Stories, Scripts and Narratives:

This training will consider how we can use stories, scripts and narratives in our work with individuals and families.  We hope that we will create an engaging experience and that you will leave with new ideas and ways of thinking that will benefit your practice.  There will be opportunities to explore how you can use these ideas in your own context.

Einstein:

Many stories: one man.

Why are stories important?

What are the stories you tell about yourself?  What are the stories that others tell about you? Stories are powerful and they can shape how we see ourselves and how others see us.  This can influence how we make meaning of our experiences and how we relate to others.

Some of the stories we tell ourselves can be supportive, kind and empowering, and some can be critical or constraining.

We will look at the influence of stories in the lives of the people we work with and work alongside them to find new or different meanings.

Stories can become a script and we know from our own experience as well as the experiences of the people we work with that patterns or “scripts” can pass from one generation to the next.  Some scripts might be helpful, while others might be problematic for us, even damaging.

We can use this concept in our work to reflect on the scripts that people bring to relationships and how this influences them.  Can scripts change?  Can they be influenced in order to help people overcome challenges?  How can we re-write a script with those we want to support?

Often, people become overwhelmed by problems and can believe that they themselves are the problem:  “I am depressed..”  “I am an alcoholic…”  People may be defined by problems: “It is a chaotic family”.

We can use techniques from narrative therapy which help us separate people from their problems.  These techniques can offer different perspectives which can bring alternative meaning and new possibilities.  This might mean a changed and more positive future.

Our story is that by thinking about the stories and scripts that shape our lives and our relationships, we can help individuals and families to challenge what they do not find helpful and build on what they value.  This can help people adapt to challenges that they are facing.  We hope that the ending of this chapter will bring increased flexibility and a new story for the future.