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Narrative Therapy

Separate yourself from the problem and re-author the story you're living.

Overview

Narrative therapy starts from a simple move: you are not the problem — the problem is the problem. By externalizing what you're struggling with, we create room to examine it, question it, and choose a different relationship with it.

From there we look for the moments the dominant story doesn't account for — the exceptions, the strengths, the values already at work — and use those threads to build a fuller, truer story of who you are.

Who it helps

  • Clients who feel defined by a diagnosis, label, or past chapter
  • Those navigating grief, identity shifts, or meaning-making
  • Anyone wanting language for what they've lived through

What a session looks like

  1. 1Externalizing conversations that give the problem a name and shape
  2. 2Mapping the influence of the problem — and your influence on it
  3. 3Uncovering unique outcomes and building a preferred story forward

Often used for

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes narrative therapy different from talk therapy?
Narrative therapy treats the problem as separate from you. Instead of 'I am anxious,' we work with 'anxiety is doing this in my life' — which changes what's possible. From there we look at how the problem got its power, where it doesn't have as much power as it claims, and what you already do that reflects the values and identity you actually want to live from. It's less about diagnosis and more about authorship.
Is narrative therapy evidence-based?
Narrative therapy has a strong evidence base for depression, trauma, grief, family conflict, and identity-related distress, and it's widely used in community mental health, hospice, and cross-cultural settings. The research volume is smaller than CBT's, but outcomes are well-supported, particularly for clients who feel reduced to a diagnosis or story that doesn't fit them. Many of our clinicians blend narrative work with other evidence-based approaches.
Who tends to benefit most from narrative therapy?
Clients who feel defined by a label ('the anxious one,' 'the addict,' 'the failure'), people navigating grief or major identity shifts, and anyone whose story about themselves has gone flat or punishing. It's also a good fit if you're processing cultural, spiritual, or family-of-origin messages that shaped how you see yourself. If you've felt unheard or oversimplified by past therapy, narrative work often lands differently.
Do I need to be a good storyteller for this to work?
No. Your therapist does a lot of the structuring — asking careful questions, reflecting language back, and helping you notice threads you might not have named on your own. You don't need to arrive with a polished story. Most of the work is discovering, in real time, that your life is more textured than the dominant story has allowed for.

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