Exploring the Depths of Narrative Therapy: Rewriting the Stories of Our Lives

An article by Anna Keyter

Introducing Narrative Therapy

In this article, we are discussing Narrative Therapy. If you’ve ever felt stuck in a story about yourself that doesn’t feel true or helpful, narrative therapy can offer a fresh way to rewrite your story. Narrative Therapy asks you to examine the stories you tell about your life, separate yourself from the problems you face, and intentionally re-author a narrative that aligns with your values and strengths. Whether you’re exploring in-person options or considering Online Therapy, Narrative Online Therapy and working with an Online Narrative Therapist can make this approach accessible and flexible for your life.

The foundations — how Narrative Therapy works for you. Narrative Therapy is founded on the idea that your identity is shaped by the narratives you and others create. You’re not the problem — the problem is the problem. This simple shift gives you room to notice how cultural, family, and social stories have influenced your beliefs and behaviours and to choose new meanings.

Core principles you’ll find helpful when exploring the Depths of Narrative Therapy:

• Externalisation: You’ll learn to talk about the issue as something separate from you, reducing shame and self-blame.
• Deconstruction: You’ll examine dominant stories and unpack assumptions that limit your choices.
• Re-authoring: You’ll intentionally craft new, empowering stories that reflect your values and goals.
• Unique outcomes: You’ll identify moments when the problem didn’t have power — evidence of your resilience.
• Collaboration: Your online therapist acts as a co-author and guide, not an authority, so you shape the change.

Narrative Therapy Techniques and interventions you can use:

Exploring the Depths of Narrative Therapy a bit more. Narrative Therapy offers practical exercises you can do in session or between sessions. Many of these adapt well to Online Counselling or Online Therapy formats.

• Mapping the influence: Together with your online therapist, you’ll visually map how a problem has affected relationships, work, and self-image — this clarifies impact and targets areas for change.
• Re-membering conversations: You’ll revisit people and events that shaped you to reclaim forgotten strengths and supportive influences.

• Outsider-witness practices: You may invite trusted others to listen, reflect, and witness your emerging story. Their responses can validate and strengthen the new narrative you’re crafting — and this can be arranged through Online Counselling or an Online Narrative Therapist if distance or schedules make meeting in person difficult.
• Documenting the journey: Keep a record of shifts in your story — letters to your future self, therapeutic documents written with your therapist, or short journal entries. These new narratives help you notice progress and make Narrative Therapy gains more tangible, whether you’re working face-to-face or through Online Therapy.
• Scaffolding conversations: Your online counsellor will use carefully framed questions and prompts to help you deepen new meanings and identify next steps. Examples you might hear: “When has this problem had less influence?” or “What do you want this chapter of your life to stand for?”

Applications — where Narrative Therapy can help you

Narrative Therapy is flexible and can be applied to many issues and other therapies, such as mindfulness and humanistic therapies, as part of an integrative approach. If you’re exploring Narrative Online Therapy with an Online Counsellor, you can expect the same core processes adapted for video or phone calls.

Common applications include:

• Trauma and PTSD: Building coherent stories that acknowledge harm while emphasising survival and agency.
• Anxiety and depression: Externalising symptoms and amplifying moments when you acted contrary to a problem-saturated belief.
• Relationship work: Re-authoring relational patterns in couples or family contexts.
• Identity and cultural work: Reclaiming narratives around race, gender, sexuality, migration, and spiritual life.
• Life transitions and career changes: Mapping past patterns and designing a future narrative aligned with values.

A quick practical example for online settings

If you choose Narrative Online Therapy, sessions typically involve the same mapping, re-membering, and documenting exercises you’d do in person. Your Online Psychologist may use screen-sharing to co-create maps, email therapeutic documents between sessions, or invite an outsider-witness to join a video session. The flexibility of Online Counselling often makes it easier to maintain momentum between sessions through asynchronous journaling or short check-ins.

How Narrative Therapy looks in practice — what to expect

If you decide to work with an Online Narrative Therapist, here are simple steps and tips:

• Choose a qualified Online Counsellor: Look for training in narrative or similar relational approaches and registrations.
• Check technology and privacy: Confirm the platform is secure and that you have a private, comfortable space to talk.
• Set collaborative goals: Expect to co-author the goals and pace of therapy with your therapist.
• Use homework and artefacts: You’ll likely be asked to keep short journals, collect evidence of “unique outcomes,” or draft therapeutic letters between sessions.
• Expect gradual change: Re-authoring a life story is iterative — small shifts in meaning accumulate into meaningful change.

Safety and limitations

Our psychotherapists work with Narrative Therapy. It is powerful, and it’s important you know when to combine it with other supports. If you are in acute crisis, experiencing suicidal thoughts, active self-harm, or severe substance dependence, seek immediate help from emergency services or a crisis line in your area before or while you begin online therapy. An Online Counsellor can help you create a safety plan and connect you to urgent local resources, but some situations require in-person medical or psychiatric care.

You should also expect that Narrative Therapy often works gradually. Re-authoring long-standing stories takes time and reflection. At times, clients have complex needs (for example, severe mood disorders, psychosis, or significant cognitive impairment). In those instances, Narrative Therapy is often most effective when integrated with medical management, risk monitoring, or complementary therapies (CBT, medication, trauma-focused work). If you choose Narrative Online Therapy, discuss integration and risk management with your Online Narrative Therapist early on.

Practical steps to get started with Narrative Online Therapy

If you’re interested in trying Narrative Therapy through Online Counselling, here’s a simple plan you can follow.

