From the Desk of Hugh MacMillan

Re-authoring Conversations

When people come to counseling they share stories. They may talk about when they first felt anxious or depressed. They may talk about a recent or past crisis and what lead them to consult a counselor. Sometimes they refer to what they regard as "personal failure". Initially these stories do not give much credit to the individuals who tell them. Even positive achievements are what we call in narrative practice, thinly described.

In narrative work, we invite people to make meaning of their stories. We believe that people are skilled at describing their stories, and given the opportunity, to describe their stories more richly, and to make sense of their lives. It is our job to help people improve that skill. We also believe that the story lines presented to us are highly selective, and we worry when people see themselves as having failed in some sense. Again it is our job to provide an opportunity to bring in other experiences that have been neglected. In narrative practice, we call these experiences "unique outcomes", or exceptions to the dominant story. Narrative therapy innovator Michael White, described elsewhere in this website, reminds us that life is multi-story, not a single story, so we seek to discover and enrich one’s subordinate story lines.

As counselors, we often make the mistake of believing that we have a better way for people to function, and then we become the author of peoples’ stories. We couch this in techniques commonly called "re-framing" or outlining strengths, reaffirming people, or congratulating them. These techniques, while certainly quite popular in our culture, do not necessarily lead to long-term change for the better. They tend to centre the counselor as the expert or authority, which some counselors graciously accept.

Unique outcomes, or exceptions to peoples’ stories provide a starting point for rich story development, and re-authoring conversations. The counselor seeks to understand the unique outcome, i.e. when the person’s "personal failure" did not apply. This may be the time when he was able to stand up and assert himself, or when she was considered by one teacher way back when, to be worthy of respect. As the therapeutic conversation goes on, the counselor builds a scaffold of questions that encourage people to enrich their story and fill the gaps. This generally assists people to draw on their lived experience and tell their story in a whole new way, or to re-author their own stories. The counselor encourages the individual to become curious and fascinated by their own stories. These new story lines become richer and more deep-rooted in history, and they are clearly named. The story might now be called Standing Up For Myself, or Respected Woman. It is the counselor’s job not to praise or judge, but to assist an individual to move from what is known and familiar to them to what is possible to know, and thus achieve. Re-authoring conversations allows people to better understand what is happening in their lives and to more fully inhabit their own lives and relationships. Thus people become more acquainted with the knowledge and skills of their lives that will ultimately be helpful in addressing the current problems brought to counseling. It de-centres the counselor, allowing the individual to take front and centre as the new author of his or her own life story.

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