The basic premise of Narrative Therapy is that we create meaning in our lives based on our experiences. The meaning we create is based on how these experiences fit with the culture around us. Culture can be a close as our immediate family and as broad as the culture of the United States. Once we have created a meaning, or had one created for us, we may not be able to see beyond that meaning.

Our stories about ourselves evolve from that meaning. Those stories gain momentum as we live and add new experiences, sometimes growing so thick that they feel like facts. Before you know it, you are living with ideas about yourself that do not fit with who you really are or who you want to be.

Stories can be limiting. For example, if I were to tell you that someone is "anorexic", I would be communicating limited information about that person, closing off access to wonderful qualities she possesses. If you are the victim of an internal critic that tells you that you are a "bad parent", you will

notice all of the ways that you fall short of that critical voice‚s expectations, and will miss many ways that you are with your child that make you both enjoy.

People come to me with problems that have them feeling stuck. Once we find the story that is maintaining the problem and identify it as such, it is much easier to break open. This leaves space for us to explore how you prefer to be, free of the problem. After awhile, we will discover the ways that you already know to outsmart the problem!

This idea may seem simple, but problem stories grow so strong that you may require the help of an expert to identify them and to support you in creating new meaning in your life — re-authoring your own life instead of having it written for you. I can help you move forward in the direction that you choose.

Links
http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/
http://www.narrativeapproaches.com/
http://www.narrativeapproaches.com/tensecintro.htm