Journal December 2025 Release - Flipbook - Page 42
40
We can Trust the Voice of Love…
Bill of Rights
Her Bill of Rights helped her to find her voice and to express her indignance at the
problems in a therapeutic document. It was a part of her personal healing process
and encouraged her to become an agent of change in her own life. It placed her in
charge. This Bill of Rights is not merely a protest against the oppression of all the
problems she experienced, but also a statement of truth about who she is as a
person. She defied SS and its lies by claiming her right to participate in life, to
succeed, to see herself as a talented writer and artist, and that mental illness did
not doom her to disorder and madness.
Letter of dismissal to anorexia
Joanna made it very clear that she was no longer available to listen to and adhere
to the negative, sabotaging voices of SS and all the mental illnesses that
accompanied it. She refused it any airtime and chose to give her energy and
airtime to her sharp mind, her spirit, and build on the truths about her life.
None of these changes, choices, and new life decisions happened instantly. We
worked very hard at learning narrative therapy while Joanna chose healing
instead of harming herself.
Joanna slowly admitted that she chose life in specific ways. She chose to enroll in
this course in reflexology; she chose healing instead of harming her body. Joanna
found hope and moral agency in her ability to co-construct her preferred
spirituality and belief system.
Narrative therapy, when combined with a "justice-doing" approach, emphasizes
the impact of social and political contexts on individuals' lives and well-being. It
aims to empower individuals by helping them deconstruct dominant narratives
that perpetuate oppression and construct alternative, more empowering stories
that align with their values and goals. This approach acknowledges power
imbalances and works to challenge systems of inequality while supporting clients
in reclaiming their agency and creating meaningful change.
An Apprenticeship in Extremis
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, December 2025 Release, p. 5-44.
www.journalnft.com
