People searching for narrative therapy Edmonton often want more than a definition. They want to know whether the stories they carry about themselves can change, and whether counselling can help them feel less defined by anxiety, grief, trauma, depression, conflict, or a difficult transition. Narrative therapy in Edmonton offers a collaborative way to explore those stories while keeping your identity, values, and agency at the centre. For broader context, read Charis Counselling's trauma-informed and grief counselling guide.
Book a consultation with Charis Counselling to discuss your goals and explore a suitable next step.
At Charis Counselling, Narrative Therapy is one of several approaches used by members of the clinical team. It is not a one-size-fits-all treatment, and not every clinician uses every modality. A consultation can help you ask about fit, practitioner availability, and whether narrative work makes sense alongside other forms of counselling.
What Is Narrative Therapy and How Does It Work?
Narrative therapy is a collaborative, client-centred approach that examines the stories people use to understand their lives. It separates a person from a problem, explores the effects of that problem, and looks for overlooked moments of strength, care, courage, or resistance. The goal is not to deny hardship, but to develop a fuller story.
Everyone interprets experiences through stories. A person may come to believe, "I am an anxious person," "I always fail in relationships," or "What happened to me determines who I am." These conclusions can feel like facts when they have been repeated by self-criticism, family expectations, social messages, or painful experiences. Narrative conversations slow down those conclusions and ask how they were formed, what they leave out, and whether they still fit.
Narrative therapy is associated with the work of Michael White and David Epston. One central practice is externalizing, which means talking about a problem as something that affects a person rather than as the person's identity. Instead of treating "I am depressed" as the whole story, a therapist might ask how depression has been influencing daily life, relationships, choices, and hopes. The Dulwich Centre's explanation of externalizing describes this as creating space between the person and the problem.
- Notice the dominant story: Identify the conclusion that has become the loudest explanation of your life.
- Map the problem's influence: Explore when it appears, what it affects, and what it encourages you to believe.
- Look for unique outcomes: Find moments that do not fit the problem-saturated version of your identity.
- Connect actions with values: Consider what those moments show about what matters to you.
- Build a preferred story: Give more detail and meaning to the identity and direction you want to strengthen.
How Narrative Therapy Helps You Separate Your Identity from Your Problems
Narrative therapy helps separate identity from problems by changing the conversation from "What is wrong with me?" to "What is this problem doing, and how have I responded?" This shift can reduce self-blame and make room for values, relationships, skills, and choices that may have been overlooked.
Externalizing does not mean pretending a problem is outside your life or refusing responsibility. It means examining the problem's influence without reducing the person to it. Someone living with anxiety may still make decisions, protect relationships, show persistence, or act with compassion. Someone experiencing grief may still carry love, wisdom, and connection. Those parts of the story remain relevant even when pain is present.
The therapist may ask questions such as:
- When did this problem begin to take up more space in your life?
- What does it try to convince you about yourself?
- When has it had less influence, even for a short time?
- What were you doing or protecting in that moment?
- Who might recognize this quality in you?
These questions are not tests, and there is no correct answer. They are invitations to notice detail. A single act of setting a boundary, asking for help, staying connected, or trying again can become meaningful evidence of a preferred identity. Over time, those moments can be linked into a richer account of who you are and what you are capable of choosing.
This approach can be particularly meaningful for people whose identities have been narrowed by stigma, cultural expectations, discrimination, trauma, illness, family conflict, or a diagnosis. A respectful therapist does not replace your story with a more positive slogan. Instead, the work makes space for your own language and understanding.
Narrative Therapy vs. CBT: Which Approach Is Right for You?
Narrative Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, can both support change, but they usually emphasize different questions. Narrative work explores meaning, identity, values, and the influence of problem stories. CBT often focuses on connections among thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and practical skills. A therapist may use one approach, combine elements, or recommend another fit.
| Question | Narrative Therapy | CBT |
|---|---|---|
| What is explored? | Stories, identity, values, relationships, and the problem's influence | Thoughts, feelings, behaviours, patterns, and practical coping skills |
| How is the problem framed? | The person is separate from the problem and is more than its effects | Unhelpful patterns can be noticed, tested, and changed |
| What can sessions include? | Curious questions, meaning-making, strengths, and preferred stories | Structured exercises, thought records, behavioural experiments, and skills practice |
| What guides the work? | The client's values, language, culture, history, and goals | The client's goals, symptoms, patterns, and response to structured strategies |
This comparison is a guide, not a rule. Narrative therapy can include practical goals, and CBT can be collaborative and sensitive to identity and context. The most useful approach depends on your concerns, preferences, history, safety, and relationship with the therapist. You do not need to choose a modality perfectly before your first conversation.
