Narrative, My Favorite Approach

Narrative Approach

    My favorite approach is Narrative therapy. I love to hear other people's stories because you know they are talking from their heart. When you hear their story, even if things are negative or messed up, you are still getting to know that person and their feelings. How a person responds to the world around them is very interesting to me. I'm a people person. That is why I want to do counseling. I want to help those that somehow can't see anything positive in their lives. I want to help them re-write their story.

   Michael White, (1949-2008), was the cofounder of this therapy along with David Epston. It was their friendship and bonding of ideas between these men that evolved into Narrative therapy. They were both family counselers that would meet after all day sessions with families and ask each other " what are you doing differently?" They were both avid readers so they would also ask each other, "what book are you reading?" Their stimulating challenges due to their different ideas would inspire each other. They offered each other intellecutal discussions and a powerful bond. Neither Michael or David would claim ownership of the narrative approach. They decided that their ideas would blend into this new and unique-type therapy. They were only interested in offering their ideas to a world that was looking for new ways of therapy that worked. Both these men were also involved in the feminist issues at that time. These men shared political philosophies and set out together on what became a most remarkable journey. They were quoted as saying,“One of the aspects associated with this work that is of central importance to us is the spirit of adventure. We aim to preserve this spirit, and know that if we accomplish this our work will continue to evolve in ways that are enriching to our lives, and to the lives of those persons who seek our help”,