Journal October 2026 Special DISPUK Release_Full Version - Flipbook - Page 81
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That9s precisely why I want to make a case for us as journalists to take those extra
ten to fifteen minutes it takes to write a thoughtful response to sources in
potentially vulnerable positions.
Because in a public sphere where many reactions can be marked by criticism and
condemnation, it can make a difference to hear how one9s story has touched
someone, how it has struck a chord in others9 lives, and how it may have given
courage or resonance.
That kind of response can help strengthen the person who has come forward—
even when critical voices make themselves heard.
My other colleague Anette Holmgren describes shame as the feeling that arises in
the moment when I—in the gaze or action of another—perceive myself as less
worthy and simultaneously lose the sense of my own worth. In other words: I feel
shame when I perceive that the other person or the culture looks down on me,
and I lack sufficient self-understanding or self-care to withstand that judgment.
In this sense, the practice of witnessing can be understood as a countermeasure
to the feeling of shame, a strategy where the source is given the opportunity to
step forward as a human being—not merely as a problem or a case—and where
the source can simultaneously emerge as a person who has mattered to at least
one other person.
This can shift the experience of standing completely alone with one9s story. Now,
through their story, the source is not only exposed in a potentially vulnerable
situation but also connected, through that same story, to someone whose life
they have touched, contributed to, or made a difference in.
Echoes of Values and Hope
No story can encompass the full complexity of a life lived. In narrative practice,
we are therefore concerned with examining the stories that shape our lives—and
with identifying the alternative and richer stories that also exist but are easily
How Journalists Can Tell Stories Without Making Sources More Vulnerable
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, October 2026 Special Release, p. 71-82
www.journalcnt.com