What Do Narrative Therapy Sessions Look Like at Charis Counselling?
Narrative therapy sessions at Charis Counselling are intended to be collaborative and respectful. You may begin with what is happening now, what you hope will change, and which parts of your story feel most important. The conversation can move at a manageable pace, without requiring you to retell every painful detail before support can begin.
Current Charis team profiles describe Narrative Therapy among the approaches used by Susan Grinder, Brianna Friesen, and Johanna Green. Their profiles also describe broader client-centred, solution-focused, cognitive behavioural, existential, psychodynamic, or trauma-informed perspectives. This reflects the practice's multi-therapist model: the right match depends on your goals, age, concerns, preferred format, and the clinician's scope and availability.
A session may include:
- Describing the concern in your own words, without needing a diagnosis to begin the conversation.
- Exploring how the concern affects sleep, relationships, work, school, identity, or daily choices.
- Separating the problem from your sense of self and identifying the values it has interrupted or revealed.
- Noticing exceptions, strengths, relationships, or past actions that point toward a preferred direction.
- Agreeing on a practical focus for the next step, which may include another modality or a broader counselling plan.
Charis Counselling provides in-person counselling in West Edmonton and online or phone appointments across Alberta. Before booking, you can review the counselling services available through Charis and ask which clinician may be a suitable fit for narrative-oriented work.
Book a consultation to talk through your concerns, preferred format, and counselling goals.
Who Benefits Most from Narrative Therapy?
Narrative therapy may be a good fit for people who feel defined by a problem, stuck in a painful self-story, or disconnected from values and strengths. It can be used with individuals, couples, families, children, teens, and adults when the approach matches the person's goals and the clinician's training. It is not a promise of a particular outcome.
People may be interested in narrative work when they are navigating:
- Anxiety, depression, shame, or low self-esteem
- Trauma recovery, grief, or a difficult life transition
- Relationship conflict, family patterns, or changing roles
- Identity questions, cultural expectations, or experiences of marginalization
- Chronic pain, illness, burnout, or a sense of lost independence
- A desire to understand personal strengths and make choices that reflect their values
For trauma and grief concerns, narrative therapy may be one part of a broader, individualized plan. Charis Counselling's trauma-informed and grief counselling guide explains how the team may consider narrative therapy alongside CBT, DBT, EFT, IFS, attachment-informed work, and other approaches. The focus is not on forcing one method, but on finding care that respects safety, choice, and pace.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is narrative therapy in simple terms?
Narrative therapy is a collaborative counselling approach that explores the stories people use to understand themselves. It separates a person from a problem, looks for overlooked strengths and values, and supports the development of a fuller story that reflects the person's goals and lived experience.
Does narrative therapy mean I have to rewrite the past?
No. Narrative therapy does not change what happened or require you to deny painful experiences. It explores the meanings attached to those experiences and looks for details, relationships, choices, and values that may have been overshadowed by a single problem-focused story.
Is narrative therapy the same as CBT?
No. Narrative therapy often emphasizes identity, meaning, values, and the influence of problem stories. CBT often emphasizes connections among thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and practical coping skills. A counsellor can discuss which approach, or combination of approaches, may best fit your goals.
Can narrative therapy help with trauma or grief?
Narrative therapy may be one part of support for trauma or grief when it fits the client's goals and the clinician's scope. It can help explore how an experience has shaped identity while making room for strength and connection. Trauma-informed counselling should respect consent, safety, and pace.
How do I find narrative therapy in Edmonton?
Start with a consultation and ask which clinicians use narrative-oriented approaches, whether they work with your concern, and what appointment formats are available. Charis Counselling offers in-person counselling in West Edmonton and online or phone appointments across Alberta.
Begin Exploring a Different Story
You are more than the hardest thing you have experienced, the label you have received, or the problem that is taking up the most space today. Narrative therapy can offer a respectful place to examine those influences and reconnect with the values, relationships, and abilities that also belong in your story.
Book a consultation with Charis Counselling today to explore your counselling options.