Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy is a therapeutic approach that seeks to help people identify their values and the skills and knowledge they have to live these values, so they can effectively confront whatever problems they face. The narrative therapy approach views problems as separate from people and assumes people have many skills, abilities, values, commitments, beliefs and competencies that will assist them in changing their relationship with the problems influencing their lives. A therapist who specializes in narrative therapy will help their client co-author a new narrative about themselves by investigating the history of those qualities. Narrative therapy is a respectful, non-judgmental, social justice approach that ultimately helps individuals to externalize their issues rather than internalize them. Think this approach might be right for you? Reach out to one of TherapyDen’s narrative therapy experts today.

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Narrative therapy is a form of counseling that views people as separate from their problems and destructive behaviors. This allows clients to get some distance from the difficulties they face. With this 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 really are, what they are capable of, and what their purpose is, separate from their problems.

— Jayden Jackson, Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate in Fort Collins, CO

I believe that people are the experts of their own lives, and they have the power to rewrite their story. I utilize Narrative Therapy to externalize problems (i.e. problems are outside of a person's identity) in order to reduce stigma and shame about emotional expression. Similarly to a systems approach, Narrative therapy considers how the dominant culture and family/local influences impact well-being.

— Coriann Papazian, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Los Angeles, CA
 

I'm trained in narrative therapy, which is an approach that recognized that just telling your story can be a healing act-but that it's even more powerful when you get to re-author your life. You don't have to keep living the same story.

— Jessica Foley, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Waltham, MA

Narrative therapy helps people look at their concerns and realize that they can overcome them or not be affected by them as much as they used to be. It's a matter of shifting perspectives and thoughts into a healthier frame that we can then use to guide our mental health journey onto a more positive path.

— Courtney Cohen, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
 

Exploring the narrative of your life, connecting to the emotions carried with the narrative, allowing the emotions to take space & honoring them, learning to regulate them.

— Denisse Silva, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Campbell, CA

I encounter most concepts in life through a narrative lens and this has informed my work and study. I have pursued various opportunities to work under and research various Narrative Therapy practitioners and techniques. It is a goal of mine to continue to do this moving forward.

— Kenneth Ferguson, Marriage & Family Therapist in Oklahoma City, OK
 

I'm a passionate Narrative therapist; other therapists often comment that I bleed narrative work. Narrative therapy looks carefully at our socially-constructed beliefs about everything. Narrative work is about examining the stories we tell and how these stories constrain our experiences. Almost my entire grad school experience has focused on Narrative work and I'm adept at hearing and co-exploring with clients to see how their stories are and are not serving them and their relationships.

— David Lieberman, Marriage and Family Therapist Associate in Boulder, CO

I love narrative therapy because of how empowering it is. We're the script writers of our own lives, the narrators, and we have the power to change the perspective.

— Danielle Eaton, Counselor
 

Before we even have words, we are telling ourselves a story. Our minds, emotions, and our body are always learning and assigning meaning to the experiences we have, and this meaning impacts how we receive future experiences. Narrative therapy is about bringing this process out of the unconscious, where we can realign the broken or misunderstood ways we define ourselves, and craft a chosen story going forward.

— Mike Ensley, Counselor in Loveland, CO

Narrative Therapy has been a part of my approach to counseling since I started. I help clients to re-frame their life story and learn to walk in this new narrative. Trauma-focused Narrative Therapy can help clients move past the distorted self-beliefs that are the byproduct of trauma. Often, other therapies such as Art Therapy are integrated with Narrative Therapy.

— Jaclin Belabri, Licensed Mental Health Counselor in ,
 

I invite you to step into the earth of your story in the presence of a kind witness to the harm that you've suffered. It is here we most need others and often are the most alone. If you'll walk through how your story shaped you, influences the present, and intersects with the stories of others, life can make sense in a way it never has, and you can begin to create the life and relationships your heart longs for. My therapy style draws from Narrative Focused Trauma Care/Allender Theory.

— Cresaya E. Kingsbury @ Wild Foxgloves Counseling, Licensed Professional Counselor Associate in Bainbridge Island, WA

I love Narrative Therapy! This has been a treatment style i have actively made as part of my unique approach. Studying it and utilizing its main structure or more specific exercises to identify stories we tell ourselves or "rules" we live by and working as the editor to rewrite. Or to take the pen as we have been living by someone else's narrative, opinion and rules!

— Adalyn Wilson, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor
 

As a writer, I appreciate for its power in helping individuals reframe and rewrite their life stories in a more positive, empowering way.

— David Stahler, Clinical Trainee in New York, NY

Everyone has a story that they write and re-write over their lifetimes. Through narrative therapy, I allow clients a platform through which to identify, integrate, and build a relationship with the many parts of themselves.

— Yoojin Nam, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Buena Park, CA
 

Together we identify and engage the incremental steps leading in the directions you want to go, diminishing the power of problem narratives in the process. Todays climate is very difficult and Im hoping to accompany you along your path wherever it takes us.

— Eric Katende, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Los Angeles, CA

Through Narrative Therapy we use the story of your own life to find the pathway to healing. You are the expert in your own life. The stories of how you have handled challenges and obstacles are the key to what has shaped you into the person you are. We will use your strengths to develop skills to help you better navigate the challenges you currently face.

— Beck Pazdral, Counselor in Seattle, WA
 

I want to collaborate with you in reauthoring your story. Instead of emphasizing the problems, we will build space for solutions to be highlighted in your story. This allows us to reflect together on the elements of your journey you may have missed but don't want to forget. Together we can rewrite a story that centers the people, values, and strengths that have helped and guided you all along so you can reconnect with the relationships and community most important to you.

— Red Galura, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in San Diego, CA

To change one's narrative is to change one's point of view. Stepping outside of the negative stories we tell ourselves offers space to reframe experiences in a healthy way.

— Cole Prophet, Licensed Professional Counselor Intern in , OR
 

We often internalize what we are going through and this can create false narratives fueled by our emotions. In our work together, we will have passionate conversations that allow us to deconstruct, externalize, and find your voice to rewrite your unique and personal story in a way that encourages you to be the expert in your own life.

— Kimberlin Shepard, Psychotherapist in New York, NY

I embrace each of the stories we choose to lead. Sometimes, our stories can shift from ones that are enjoyable to ones of survival. I am here to help you get your life back on track and slay the monsters in your way.

— BRIANA MESSERSCHMIDT, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Los Alamitos, CA