Narrative Therapy
What Narrative Therapy is and how trauma-informed therapists may use it.
Narrative Therapy
What this modality focuses on
Narrative therapy is an approach that focuses on the stories people tell about their lives, their identities, and their experiences. It explores how these stories are shaped by family, culture, community, and systems of power, and how they may influence the way someone sees themself and their options.
Instead of viewing a person as the problem, narrative therapy often separates “the person” from “the problem.” The problem is seen as something that has effects on a person’s life, rather than as something that defines who they are. This can open space for noticing skills, values, hopes, and acts of resistance that may have been overshadowed by painful experiences.
Narrative therapy also pays attention to the language people use. Words like “always,” “never,” “broken,” or “weak” can create very narrow stories about what is possible. Narrative work may gently invite alternative language that makes more room for complexity, strength, and growth, while still honoring the impact of harm and hardship.
How it may support trauma survivors
For people who have experienced trauma or abuse, stories about the past and about who they are can become very heavy and self-blaming. Narrative therapy offers ways to explore these stories without forcing details, timelines, or labels. Some people find it helpful that narrative work can:
- Make space to acknowledge harm while still recognizing skills, courage, and survival strategies.
- Highlight ways someone may have resisted abuse, sought support, or protected themself and others, even in small or hidden ways.
- Explore how messages from abusers, family, community, or society may have shaped beliefs like “it was my fault” or “I am unlovable,” and consider whether those messages feel fair or accurate.
- Support people in crafting stories that include both pain and possibility, rather than only trauma or only “positivity.”
- Offer space to imagine preferred futures, values, and identities that feel more aligned with a person’s sense of self.
Many survivors appreciate that narrative therapy tends to be collaborative and respectful of autonomy. People may choose what parts of their story they want to explore, how much detail they wish to share, and what language feels safest and most honoring of their experience.
What sessions may typically include (neutral, gentle)
Narrative therapy sessions may be conversational and curious, with attention to your words, meanings, and experiences. While every practitioner has their own style, conversations in this approach may gently include:
- Exploring dominant stories: Talking about the main stories you carry about yourself, relationships, or specific events, and where these stories may have come from.
- Separating you from the problem: Using language that places the problem outside of you (for example, “the anxiety” instead of “my anxiety”) so there is more room to see how it shows up and how you respond to it.
- Noticing alternative stories: Looking for moments that do not fit the painful or limiting story—times of strength, support, protection, boundary-setting, creativity, or care.
- Examining outside influences: Reflecting on how culture, gender roles, family expectations, systemic oppression, or community norms may have influenced how you see yourself and your experiences.
- Re-authoring or re-storying: Gently shaping new or expanded stories about who you are, what matters to you, and how you relate to past experiences.
- Honoring preferred identities: Naming and reinforcing values and identities—such as “protective,” “caring,” “determined,” or “creative”—that feel more true to you than the problem-saturated stories.
How people can decide if this approach fits their needs
People may feel drawn to narrative therapy for many different reasons. Some find this approach meaningful if they:
- Feel weighed down by self-blame, shame, or harsh inner stories and are curious about where those stories came from.
- Want their experiences of trauma, oppression, culture, or identity to be acknowledged within a broader life context.
- Prefer conversational, story-based exploration rather than techniques that focus mainly on symptoms or diagnoses.
- Value collaboration and want a supportive space where their language, meanings, and choices are central.
- Are interested in exploring how multiple identities (such as race, gender, sexuality, disability, class, or immigration status) shape the stories they carry.
When exploring whether narrative therapy feels like a good fit, some people find it helpful to read about different approaches, ask potential therapists how they understand narrative work, and notice how they feel in early conversations. A sense of safety, respect, and being believed often matters more than any specific modality. Resources like https://www.dv.support may offer additional general information and support related to domestic and intimate partner violence.