Narrative Therapy & Counselling

Stepping away from toxic religious experiences can be complicated. There is a sense of relief at breaking free from restrictive and mind-controlling settings, however, a person may also experience loss of community, belief, and belonging. For most people, the religious environment was a one-stop-shop for meeting all their major needs – social support, a coherent worldview, meaning and direction in life, structured activities, and emotional/spiritual satisfaction. Leaving the fold means multiple losses. This can be a very lonely time and can be accompanied by anxiety, depression, grief, and anger. It is vital that the person is supported in this crucial time of transition.

Fear can arrive in our life because of a perceived threat to our wellbeing. However, when the fear becomes disproportionate to the threat, we may find that it negatively impacts our life. Fear, anxiety, and phobias can become a dominant voice in our life narrative. In narrative counselling we discuss the fear stories that have become problematic. Then we help empower clients to recognise their own agency, skills, values, and abilities in reducing the negative effect of fear on their lives.

Many of us will face seasons of loss and difficult times. Like an uninvited guest, grief can suddenly arrive without warning, leaving us feeling overwhelmed. Narrative therapy focuses on grief in an externalising manner. This means that grief is 'separated' from the client and seen as its own entity. The more we can learn about how your grief operates, the more we gain insight into how it operates in our life and the stories it brings with it. Externalising grief increases clarity. You create a map for yourself which helps make sense of where you are and where you’re headed.

Recovering from trauma, loss, and grief, is different for every person. In narrative counselling, we look at the meaning we give to adverse events that come our way and enable the preferred or alternate stories of resilience to emerge. In narrative therapy we do not view a person in terms of their 'problems', rather we strengthen alternate stories of skills, resilience, and competencies. Trauma can overshadow our lives. Stories that make us stronger are a path to recovery and resilience.

 Narrative counselling lays out a welcome mat for all those facing loss, illness, or sudden change. We provide clients with a safe space to talk about their concerns and wishes, their values and personal goals for care, and also putting together legacy and memory documents.