Narrative Therapy

My personal journey in therapy has been within this modality since 2017 and I've been in love with the framework since! I honor storytelling as one of the most ancient forms of healing, memory, remembrance and community care. Narrative therapy helps me center the Native origins of so many of the healing practices we use as therapists.

The foundation of Dr. Inez's psychotherapy worldview is narrative therapy. Some suppositions of the narrative worldview as defined by Michael White: Everyone has meaning-making skills. Everyone tells stories. The meanings we give these stories shape our lives. Life is multi-storied, not single-storied. Therapists listen for these storylines, and we support people to develop the preferred storylines richly.

The story of who we are and what our life is and means has a significant impact on how we feel and experience the world. Unfortunately, so many of the stories told by the larger culture have negative impact on our mental health and well-being. I seek to unpack the stories to push back against oppressive dominant narratives that are unhealthy and unhelpful to create new stories that bring joy, freedom, and comfort and allow one to live fuller and truer life.

Our stories about ourselves shape our lives and our choices. I use Narrative therapy as the foundation for my approach to helping clients externalize their problems from their self-view.

I like to explore with clients the meaning that they derive out of their experiences. I like to explore their stories, while also looking at the way that they think, and how this shapes their experiences.

Stories are the way we make sense of our lives. It's why we love movies, TV and books! Sometimes we feel we are part of an uninteresting story or are stuck in a negative story. But you can be the one who chooses your story. Let's work together to identify and build upon the story of a better and healthier life.

Narrative therapy and story-work heavily influence my work with clients. I am committed and invested in continuing to engage my own narrative and past wounds so as to hold well the stories of others. Together we will tend to the narratives and themes of your heart more so than the outward behaviors of your experience. If we don’t tend to what has been wounded and forgotten, behavioral management will only get you so far.

Through narrative therapy, we delve into the stories and beliefs you hold about yourself, allowing us to reimagine your understanding of your experiences. Your past does not define you. By exploring personal narratives alongside cultural context and intersectionality, we can promote resilience, self-discovery, and healing. This process empowers you to reshape your identity, fostering a deeper, more holistic connection to yourself.

I helped co-lead a seminar on utilizing Narrative Therapy to retell our own stories and have kept it at the forefront of my therapy toolbox ever since. I enjoy using NT to take a second look at the "story we tell ourselves" (e.g. "I'll never be good enough," "That breakup showed me that I'm unlovable," "I am weak because of my feelings") and retell it from an honest and healed place (e.g. "I have worth regardless of my circumstances," "I am brave," "I am lovable").

Narrative therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. It emphasizes that these stories shape our perceptions and behaviors. By identifying unhelpful narratives, therapists help clients construct new, more empowering stories. This process can lead to increased self-awareness, reduced self-blame, and greater resilience. Narrative therapy empowers clients to become the authors of their own lives, rather than passive victims of circumstance.

Narrative therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. It emphasizes that these stories shape our perceptions and behaviors. By identifying and challenging unhelpful narratives, therapists help clients construct new, more empowering stories. This process can lead to increased self-awareness, reduced self-blame, and greater resilience. Narrative therapy empowers clients to become the authors of their own lives, rather than passive victims of cir

Narrative therapy is effective at helping clients who have experienced trauma. Mild traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a condition that affects people who have been exposed to a severe or life-threatening event. Narrative therapy helps clients to process their experiences and work through the trauma they've faced. It uses storytelling as a way to heal, which allows the client to use their own voice and create meaning from their experience.

Completed 3 day training on topic of narrative therapy and implements narrative therapy skills and tools into work with clients on a regular basis

Narrative therapy is a style of therapy that can help you become - and embrace being - an expert in you own life. In narrative therapy, there is an emphasis on the stories that you develop and carry with you through your life. As you experience events and interactions, you give meaning to those experiences and they, in turn, influence how you see yourself and the world. You can carry multiple stories at once, such as those related to your self-esteem, abilities, relationships, and work. Narrativ

Through Narrative Therapy, you and I will seek to understand the stories you tell yourself (or that others have told you) about YOU that cause you anxiety, sadness, or for you to feel "stuck." With that increased understanding of your self-focused story, we can slowly work to shift your story to reflect your strengths, your nuances, and your wisdom. With a more compassionate and balanced self-image, you will feel more confidence and self-love.

Narrative Therapy is based on the idea that our stories about ourselves and other people have a great influence on the way we experience the world, for better or for worse. Narrative therapists see their clients as the experts in their own lives and bring attention to cultural influence, such as toxic gender roles, perfectionism, and expectations. We reduce problem-stories (e.g., I'm not good enough) and support preferred-stories (e.g., I'm valuable and safe). Ask your therapist to learn more!

I have graduate-level education in narrative therapy, and have utilized techniques associated with this modality throughout my professional career.

I love Narrative Therapy because it can help you to explore the stories you have about yourself, others, relationships, food, your body, etc. I will support you in exploring where these stories come from and if they really serve you. Sometimes the stories we've internalized come from unhelpful family messaging and societal oppression. When you can deconstruct those stories, you get to have the power to decide what is right for you & live from that place of empowerment.

I believe that we are made of stories. By examining the stories we have told ourselves and those we have told about ourselves, we can make lasting change as we rewrite our own narratives. I also believe that we connect to the stories that resonate with us in the world. I look at the stories we love to bring light to parts of our lives we may not have examined.