What Is Narrative Therapy? Goals And Techniques

Narrative therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic approach that focuses on exploring how people understand their lives. It was developed by Michael White and David Epston in the 1980s. The foundation of narrative psychotherapy is based on Michael Foucault’s theory of power which proposes that how an individual understands their experiences is shaped by the popular ideas in the society. 

Often, when people enter therapy for the first time, they come to discuss a list of mental health-related problems. For example, Divya consults a therapist because they are feeling anxious and experiencing difficulties at work and in relationships. In narrative psychotherapy, instead of giving a diagnosis and prescription, the therapist seeks to understand the story of Divya’s anxiety. 

A narrative therapist may ask questions like “When did the anxiety start to become a problem?”, “was there a time when you were not feeling the anxiety? “what is the anxiety saying to you?” to uncover and examine these stories and how they are formed.  

In narrative therapy, a therapist does not think of themselves as an expert on the client’s life – instead, they seek to understand the client’s experiences by asking questions, exploring the stories they tell about themselves, and collaborating with the client to reauthor those stories so that they can live life on their own terms.

Goals Of Narrative Therapy

The principles of narrative psychotherapy assert that problems do not lie within the individual but are manufactured within society. Instead of being a problem, narrative psychotherapy views individuals as responding to the problems created by oppressive forces in the world.  

For example, Divya may wonder along with their therapist about under what circumstances the anxiety comes to visit them. They may discover that they feel anxious when they want to express their thoughts and feelings to other people. The anxiety prevents them from speaking their mind, creating a myriad of problems in work and relationships. 

Upon further contemplation, Divya may discover that they fear being rejected for their views – something that has happened to them before because of their non-conforming views on various topics. The therapist may reflect with Divya about how conformity has been framed as a condition to feeling a sense of belonging within society – and how Divya may have paid a price by rejecting it.

As the client starts to explore the stories about their lives, the narrative therapist helps them to examine the language used by them to describe their problems. The narrative therapist helps the client to locate the problem outside of them. It empowers the client to move away from the popular ideas of society about how one should live their life towards their preferred ways of living. 

Hence, by collaborative inquiry with the therapist, Divya may frame their experience with anxiety as a response to societal rejection of their non-conforming views rather than a problem within them. Slowly, Divya can work with the narrative therapist to develop a different relationship with the anxiety and how they would like to engage with it.

Techniques Used In Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy uses a variety of techniques to examine client stories and help them create new ones that are authentic to their lives. These techniques are not implemented in a rigid manner – like the premise of narrative psychotherapy, the techniques used in it are dynamic and open-ended; catered to each client’s unique needs and preferences. Some of these techniques are discussed below: 

1. Joining: This technique is applied in the initial stage of narrative psychotherapy to foster client-therapist relationship. The therapist positions themselves as a collaborator to the client by asking questions about their unique experiences. 
2. Unique Outcomes or Expectations: As the client and the therapist explore the stories related to the problem, the therapist asks questions to check if there was a time when the client did not have a problem and/or responded to it in a different manner than usual. For example, a therapist may ask questions like “When did you encounter the problem for the first time?”, “Has there been a time when you were effectively able to deal with the problem?”, etc.     
3. Externalization: Here, the client and the therapist learn ways to see the problem separately from the person who is experiencing it. It may look like giving the problem a name, thinking of it as a character present in the room, etc.
4. Deconstructive Questions: The therapist asks questions to understand how dominant narratives shape the client’s experience, and what are the client’s personal preferences and knowledge about the problem instead. These questions also seek to understand the impact of the problem on the client and how they would like to engage with it. For example, “How does the problem interfere with your goals”, “In what circumstances, the problem is most likely to show up?”, etc. 
5. Reauthoring Questions: The reauthoring questions aim to strengthen the alternative stories that support the client’s preferred ways of being. The questions allow the client to break out of the dominant narratives and be in alignment with their own hopes, dreams, and values. For example, a therapist may ask “What would your life look like without the problem?”. 
6. Preference Questions: These questions help to understand the client’s preferred ways of being and what resources might be needed to support them. For example, “How would you like to engage with the problem next time it shows up?”
7. Reconnection Interviews: The therapist may encourage the client to ask people they trust about what they think about how the client engages with the problem. This helps the client to gain perspective beyond their problem-focused lens, affirms their strengths, and fosters better relationships with their community. The client may also acquire wisdom from the people they trust about how to engage with the problem outside the societal norms. 
8. Letter Writing: The therapist may occasionally write short letters to the client to share their point of view about the client’s journey. Typically, in these letters, the therapist affirms the client’s progress and highlights their strengths.   
9. Definitional Ceremonies: Occasionally, a therapist may ask the client to invite their trusted people to witness the alternative stories they have created in the therapy. The participants are asked not to congratulate the client but to ask questions about their journey to affirm and strengthen their new ways of being. 

In conclusion, narrative psychotherapy is focused on the meaning-making experiences of an individual. It is a non-pathologizing, strength-based approach to psychotherapy that locates an individual’s problems in a larger sociopolitical and cultural context. By understanding the impact of dominant narratives on our personal experiences, we may begin to consciously transform them to lead a more authentic and purposeful life. 

If you are interested in exploring narrative therapy for yourself - check out Mave Health’s Therapy Club! – India’s largest mental health platform that makes good mental health a priority. At Mave Health, you can find a qualified narrative psychotherapy practitioner who can meet your mental health needs. Start your mental health journey with Mave Health today. 

References: 

Morgan, A. (2002). Beginning to use a narrative approach in therapy. International Journal of Narrative Therapy & Community Work, 2002(1), 85-90.

Rice, R. H. (2015). Narrative therapy. The SAGE encyclopedia of theory in counseling and psychology, 2, 695.