Understanding narrative therapy
Learn how narrative therapy explores the stories people live by and the context that shapes them, and how you stay the author of the words used about your life.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
Assign and Download open signup, then return you to this worksheet. No card required. Resource access depends on your plan or trial. Already have an account? Sign in
Worksheet preview
Understanding narrative therapy
PreviewLive preview — type in any field to try it. Nothing is saved here.
Stories and who we are
Narrative therapy was developed by Michael White and David Epston. It starts from the idea that we make sense of our lives through stories: the accounts we and others tell about who we are. When problems take up a lot of room, one account can start to feel like the whole truth, such as 'I always let people down'. Narrative therapy looks for events and meanings that this account leaves out. This handout supports trained practice and does not replace it.
Hardship is real
Calling something a story does not mean it is made up or unimportant. Illness, poverty, racism, abuse and loss are real. Narrative therapy pays attention to how these conditions affect people's lives. It also looks at how messages from family, culture or society shape the stories told about us, and whether those messages fit.
Ways of talking you might try
Your therapist may invite you to talk about a problem as something that affects you, rather than who you are: 'the worry' rather than 'I am a worrier'. This is called externalising. It is optional, and ordinary words are fine. Separating a person from a problem never removes responsibility for harm. Someone can see a problem as separate from them and still own what they did, and what repair or safety is needed. You might also look at moments that do not fit the problem story, and link events over time into a story you prefer.
You are the author
You choose which events to talk about and what they mean. Your therapist asks questions rather than telling you who you are. You can turn down any word or idea that does not fit. You do not need to retell painful events, and you do not need a neat life story. If your therapist offers to write something down, such as a note or a letter, you can check it and change anything that does not fit. Ask who else would see it and how it would be stored. Fictional illustration: since an injury stopped them working, someone has come to see themselves as useless. They call this 'the useless story', which visits on bad days. They remember teaching a neighbour's child to ride a bike last summer. They decide it says something about their patience. The injury is still hard.
Staying safe
If talking about the past becomes distressing, pause and tell your therapist. If abuse or danger is still happening, tell your therapist or GP as soon as it is safe to do so. If anyone is in danger, call 999.
Questions and support
This worksheet is for feelings you can manage. If you have urges to hurt yourself, or you feel unsafe, use your safety plan if you have one and tell your therapist. If you might act on the urges, call 999 or go to A&E. To talk to someone now, call Samaritans free on 116 123.
Try it here — nothing you type is saved. Sign up to assign it and let clients complete it on any device.
When to use ‘Understanding narrative therapy’
‘Understanding narrative therapy’ is a psychoeducation handout based on narrative therapy. Consider this resource when a problem has come to dominate how a client describes themselves, and they want to explore other meanings, experiences or preferred stories.
It is designed to be read within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it and discusses it with the client. You can preview the full handout above, then assign it for clients to read between sessions on any device or download it as a print-ready PDF. Where a short reflection is included, it offers space to respond to the reading.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 8 minutes. It moves through six short sections to read:
- Stories and who we are: Narrative therapy was developed by Michael White and David Epston. It starts from the idea that we make sense of our lives through stories:…
- Hardship is real: Calling something a story does not mean it is made up or unimportant. Illness, poverty, racism, abuse and loss are real. Narrative therapy…
- Ways of talking you might try: Your therapist may invite you to talk about a problem as something that affects you, rather than who you are: 'the worry' rather than 'I am…
- You are the author: You choose which events to talk about and what they mean. Your therapist asks questions rather than telling you who you are. You can turn…
- Staying safe: If talking about the past becomes distressing, pause and tell your therapist. If abuse or danger is still happening, tell your therapist or…
- Questions and support: This worksheet is for feelings you can manage. If you have urges to hurt yourself, or you feel unsafe, use your safety plan if you have one…
The handout can be read on a phone, tablet or computer, or downloaded as a print-ready PDF. If it includes a reflection, answers entered on the Formulate platform are saved automatically and shared back with the therapist for review before the next session.
The narrative therapy approach behind it
‘Understanding narrative therapy’ draws on narrative therapy. Narrative therapy separates the person from the problem, inviting curiosity about how a difficulty affects their life without defining who they are. Conversations explore experiences that do not fit the problem’s dominant story. The client’s own language, values and relationships inform preferred stories about their life and the directions they wish to take.
It is intended as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis. The therapist can help decide how it fits the work and discuss what emerges.
Evidence & sources
This handout draws on narrative therapy. Key sources include:
- White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. W. W. Norton & Company.
- White, M. (2007). Maps of Narrative Practice. W. W. Norton & Company.
- Morgan, A. (2000). What is Narrative Therapy? An Easy-to-Read Introduction. Dulwich Centre Publications.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- NHS 111 (NHS 24 in Scotland): 111 — choose the mental health option for urgent help, in England, Scotland and Wales (in Wales, press 2)
- Lifeline: 0808 808 8000 — for urgent help in Northern Ireland, free, day or night
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- Shout: 85258 — text SHOUT, free, day or night
- SANEline: 0300 304 7000 — 4pm–10pm, every day
More Psychoeducation worksheets
View all Psychoeducation worksheets →Psychoeducation
Understanding the CBT model
An introduction to how thoughts, feelings, body sensations and behaviour connect in a loop, and how CBT uses this to help you feel differently.
Psychoeducation
The stress response: fight, flight or freeze
An explainer on how the body's threat system works, why the physical feelings of fear are uncomfortable but not harmful in themselves, and why false alarms happen. Based on Cannon (1915) and Clark and Beck (2010): adds a symptom checklist and general psychoeducation.
Psychoeducation
Understanding Core Beliefs
A plain-language explainer on the levels of thinking in CBT: automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions, and the deep core beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world.
Psychoeducation
The window of tolerance
A plain-language guide to your window of tolerance: the zone where you can think, feel and cope. It shows what it looks like to go above it (overwhelmed) or below it (shut down). Based on Siegel (1999) and Ogden, Minton and Pain (2006): adds checklists of your own signs and ways to come back.
Psychoeducation
The three emotion systems
A simple introduction to the three systems that shape our feelings: threat, drive, and soothe. Learn why modern life and self-criticism can leave the soothe system underused, and how compassion helps bring them back into balance. Simplified from Gilbert (2009): covers the three systems and a short menu of soothing practices, not the full compassionate mind training.
Psychoeducation
Naming your emotions
Putting accurate words to feelings can lower how strong they feel. This handout explains the idea of name it to tame it and gives you an emotion-word list, from basic feelings to more precise ones. Based on Lieberman et al. (2007) and Ekman (1992): adds a word list in our own words, grouped by basic emotion.
Want to assign this to a client?
Create a free therapist account to use the homework and library download tools. Clients can complete assigned homework online or use a blank PDF. See how the homework workflow works.
No card required. The Free plan includes 10 worksheet uses a month. Check plan access and limits.