Narrative therapy

Narrative therapy is a form of psychotherapy using narrative, with an approach to helping people that was developed during (and has evolved since) the 1970s and 1980s, in good part by Australian Michael White and his friend and colleague, David Epston, of New Zealand.

Although different narrative therapists work somewhat differently (for example, Epston relies on letters to his clients, though this particular practice is not essential to narrative therapy), there are several common elements that might lead one to decide that a psychotherapist is working "narratively" with clients. These elements include:
 * An understanding of textual practices and, in particular, narrative as constitutive of reality, as when a client's presenting concerns are described as the "dominant narrative" in the client's life;
 * An appreciation for the power of texts, especially in therapy, as when a client is given "A Graduation from Depression Certificate";
 * An "externalizing" emphasis, such as by naming problems as if they were alive and separate from the client, as in "What does Depression want your life to look like?";
 * A "solution" focus, such as by seeking to identify and elaborate upon "exceptions" to a client's story about a problem besetting them, rather than focussing on the nature or "pathology" of the problem.