Berkeley Narrative Therapy
All of us has a story. It is the story we tell ourselves about our life. It is even the story we tell ourselves about the future, how our life is going to turn out. Now, here’s the real question--is the story true? I find that people are often aware of the story that they tell themselves. Often the story is incomplete, or even inaccurate in important ways.
In narrative therapy, my client and I get a chance to explore in depth what their story is, and see if there are ways to make it match the truth of that person’s experience. It may sound surprising, but people will gloss over or ignore their positive qualities, capacities, and actions, and focus more strongly on their believed inadequacies or failures.
There’s some really great news about all this--just as you have written your life story, you can now rewrite it! I find that the story which unfolds as the my client and I explore her life together is usually far more hopeful and positive than the one that she came into therapy with. As you might imagine, having a more positive story about yourself greatly improves your chances for finding real inner and outer satisfaction.
Narrative Therapy, Art Therapy, Drama Therapy and Writing Therapy
Narrative therapy can simply involve us exploring the spoken narrative that naturally surfaces as she talks about herself and her life. While it is not always necessary, it can also include--if he or she is interested--creative story writing, memoir writing, journaling about life experiences and their meaning, visual arts and/or dramatic play. Some people find that using an artistic medium can allow them to access truths about themselves that they might not be able to do with simple conversation--and it can also be a lot of fun.
One last thing that I may not have mentioned--this process can often be humorous, and even exhilarating! It is almost always a surprise.
If you are interesting in seeing if this kind of therapy might be right for you, I invite you to take advantage of the free 30-minute session that I offer--either by phone or in person at my office. You can either call me at 510-540-0813, e-mail me at ninashilling@msn.com or click here to contact me. I look forward to getting to know you and discovering how we might be able to unearth the true story that you would like your life to be.
Services
Nina Shilling provides warm, nurturing therapy to individuals and couples. She welcomes spiritual inquiry and is GLBT friendly. Her office is near the Downtown Berkeley Bart station and all major freeways.