Narrative therapy focuses on examining and reshaping self-narratives to enhance self-acceptance and self-esteem. It starts with identifying the dominant narrative, the primary story one tells about oneself, which may not represent the whole truth. Many individuals overlook significant parts of their narratives. Through investigation and reflection, individuals are encouraged to challenge inaccurate or negative self-perceptions, leading to healthier self-stories and improved self-acceptance, as evidenced by individual accounts such as Maura's experience with her own narrative.
Narrative therapy encourages us to begin by identifying our dominant narrative—the main story we tend to focus on and tell about ourselves. Dominant narratives, though told and retold, are not always fully accurate; they sometimes ignore other important parts of the story.
Investigating the impact of your narrative on your self-esteem can be vital to the therapeutic process. Self-stories can be investigated, challenged, and rewritten in service of self-acceptance.
Maura's self-story was very different from the one that an outside observer saw. She told herself that she was somehow strange, different, and not normal. When she would describe herself, she would often conclude, 'I'm a square peg in a round hole.'
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