What is Narrative Therapy? A Guide to Rewriting the Story
Narrative therapy is a collaborative, non-pathologizing approach to psychotherapy developed by Michael White and David Epston. It centers on the idea that people are not their problems. Instead, problems are external to the person and can be explored, understood, and transformed through storytelling.
This approach views identity as shaped by the stories we tell about our experiences. Often, when someone comes to therapy, the dominant story is one of failure, stuckness, or pain. Narrative therapy helps individuals unpack those stories, identify contradictions, and begin to imagine alternative narratives that are more aligned with their values and hopes.
Key Concepts:
Externalization: The problem is viewed as separate from the person (e.g., “Anxiety is showing up again,” rather than “I’m just an anxious person”).
Deconstruction: Breaking down overwhelming or vague problems into manageable parts to better understand their impact and origins.
Unique Outcomes: Highlighting moments that don’t fit the dominant, problem-saturated narrative — small acts of resistance, strength, or clarity.
Why It Works:
Narrative therapy can help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, support healthier relationships, and promote a greater sense of agency and self-compassion. Research has also shown its effectiveness in working with trauma, including the use of Narrative Exposure Therapy for PTSD (Carr, 1998).
As Resilience Lab notes, “Narrative therapy enables a separation of your identity from your issues, fostering growth and change” (Resilience Lab, 2023).
Whether used on its own or integrated with other therapeutic models, narrative therapy offers clients a powerful reminder: your story is not finished, and you have the right to shape how it’s told.
Kathleen Byrne, MA, EdS, MEd, PCLC
Resources
https://www.resiliencelab.us/thought-lab/narrative-therapy
Carr, A. (1998). Michael White's narrative therapy. Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, 20(4), 485–503
Narrative Therapy Vancouver School NTVS