"The person is not the problem. The problem is the problem."

Narrative therapists collaborate with people, believing they are experts about their own lives. It's a respectful, non-blaming approach that views problems as separate from people.

Over time, problems can find their way into people's lives, influencing how we and others view us. Our life stories can become dominated by common labels like: "failure", "depressed", "anxious", "passive-aggressive" or "hyper". When someone seeks therapy, some of the dominant or "problem-saturated" stories have gained enough strength to overpower a preferred way of living. Narrative conversations uncover people's strengths, abilities, values and commitments that have been overshadowed by the problem. After a while, these developments help people reclaim their lives from the problem's influence.

When I first meet with people, I am interested in finding out how the problem has been interfering in their lives - how it might be getting in the way of school or work, friends, family, activities, thoughts and with everyday routines. I invite clients to evaluate the effect of their problems on their lives. We talk about beliefs and ideas that might encourage the problem to continue. Our conversations then shift to new possibilities or potential new ways of living that are not dominated by the problem - times when the problem has not taken center stage. This shrinks the influence of the problem.

Narrative therapy has been used to address problems including but not limited to:

* Depression, sadness
* Anxiety, stress
* Substance misuse
* Grief/loss
* Divorce
* Relationships
* Work
* Parenting
* Debt