Journal December 2025 Release - Flipbook - Page 47
45
Narractivating Conversations with the Internalised-Other: A Therapy with
a Little Bit of Fairy Dust
Adriana Müller1
A resposta certa, não importa nada:
o essencial é que as perguntas estejam certas 2
Mario Quintana
In 2018, David Epston was in Argentina with Tom Carlson to present the Insider
Witnessing Practices, and on the first day of the gathering, David spoke about the
art of asking questions. Although it may seem trivial, questioning is the
foundation of therapeutic work; therefore, it is crucial to be aware of the how and
the why of every question. He introduced us to ‘questions with Duendes’ 3: those
that surprise, brighten the atmosphere, and reveal wonderful stories. I was
fascinated by this perspective—questions that invite people to perceive
beautifulness 4 in their lives.
Beautifulness is a word redefined by Paulo Freire that invites a gaze beyond
appearance, condensing love, ethics, aesthetics, politics, and education, unveiling
the poetic dimension of life and a belief in a fairer world (Nita Freire, 2021).
Bringing beautifulness to our praxis is a constant invitation from Michael White,
David Epston, and Paulo Freire. In the paper Re-imagining Narrative Therapy
(Epston, 2019), while honoring his friend, David Epston mentions the ‘spirit of
adventure’ that has always been present in the practice of both (Epston & White,
1990, p. 9). He also recognizes his partner’s poetics and creativity, and invites us
to keep the maverick spirit alive in an era when trademarks and franchises curb
creativity and push people to copy rather than create. He warns us against letting
narrative therapy become yet another “McDonaldization”; instead, it should
reveal its potential through the faces and colors of every people, the beauty of
1
Narrative therapist, with clinical experience since 1993, teaching narrative therapy since 2005, and collective narr
ative practices since 2009. Also created the Rhythms of Life methodology in 2010.
2
Translation: The right answer does not matter at all: what is essential is that the questions are the right ones.
3
Elves.
4
Boniteza, in Portuguese.
Narractivating Conversations with the Internalised-Other: A Therapy with a Little Bit of Fairy Dust.
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, December 2025 Release, p. 45-65.
www.journalnft.com
