Journal December 2025 Release - Flipbook - Page 40
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she did was not good enough, which cleared the path beautifully for “prescribed
punishment” and readmission to a psychiatric clinic.
WONDERFUL CHANGE OF TIME
We are writing this paper 25 years after the fact. I am happy to report that Joanna
is now a student of narrative therapy herself. Here is a recent quote from one of
her assignments:
Joanna writes:
“Psychotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy would repeatedly lead
to disintegration and despair when I worked SO HARD in therapy to ‘forgive
and integrate’ my terrible behaviour and my terribly disordered
personality. Therapy just became another performance where
perfectionism crept in. I would choose famous therapists who loved to be
in a rescuer role and then labour to be the perfect rescued patient.
Ironically, I worked with therapists who measured me against certain norms
and ideas of what was healthy and how I could overcome my personality
disorders with hard work. At the same time as idolizing the therapist, I
would be angry at him or her for judging and labelling me and pathologizing
my core being.
On the day I entered my first session of narrative therapy, I was
overwhelmed when I heard “the person is not the problem, the problem is
the problem”. This emphasized externalization, encouraging me to see
myself as separate from my problems –a critical step in re-authoring. This
foundational statement captures the essence of externalizing problems– a
key narrative therapy practice that separates identity from pathology.
This magical moment immediately opened many doors. I was totally
surprised that the therapist was not interested in giving me any advice
regarding my personality disorders and labels. Also, my therapist refused to
go into an expert rescuing role.”
Although we really don’t know one another in person, David, Joanna, and I
developed a kind of conceptual telepathy. Our emails contained questions,
philosophies, challenges, and humour. The emails became transcripts, resembling
An Apprenticeship in Extremis
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, December 2025 Release, p. 5-44.
www.journalnft.com
