Narrative Therapy

There are so many different modalities of counselling therapies although, we only seem to hear of one or two of the more popular models. Over the next few weeks I'll be writing about some of my favourite kinds of therapy and variations on these. Many counsellors use a mixture of a variety of modalities they may use several different ones through the course of their practice. Some therapist and counselling practice only advocate one type of therapy. It is quite alright to phone ahead and ask the counsellor what type of therapy they practice.

One of my favourite kinds of therapy is Narrative Therapy.  Narrative therapy is as the name suggests all about Narrating your story to the therapist. It's a collaborative style of counselling where you are both equal contributors to counselling process. Traditionally Narrative Therapy is a free flowing therapy which doesn't have time limits. It is one of the few therapies that advocates self disclosure from the counsellor. It should be used sparingly with a therapeutic focus for example, a client may say, "Many years ago I had a pregnancy terminated....." the therapist might say "I understand how difficult that decision can be  I also had a pregnancy terminated. Its different for everyone.  How was this experience for you?". This kind of self disclosure often makes the client feel more at ease in sharing their story. Having a lived experience of this kind demonstrates to people that the knowledge that their therapist has comes from having similar feelings and having worked through them.  In this way the therapist becomes a role model. If the therapist hasn't had this experience or hasn't worked through their own emotions, they might say "I can't imagine how difficult that decision was for you, what was that like for you?"  One of the most important things in this kind of therapy is being genuine and open.

A narrative therapist may shed a few tears with you. This is an expression of genuine sorrow. The narrative therapist will then go away and examine what issues were bought up for them in sessions and why, in their professional supervision. The narrative therapist is not afraid of their own emotions and seeks to understand themselves as well as their clients. I think this is a very healthy approach to doing the job of counselling. As an Assistant in Nursing and a Support Worker  I have certainly shed a few tears with my clients particularly as they faced difficult times. Perhaps this is why narrative therapy is so appealing to me.

A narrative therapist will use all kinds of methods to assist a conversation to occur. They might use diary writing in which both the client and the therapist keep a diary of the sessions and how they felt about the therapy each week. A narrative therapist might ask you to write a letter to someone you are having difficulties communicating with. Another method used by narrative therapist is role playing.  Your narrative therapist might ask you to draw or paint something. Art therapy by the way is not about drawing pretty pictures it's more about expressing your feelings. This kind of therapy is very helpful to children who haven't yet developed the language skills to express their feelings verbally. A narrative therapist won't decide when the counselling is over, the client will decide. They might then organise a symbolic celebration to mark the end of the therapy.  I think Narrative therapy is a great therapy modality which should be used more often.

Michael White is one of the founders of Narrative Therapy. There is a real artistry to Narrative Therapy, it's very moving to watch a narrative therapist in action. You can see Michael and Salvador Minuchin here. Just listening to these two guys you can see the depth of Narrative therapy just in this snippet of their conversation. How considered these men are of the things they say to each other. Narrative therapy shows us the power of language. How we use it to define ourselves and our social environment. Your Narrative therapist will be interested in unlocking your subconscious mind and looking for ways in which you can change your story so you can be the best version of yourself.

If you are a therapist you can learn more about narrative therapy via this website. If you are a person seeking a Narrative therapist you can check with Australian Counselling Association and PACFA

References

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and Practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy. Belmont CA: Brooks/Cole.

Gerald, D., & Gerald, K. (2001). Basic Personal Counselling. Frenchs Forest NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Henretty, J. R., Currier, J. M., Berman, J. S., & Levitt, H. M. (2014). The Impact of Counselor Self-Disclosure on Clients: A Meta-Analyic Review of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61(2), 191-207.