Narrative therapy is a respectful and collaborative approach to counseling and community work that has been developed in the last 30 years largely through the work of world renowned therapists Michael White in Australia and David Epston in New Zealand.
In the context of therapy, people usually express an account of a problem or concern. While hearing these expressions, a narrative therapist is listening for traces of ever-present, but sometimes unnoticed subordinate story lines. Thus, narrative conversations help uncover an individual or family's unique abilities and initiatives that run counter to the original “problem” story. These become the formation for something brand new: a fascinating story outside the problem where a person's aspirations and values unfold. This story provides a foundation for new developments and achievements despite the “problem”. Conversations that continue to focus on this rich story development can have countless preferred effects on a person's life.
Narrative Therapy is an approach that sees the problem as separate from the person, which relieves the pressure of blame and defensiveness. No longer defined as inherently problematic, a person can have a relationship with the “problem”. Once this distinction is made, family members can consider the effects of the problem on their lives and use their own resources to revise their relationship with it. Favorable results often occur quickly.