We don’t just live our lives; we story them. From childhood, we weave events, relationships, and feelings into an ongoing narrative that defines who we are. “I’m the anxious one.” “I’m a failure at relationships.” “I’m broken because of my past.” What happens when that story becomes a prison, a single, problem-saturated tale that feels like an inescapable truth?

Narrative therapy, developed by Michael White and David Epston, offers a radical and liberating alternative. It operates on a profound principle: You are not the problem; the problem is the problem. The therapy is a collaborative process of “re-authoring,” helping you separate your identity from the issues that plague you and draft a new, preferred story about your strength, values, and capabilities.

Discover narrative therapy, a powerful approach that helps you separate from your problems and rewrite your life story. Learn how externalizing conversations and identifying unique outcomes can empower change.

The journey begins with a fundamental shift called externalization. In our culture, we tend to internalize problems: “I am depressed.” Narrative therapy uses language to create separation: “How has this ‘Depression’ been influencing your life?” By naming the problem as an external entity, “The Anxiety,” “The Self-Doubt,” “The Anger”, it becomes something you have a relationship with, not something you are.

This linguistic shift is incredibly empowering. It allows you to examine how the problem has been operating in your life: When did “The Perfectionism” first show up? What tactics does it use to convince you nothing is good enough? How has it affected your relationships? This externalizing conversation turns you from a passive character defined by the problem into an active agent who can observe, question, and ultimately challenge its influence.

With the problem now “outside” of you, space opens to search for what narrative therapists call unique outcomes or sparkling moments. These are instances, however small, that contradict the dominant, problem-saturated story.

In the tale of “I’m powerless,” a unique outcome might be the time you calmly set a boundary with a demanding friend. In the story of “I’m a failure,” it could be recalling the perseverance it took to finish a difficult project, regardless of the grade. The therapist acts as a detective for these overlooked events: “Tell me about a time when Anxiety was present, but you managed to get on the plane anyway.”

These exceptions are not brushed aside as flukes; they are the narrative “evidence” that your preferred story, one of resilience, courage, or connection is already true, just under-told and marginalized by the louder problem narrative.

The heart of the work is then re-authoring the story. You and the therapist take these sparkling moments and richly describe them. You explore what their existence says about your hidden skills, values, hopes, and commitments.

Who were you in that moment? What does it say that you value kindness even when you’re angry? That you value courage even when you’re scared? This process begins to weave a new, alternative narrative, a preferred story of identity.

You might draft a document, create a visual timeline, or even write a letter from your future self living in this new story. The goal is to thicken this alternative plotline with so much detail, meaning, and historical evidence that it becomes a more compelling and accessible reality than the old, thin problem story.

Ultimately, narrative therapy is about reclaiming authorship and building communities of support. It views problems as reinforced by cultural discourses, unhelpful societal stories about how we “should” be.

The therapy helps you identify and resist these pressures. Furthermore, it often involves recruiting what Michael White called an “audience”, trusted friends, family, or groups who can witness and validate your new, preferred story, helping to solidify it in the real world. Narrative therapy doesn’t erase past pain or pretend problems don’t exist.

Instead, it offers a powerful set of tools to change your relationship with your history and your identity. It reminds you that while you cannot control all the events of your life, you hold the pen when it comes to their meaning. You are the editor of your past and the author of your next chapter.

References

White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). *Narrative means to therapeutic ends*. W. W. Norton & Company. (Foundational text on externalization and re-authoring conversations)

Morgan, A. (2000). *What is narrative therapy? An easy-to-read introduction*. Dulwich Centre Publications. Retrieved from https://dulwichcentre.com.au/what-is-narrative-therapy/

Carr, A. (1998). Michael White’s narrative therapy. *Contemporary Family Therapy, 20*(4), 485-497. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021680109406

Simply Psychology. (2025, November 11). *Narrative therapy*. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/narrative-therapy.html

PositivePsychology.com. (2025, December 3). *19 best narrative therapy techniques & worksheets [+PDF]*. Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/narrative-therapy