1. Decide what you want to work on: Identify a story or recurring problem you’re ready to explore (e.g., “I’m not good enough,” “I always fail relationships”). Being specific helps your Online Therapist or Online Counsellor tailor the work.
2. Find a trained practitioner
3. Ask the right questions before you book: How do you integrate narrative practice with other approaches? What is your experience with online sessions? How do you handle safety and emergencies for online clients? Do you offer therapeutic documents, letters, or shared notes as part of therapy?
4. Prepare your environment: Choose a private, quiet space for sessions. Use a secure platform recommended by your Online Therapist. Test your camera, microphone, and internet connection beforehand.
5. Commit to active participation: Narrative Therapy often includes journaling, letter-writing, or brief between-session tasks. These “artefacts” strengthen re-authoring. If you’re doing Narrative Online Therapy, you can exchange documents safely with your therapist to deepen work between sessions.
6. Monitor progress and revise goals: Regularly review how the new stories are shaping your feelings and choices. Your Online Therapist will collaborate with you to fine-tune the process so it fits your pace and needs.

Practical exercises you can try right now

These short exercises work well in self-guided practice or as homework between sessions with an Online Narrative Counsellor.

• Externalisation letter:  Write a one-page letter to the problem (e.g., “Dear Anxiety”). Describe what it does, when it shows up, and how it limits you. Then write a closing paragraph acknowledging one small thing you did to limit its influence. This creates distance and clarity.
• Mapping the influence (quick version): Draw three columns: Relationships, Work/Daily Life, Self-image. For each, list how the problem shows up and one tiny way it didn’t. This helps you spot “unique outcomes.”
• Unique outcomes journal (7 days): Each day, note one moment when the problem had less power, or you acted in line with a preferred value. Keep entries short — the goal is to gather evidence for re-authoring.
• Re-authoring letter to your future self: Write a letter from the perspective of “you in six months” who has integrated a new story. What does that life look like? What choices did you make to get there?
• Re-membering snapshot: List three people who witnessed a strength of yours (could be a teacher, friend, or past version of you). Write one sentence about how each person’s presence supports a different part of your preferred story.

FAQs — quick answers you’ll want to know

• Is Narrative Online Therapy as effective as in-person work?
  • Many people find Narrative Online Therapy equally effective when you and your Online Therapist build a strong collaborative relationship and when the technology and privacy needs are met. Effectiveness depends less on the medium and more on the fit between you and the therapist, the skill of the practitioner, and the complexity of your needs.

• How do I choose the right Online Therapist or Online Counsellor?
  • Look for someone who lists narrative practice or narrative therapy experience, read client reviews, check credentials, and schedule a short consult to see if you feel heard and understood. Ask about their experience doing Narrative Online Therapy specifically.
• How long are sessions, and how many will I need?
  • Typical sessions are 45–60 minutes. Number of sessions varies — some people notice meaningful shifts within a handful of sessions, while others work on re-authoring over months. Your Online Narrative Therapist will co-design the pace with you.
• Is Online Counselling confidential and secure?
  • Reputable Online Counselling platforms use encrypted video and comply with professional privacy standards. Confirm the platform, data storage, and limits of confidentiality with your Online Therapist before starting.

Who can use Narrative Therapy?

• Can couples or families use Narrative Online Therapy?
  • Yes. Narrative approaches adapt well to couple and family work online, using joint storytelling, mapping, and re-authoring to shift relational patterns.
• Is Narrative Therapy suitable for children and adolescents?
  • Narrative techniques can be adapted for younger clients, often using creative, story-based, or play-oriented approaches. Make sure the Online Counsellor has experience with young people and online formats.
• Can Narrative Therapy be combined with medication or other therapies?
  • Absolutely. Narrative Therapy often complements medication, CBT, trauma-focused treatments, and other supports. Coordinate care among providers when possible.
• How much does Online Narrative Therapy cost?
  • Fees vary by practitioner, region, and platform. Online Therapy can sometimes be more affordable due to reduced overheads, but check whether your insurer or employee assistance program covers telehealth or online counselling.
• What if I’m in crisis or feel unsafe during an online session?
  • Discuss safety planning and crisis procedures with your Online Therapist before beginning. If you are in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or a crisis line right away.

Next steps you can take right now

• Try one short exercise above (externalisation letter or unique outcomes journal) to see how re-authoring feels.
• Make a short list of priorities for therapy — the story you want to change and one small goal.
• Book 1–2 consultation calls with potential Online Narrative Therapists or Online Counsellors to find the right fit.
• Prepare questions about confidentiality, emergency procedures, and how they use narrative techniques in online sessions.

Final Thoughts on Narrative Therapy

Narrative Therapy invites you to become an active author of your life story rather than a passive character. Whether you choose face-to-face work or Narrative Online Therapy with an Online Counsellor, the essential work is the same: externalising problems, uncovering hidden strengths, and intentionally re-authoring narratives that reflect who you want to be. Embark on your journey of self-discovery and transformation with the empowering approach of Narrative Therapy. Whether through Best Online Therapy, working with another Online Therapist, you can rewrite your life stories and embrace a more fulfilling future. If you have any questions or need further guidance, I’m here to support you.

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Recommended Resources and References for Narrative Therapy

If you want to deepen your understanding or find an Online Narrative Therapist, these books, organisations, and online tools are useful starting points:

• Books
  • Michael White & David Epston — Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends (foundational text).
  • Michael White — Maps of Narrative Practice (practical techniques).
  • Jill Freedman & Gene Combs — Narrative Therapy: The Social Construction of Preferred Realities (accessible overview).

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

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