Narrative Therapy in Practice: A “storied” approach to building mental health resiliency in adolescents

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of Narrative Therapy in a high school. The focus is on demonstrating the use of Narrative Therapy in working with students who demonstrate at-risk behaviours especially with a view to building resiliency. It is proposed that to fully understand the value of Narrative Therapy, theory supporting this approach should be discussed. Underlying this approach is the recognition that a better understanding of theory will extend the practice of Narrative Therapy. To that end this paper approaches the use of Narrative Therapy on two levels, (a) a description of the theory that supports the practice of Narrative Therapy. This description focuses on the language and practices associated with Narrative Therapy. Specifically, issues around stories are discussed at length, and (b) a case study is presented attempting to bind theory to practice. It takes the reader on a journey by a student who was at-risk to her developing resilient behaviour. Initially, several key words and phrases are introduced as direct representations of the theory of Narrative Therapy. As the case study unfolds additional descriptions of theory impacting on practice are presented. The final outcome is a comprehensive description of a counselling approach that has relevancy in dealing with the complex issues of mental health resiliency in schools.