Narrative Therapy

With narrative therapy, clients have the opportunity to explore difficult situations and trauma through stories. It allows clients to explore the narrative through which they view what has occurred. Narrative therapy aids clients with rewriting their story in a way that allows them to externalize issues instead of internalizing them.

To me, being a narrative therapist means that I take a non-judgmental, expansive view of my clients' lives. The stories we tell ourselves, or the stories that others tell us, end up shaping our reality. When I work with my clients, I listen for harmful narratives or beliefs that are causing them pain. I believe that much of our pain has been put upon us by harmful narratives (from families, relationships, or society). I also believe in the potential of anyone to create the life they dream of.

Narrative therapy is a style of therapy that helps people become—and embrace being—an expert in their own lives. In narrative therapy, there is an emphasis on the stories that you develop and carry with you through your life. As you experience events and interactions, you give meaning to those experiences and they, in turn, influence how you see yourself and the world. You can carry multiple stories at once, such as those related to your self-esteem, abilities, relationships, and work.

Lucy Cotter, MFT, has a wholehearted commitment to narrative therapy and a passion for helping individuals and couples find freedom from old stories. As co-founder of the Narrative Counseling Center in Los Angeles, I have spent years dedicated to narrative practices that look at how stories get constructed and how people can get the upper hand in creating new stories for their lives.

I believe that every person has their own story and their own way of retelling an experience. Using narrative therapy approaches, that help separate individuals from the challenges and problems they are experiencing, I aim to empower my clients to have their own voice and narratives, and in turn gain agency over their own experience.

Narrative Therapy is one of the models I was trained in.

I use narrative therapy techniques to recreate and rewrite the internal story if you have of yourself in relationship to other, your community and the world.

Narrative therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. It emphasizes that these stories shape our perceptions and behaviors. By identifying unhelpful narratives, therapists help clients construct new, more empowering stories. This process can lead to increased self-awareness, reduced self-blame, and greater resilience. Narrative therapy empowers clients to become the authors of their own lives, rather than passive victims of circumstance.

My training at San Diego State University focused extensively on the Narrative Therapy approach, as did the practice I did as a trainee therapist within the program.

Narrative therapy views individuals as the authors of their own stories. It helps clients reframe their experiences, separating themselves from problems and empowering them to rewrite their narratives. Through exploration, individuals gain new perspectives, fostering resilience, self-empowerment, and a sense of control over their identity and life choices.

Coming from a professional history of writing, and trained in the White/Epston variety of narrative work, I offer most of my clients the opportunity to see their life's trials, tribulations, successes, and celebrations through a storied lens, one that can be edited and re-told by the client.

My training at the Ackerman Institute included a focus on social constructionism and narrative therapy. My practice has focused on distinguishing people from their problems, exploring the relationship between the individual and their problems, understanding that systems of power influence our lived experience, supporting people to cultivate life affirming, empowering narratives about their lives.

The stories we tell ourselves shape how we see the world—and sometimes, those stories make us feel stuck, unworthy, or powerless. Narrative Therapy helps you step back, challenge unhelpful narratives, and redefine your story in a way that reflects your strength, resilience, and values. I help people untangle from harmful self-beliefs and take back control of their own narrative—because you are so much more than the hardest chapters of your life.

I like to explore with clients the meaning that they derive out of their experiences. I like to explore their stories, while also looking at the way that they think, and how this shapes their experiences.

I am merely a vessel and a mirror. But I do bring my own experience into the space within which we will work. Through this chemistry of experiences, we will connect and explore, engage and experiment. This is a highly creative process. No dogma allowed here. No rigid scheme or model will ever supplant that. Healing requires fluidity of ideas.