Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy works from the idea that we live by the stories we tell about ourselves — "I'm someone who always fails" or "I'm the family disappointment" — and that these stories, not just the events behind them, are often what keeps us stuck. The work is separating you from the problem ("the anxiety," not "your" anxiety) and finding the parts of your history the dominant story leaves out.

A narrative therapist asks questions designed to surface exceptions — times you resisted the problem's grip, values it obscures, strengths the story doesn't mention — and helps you author a fuller, truer account of your life. This "problem externalising" language is the approach's signature.

It suits people who feel defined by a diagnosis, a mistake, or a family narrative, and particularly lends itself to work with identity, culture and marginalisation, where a person's story has often been told by others rather than themselves. Narrative therapists listed with ABCAP have verified training and insurance.

6 Therapists Found
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Bethany

Bethany Zelent

Accredited Member
Verified
Verified by it's Owner
Popular
  • London
    • Sessions offered : Online
    Art Therapy, Couples Therapy, Existential Therapy, Integrative Therapy, Life Coaching, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Men's Health Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Transpersonal Therapy, Meditation Therapy
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Lina Gabbaoan

Verified
Verified by it's Owner
  • London (Online)
    • Sessions offered : Online, Phone
    Integrative Therapy, Life Coaching, Narrative Therapy, Person-Centred Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Humanistic
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Ava Anwar

Verified
Verified by it's Owner
Popular
  • Teeside, UK
    • Sessions offered : Online, Phone
    Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Couples Therapy, Family Therapy, Group Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Humanistic
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Marion Larcombe

Verified
Verified by it's Owner
Popular
  • Kent, United Kingdom
    • Sessions offered : Face-to-Face, Online, Phone
    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Couples Therapy, Existential Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Integrative Therapy, Life Coaching, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Narrative Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Humanistic
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Dionne Ward

Verified
Verified by it's Owner
Popular
  • Builth Wells, United Kingdom
    • Sessions offered : Face-to-Face, Online, Phone
    Art Therapy, Existential Therapy, Integrative Therapy, Life Coaching, Narrative Therapy, Transpersonal Therapy, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Humanistic
yasmin.taha.yt83

Yasmin Taha

Verified
Verified by it's Owner
Popular
  • Coventry, West Midlands
    • Sessions offered : Online, Phone
    Integrative Therapy, Life Coaching, Narrative Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Humanistic

ABCAP is not a regulatory body. Listing in the ABCAP directory is not an endorsement of a therapist's competence, fitness to practise, or conduct. We recommend verifying a therapist's qualifications and professional body membership directly before booking a session.

Frequently asked questions

What does "externalising the problem" mean?

Speaking about the difficulty as separate from you — "the depression" rather than "my depression" — which can make it easier to examine and resist rather than feeling it defines your identity.

Who tends to benefit from narrative therapy?

People who feel boxed in by a label or a family story about who they are, and anyone whose sense of identity has been shaped by others' narratives rather than their own.

Is narrative therapy evidence-based?

It has a smaller formal evidence base than CBT but solid clinical use, particularly in family therapy and identity-focused work, over several decades.

How does a typical session work?

Conversational, built around specific questions that separate you from the problem and surface overlooked strengths and exceptions — less structured than CBT, more directed than person-centred work.