic.

Narrative therapy is a form of counseling that views people as separate from their problems. This allows clients to get some distance from the issue to see how it might actually be helping them, or protecting them, more than it is hurting them. With this new perspective, individuals feel more empowered to make changes in their thought patterns and behavior and “rewrite” their life story for a future that reflects who they are, what they are capable of, and what their purpose is.

This therapy approach helps clients identify their values and use them to confront present and future problems. I believe that clients are the experts in their own lives and the problem is the problem (not the person). For example, instead of someone being “a depressed person” I see it as someone who “lives with depression”. Narrative therapy is especially empowering for BIPOC communities and LGBTQIA+ because it navigates systems steeped in racism, homophobia, white supremacy, and patriarchy.

I utilize Narrative Therapy while still embellishing the belief that you, the client are the expert in their own life. This core value is married with the belief that you are the author/ creator of your own story. When stories start to become more concrete and unchangeable, problems can start to appear. I will walk alongside you, the client, as your story is being un-authored, making space for a new one to be written.

I am a huge fan of letter writing. Sometimes it's writing a letter to someone you are having conflict with and never sending it. Or maybe burning it in the fireplace. Or it's a letter to your dad, who died 10 years ago. Or your younger self, letting her know that she did the best you could. Or maybe to your future self, letting her know that she is doing her best and that it's worth it to keep going. I think it can be so cathartic to get our thoughts and feelings out on paper.

Individual people and communities of all sizes understand their identity and purpose via the stories they tell. Narrative theory is about unpacking the stories we tell about ourselves and where they come from, societal stories, family stories, community stories. It's about actively choosing what stories we want to tell in the future. My practice of narrative therapy is informed by the work of Black feminists like The Combahee River Collective, Octavia Butler, and Toni Morrison.

My graduate training is primarily in narrative therapy, and my approach is to engage in self-exploration by taking an outside, curious perspective of ourselves and our stories, gain greater insight into the events that have shaped us, enrich our stories by recognizing our resilience, and use that knowledge and perspective to better define what we would like our futures to be.

This therapy approach helps clients identify their values and use them to confront present and future problems. I believe that clients are the experts in their own lives and the problem is the problem (not the person). For example, instead of someone being “a depressed person” I see it as someone who “lives with depression”. Narrative therapy is especially empowering for BIPOC communities and LGBTQIA+ because it navigates systems steeped in racism, homophobia, white supremacy, and patriarchy.

I use narrative therapy help people to identify their values and the skills associated with them. It provides the knowledge of their ability to live these values so they can effectively confront current and future problems. Is a style of therapy that helps people become—and embrace being—an expert in their own lives. In narrative therapy, there is an emphasis on the stories we develop and carry with us through our lives.

This therapy approach helps clients identify their values and use them to confront present and future problems. I believe that clients are the experts in their own lives and the problem is the problem (not the person). For example, instead of someone being “a depressed person” I see it as someone who “lives with depression”. Narrative therapy is especially empowering for BIPOC communities and LGBTQIA+ because it navigates systems steeped in racism, homophobia, white supremacy, and patriarchy.

We all have stories about ourselves, our relationships, and our sexuality. Sometimes these stories keep you stuck in anxiety, shame, guilt and disconnection. Using Narrative Therapy, I help you get to know these stories you have and begin to identify what you really believe and value. Narrative Therapy also involves looking at how your family, past partners, and societal messaging may impact these stories that hold you back.