Journal May 2026 Release_Full Edition - Flipbook - Page 71
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immediately upon leaving my office?" What would you guess he
might say in reply?
Lee-Marie: I think that he knows we are fighters. Yeah, fighters! He has seen that
nothing actually will stop us.
David:
Is that 'fighting spirit' reflected in the way your family has engaged in
athletics?
Lee-Marie: Absolutely...my father and brothers have excelled- they almost went
to the Olympics and excelled in professional sports.
Animative descriptions in storytelling questions
This section of the transcript invites Lee-Marie to explore the story of being the
apple of her grandfather’s eye. He invites her to “tell a story that conveys” this,
then thickens the story by asking a question that animates the scene by imbuing it
with a little girl dancing around the living room. Her description of dancing around
the living room is thickened with his next question.
Can you remember as a little girl the look in his eye when you were dancing
around his living room?
This question animates the scene from which this storytelling takes place and
invites Lee-Marie to vivify her experience. It is my belief that a good storytelling
answer in narrative therapy starts with a good storytelling question. They provide
guidance to a client by priming their imagination with anticipation for how they
are being invited to narrate their lives.
Animative Descriptions and Vivifying Discovery: Inviting Clients Into The Marvel Of Their Understory
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, May 2026 Release, p. 52-79.
www.journalnft.com
