Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy is a powerful tool that centres people as the experts in their own lives. It views problems as separate from people and assumes people have many skills, capacities, beliefs, values, and abilities that can be used to build a healthier, more balanced life.
The Story:
Everyone has a story. There are stories about childhood, stories about messy teenage years, and newer stories that all combine to tell us who we are and what we are capable of. There are stories that we tell about ourselves, stories that are told about us by other people, and stories that are told by society about values, morals, and worldviews.
Whoever is telling the story has the power. They can choose to leave out things if they want to. They can choose to highlight certain people or events. That is why it is important to consider the author of our stories and question what they may be leaving out. This is especially important when we are authoring our own stories.
The Lesson:
More than the stories themselves are the lessons we take from our stories. Stories offer lessons about right and wrong, good and bad, limits and boundaries. Often, these lessons can be things like “I am a bad person” and “I am not good enough.”
These lessons sometimes go back to our childhood, and people can go through their whole lives without ever challenging these lessons. Imagine you are 5 years old, and you learn the lesson that you are not good enough. For the rest of your life, you may blame yourself for things you do not deserve and believe that you are the problem when things go wrong. That is why it is so important to question the lessons we take from our experiences.
Re-authoring:
So, how do you change the narrative? By looking for exceptions. The pieces that do not fit into your story challenge the lessons that have built up over time. For example, if you learned the lesson that “people will only hurt me,” you would want to look for an example of a person who made you feel safe. It may be a teacher or other professional, a more distant relative, a friend; anyone who does not fit the mould you have cast to fit the narrative.
If you learned the lesson that “I am not good enough,” you would want to look for examples of times when you did something well. It could be a test in school, a special talent, a sport or a video game you played, anything that allowed you to experience a sense of accomplishment.
By starting small and challenging the lesson, slowly the story begins to change. You begin to see yourself differently and can begin to tell a new story. One that you write yourself and captures how awesome and capable you really are.
Externalizing:
A key aspect of Narrative Therapy is externalizing. This refers to taking parts of the problem or yourself and creating a character to embody it. For example, if you have a lot of anger and have challenges with emotional regulation, you could create a character to represent your anger. Then, you use the character as a frame to talk about your feelings.
Let’s say you use the name “Timmy” to represent your anger. You would talk about what Timmy did when he got angry, how Timmy feels about what he did, etc. This allows for a separation of you from the problem, allowing you to create a new sense of self, as well as making it easier to talk about and process your feelings and experiences. This can be a helpful tool in beginning to tell a new story.
Using Narrative Therapy in Small Groups: ACT’s New Kaleidoscope Crew 2SLGBTQIA+ Teen Group
Narrative Therapy can be used with anyone. It can be a particularly effective tool in working with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This is because members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community naturally tell their own stories.
To identify as a member of the community, one needs to reject stories about heteronormativity and tell their own story about who they are, who they love and how they can take up space in the world.
ACT’s new 8-week group is rooted in narrative therapy and offers a supportive and affirming space for 2SLGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent youth to explore identity, community and mental well-being.
By connecting personal narratives with 2SLGBTQIA+ history and understanding how intersecting identities (such as neurodiversity) shape experience, participants can begin to reclaim their own story and develop a stronger sense of belonging, empowerment and self-understanding.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can visit https://actlearningcentre.ca/group-programs/#lgbtq for more information.
Lucas Snell, MSW, RSW
ACT Learning Centre Social Worker
Our Mental Health team is currently accepting new clients! To learn more and get started, visit https://actlearningcentre.ca/intake/.