Narrative Therapy

Hmm, I have lots of thoughts on narrative therapy that are sparking in my head. So I thought I would share. This I guess, would be relevant to anyone who does counselling or works in a setting where they are helping others. (and ofcourse, i suppose you can use this technique with someone your trying to help). If you already dont know, narrative therapy is a technique which was created by Michael White. The purpose of this therapy is to 'create the life story' of the client and have them turn their problem into a character or give it some sort of identity. For those of you who are lost (if anyone even reads this).. i'll give you an example.. Lets say theres a 8 year old boy named Mark. Mark soils his bed and has been doing it for many years. Mark comes in to see me to discuss his soiling issue but he is hesitant to speak up about it. So, I suggest the idea that we call this problem 'Sneaky Poo'.. SNEAKY POO is a bad guy who makes Mark do things he shouldnt be doing at his age. Me and Mark will then create an illustration of his day by creating a comic book (which he would love).. In this comic strip, Mark is the hero and destroys Sneaky Poo and fights him off... and then, VICTORY.

It might sound a little weird, but it works! and I think one of the reasons why it works is because us humans find it easier sometimes to shift blame on to something else-- it makes dealing with the situation a little easier when you can look at the sitation and say 'the devil made me do it' or 'sneaky poo' made me do it. Thats why I think this technique really works!!

Sometimes, or in most cases.. its SOCIETY that is the 'devil'. For example, lets take Tara for example. Tara is suffering with anorexia.. well, shes anorexic because of the way society makes women look. She needs to be about 30 lbs less than her current weight.

Do you get where Im going with this? If not.. it doesnt matter..
Talking about this made me feel good. BYE :)