Journal December 2025 Release - Flipbook - Page 24
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With one question, David had proposed that Joanna had her own truth,
rediscovered it, and was now using it to aid her against self-harm.
Jo:
… to wipe out its lies, and even though it is rough going at times, like now,
the septic tank on their plot has become blocked and Pieter is still away....
what would you do if that happens to you … and she is handling all this
stuff. She said last night she dismissed all the lies self-harm had told her
over the years about her marriage to Pieter.
David: BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SEVERAL DAYS AGO I HAD TO HANDLE IT MYSELF AND
DIG OUT OUR LONG DROP TOILET AT WAIHEKE. NOT A PLEASANT JOB
David: THAT WAS SOMETHING FOR SURE!! I CAN IMAGINE IT WOULD HAVE HAD
A STOREHOUSE OF LIES
That David could go up against the storehouse of lies that SS had about her and
her marriage to Pieter was exciting and gave me permission to contest some of
the lies that it held forth in the future. I learnt how to do it in real-time as
opposed to reading something in a paper and trying to apply it. This kind of
comment made me very excited that David could address directly the storehouse
of lies that self-harm convinced her about herself.
I found it thrilling that David could directly contest the SS’s storehouse of lies and
all that it convinced Joanna of regarding her marriage to Pieter. This taught me
how to position myself in practice so that Joanna and I could contest the lies that
SS told her in our future conversations. A valuable lesson indeed.
Jo:
She said she now sees that they have a good marriage, and that it is not
true that Pieter stays with her to rescue her, or that she stays with him to
be rescued. Her proof lies in the fact that they love each other, that love is
enough, and that they have been partners for years.
An Apprenticeship in Extremis
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, December 2025 Release, p. 5-44.
www.journalnft.com
