The counselling approach that Jenny uses is narrative therapy.

In the 1980‘s Michael White from Adelaide Australia and David Epston from Auckland, New Zealand developed what has come to be known as narrative therapy. In the years since then narrative therapy has entered the mainstream in many contexts around the world.

Narrative therapy is a collaborative and non-pathologising approach to counselling and community work which centres people as the experts of their own lives.

A narrative approach views problems as separate from people and assumes people have many skills, abilities, values, commitments, beliefs and competencies that will assist them to change their relationship with the problems influencing their lives. It is a way of working that considers the broader context of people’s lives particularly in the various dimensions of diversity including class, race, gender, sexual orientation and ability.  

“Many people who seek therapy believe that the problems of their lives are a reflection of their own identity, or the identity of others, or a reflection of their relationships. People come to believe that their problems are internal to their ‘self or the self of others’ - that they or others are in fact the problem” (White. M. p.9, 2007). 

Problems can rob us of remembering other experiences and actions in relation to events surrounding the problem, actions that stand outside the problem. We forget what we have done that may be different than the way we have presented the problem in the story we tell. 

When a problem story has us in its grip we can believe we are the problem, that the problem or issue is part of our identity. Often problems and issues have us believing that we are failing at everything we do. 

This journal article describes a narrative therapy session pathway.