Narrative therapy is a collaborative and non-pathologizing approach to counseling and psychotherapy. It views people as the authors—not just the subjects—of their own lives. The therapy centers around the idea that problems do not reside within a person, but are external forces that can be challenged and changed through storytelling.
Key techniques include:
- Externalization: Identifying the problem as something outside the person (“the anxiety is not you—it’s something affecting you”).
- Re-authoring: Exploring alternative narratives that reflect strength, resilience, and choice.
- Deconstruction: Breaking down dominant or harmful cultural narratives that shape one’s self-image.
- Unique outcomes: Identifying exceptions to the problem’s influence, no matter how small.
Narrative therapy is particularly effective for individuals dealing with trauma, depression, identity issues, or culturally inherited labels. It empowers clients to discover agency and meaning through the language they use and the stories they live by.
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