Peoples lives are stories and the goal of Narrative Therapy is to assist the narrator to experience their life and life story in a meaningful and fulfilling way.

There has always been an interest in "therapeutic narratives" and the relation between narrative and healing. Today there is an emerging new field called "Narrative Therapy" that offers us the tools to re-vision our stories and it is producing surprisingly good results.

Narrative Therapy is based on Shakespeare’s premise, "Beware of the stories you tell for you will surely be lived by them."

There are four steps in Narrative Therapy: the externalization of the problem; choosing a name or metaphor for the problem; brainstorming and naming possible solutions; and the revision of the story.

The goal of Narrative Therapy is to separate the problem from the person. When the problem not the person is under scrutiny it stops the immobilizing effect of blame and shame, reduces defensiveness, and relieves negative feelings.

Instead of you being seen as the problem, you are viewed as having a relationship with the problem. When the problem stops being your identity you are more objective and open to experiment with new solutions. Externalizing the problem is not a technical operation or method. It is a language practice that shows respectful ways for you to think about your relationship with the problem and its effects.

Once the problem is named it is easier to change. In choosing a name or metaphor for the problem you might ask? "If I were to give the problem a name, what would I call it?" If you have difficulty thinking of a name a Narrative Therapist might offer words that other people have used.

For example if a husband and wife cannot find a metaphor for their fighting the therapist could suggest words such as "the wall of hurt, the gulf, or the history of unresolved resentment." Sometimes multiple metaphors are more appropriate. For example when the husband’s "negativity" and the wife’s "dig a hole and hide" responses were externalized they were able to step back from the emotional tangle and reflect on how it resulted in a vicious cycle.

Names or metaphors for a solution to a problem include "befriending, taming, employing, tricking, pruning, turning away, growing, embracing, or shrinking.

To emphasize your power in relation to the problem Narrative Therapists caution against using competitive or aggressive metaphors such as "fighting, beating or winning." Most metaphors should help you come into harmony with certain emotions and life experiences rather than to get rid of them. For example "Temper" can be tamed but cannot be eliminated.

One Narrative Therapy form focuses on the person’s "survival story" and the "wake-up" call metaphor. For example Sandy’s survival story was driven by the belief that she must make angry people happy to be loved. Once the survival story was externalized she realized she could choose to build a new story where looking after her own happiness makes other people happy.

To develop the alternative story you might ask, "What would it be like if I were free of the problem?" or "If I didn’t have the problem what qualities or experiences would shine through?"

Although externalizing the problem sounds light-hearted it is a worthy challenge to a serious problem. Like the twin masks of comedy and tragedy, play and humor reflect both the mirth and pathos of the human experience.

Narrative Therapy appeals to and is highly effective with children as it frees the child to take a playful, lighter approach to painful problems. For example a Narrative Therapist helped 7-year-old Andy to rename is violent outbursts "Temper." Andy said he was tired of Temper taking over his life and making him miserable. He agreed to become a "Temper Tamer." His therapist asked him what Temper looked like before it took over. Andy did not know but thought he would "Spy On Temper" to stop it in its tracks.

Andy and his therapist made a Temper Tamer pouch in therapy. In the pouch Andy put a magnifying glass, a whistle used for "blowing the whistle" when temper was detected, a notebook and pencil to keep track of his score against temper and a Ninja figure that he could touch to remind himself of his Temper Tamer Powers.

The next week Andy said he caught Temper out several times before it caught him.

Andy later drew a "House of Tempers" in therapy and said it steal’s people’s hearts. Andy and the Ninja were able to steal back his heart. Andy stated with pride that he walked away from Temper when it called him a "jerk."

Once Andy had revised his relationship with his story he may be asked questions on how to assist others with similar concerns. Acting as "consultant" helps Andy’s alternative story to take a firmer hold.

New stories do not survive automatically: it is often necessary to render the details and characteristics so visible that you become sufficiently aware to tell and act your new story into being.

The ultimate purpose of Narrative Therapy is to replace your problem-saturated story with an alternative story. The problem-saturated plot is thinned and the counter plot thickened to form an alternative story that includes your preferred life experiences, expectations, beliefs, present strengths, future dreams and hopes.