Treatment approach
Narrative Therapy at MindView
Narrative therapy starts from one idea: you are not the problem, the problem is the problem. Your therapist helps you talk about a difficulty as something separate from you, then notice the parts of your life the problem story leaves out. From there you build a fuller account of who you are.
Booking takes about two minutes. It is a short form, mostly checkboxes. Opens our secure client portal.
- Queens (Jamaica), NY
- UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Medicare, Oscar Health, Meritain Health, Oxford Health Plans, Cigna, Optum, MagnaCare
- Buffalo, NY
- UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Medicare, Oscar Health, Meritain Health, Oxford Health Plans, Cigna, Optum, Highmark BCBS, Highmark BCBS WNY, Univera Healthcare
- Carmel, IN
- Aetna, Cigna, Anthem
- Now accepting new clients
- We respond within one business day
- Telehealth in NY and IN
Might this approach fit you?
- I feel like the problem has become my whole identity.
- I want to stop treating my worst story about myself as the only true one.
- I am carrying shame that does not seem to belong to me.
- I want a therapist who does not treat me as broken.
- I want to be the one who decides what my life means.
- I know there is more to me than this, and I want help seeing it.
- I would rather talk about meaning than fill out worksheets.
You do not have to be in crisis to start. If several of these sound familiar, therapy can help.
If this sounds like the support you want, we can help.
Booking takes about two minutes. It is a short form, mostly checkboxes. Opens our secure client portal.
Narrative therapy is a collaborative, respectful approach that treats you as the expert on your own life. Developed by Michael White and David Epston, it rests on one clear idea: you are not the problem, the problem is the problem.
What does externalizing actually mean?
It means talking about a difficulty as something separate from you, with a name and a set of habits.
Not “I am anxious.” Instead: anxiety showed up before the meeting, told you that you would humiliate yourself, and tried to keep you home. Your therapist will ask what anxiety says, when it grows loud, what it needs to work, and what it costs you.
That sounds like a small shift in wording. It is not. “I am anxious” is an identity. “Anxiety is doing this to me” is a problem you can look at, argue with, and get some distance from. You cannot examine something you believe you are.
Externalizing does not mean the problem is fake. It means the problem is not the whole of you.
It also changes who you are working against. Once anxiety is a separate thing with its own tactics, you and your therapist are on the same side of the table, looking at it together. Nobody in the room is treating you as the thing that needs correcting.
What is a problem story, and what does re-authoring do?
Over time we compress our lives into a story, and difficulty tends to edit that story down. Depression tells you that you have always failed and always will. It quietly deletes every piece of evidence that does not fit, and what is left starts to feel like the objective record.
Narrative therapy goes looking for what the problem story left out. Your therapist asks about the times the problem did not get its way: the day you spoke up anyway, the year you held things together, the person who saw something in you.
Those moments are not consolation prizes. They are evidence of values and abilities the story has been hiding, and re-authoring means weaving them back in until the account of your life is fuller and truer.
Re-authoring is not positive thinking, and the difference matters. Nobody asks you to pretend the hard parts did not happen. The work simply refuses to let the hard parts be the only entry in the record.
What does a session look like?
Sessions run about 50 minutes and are conversational. There are no worksheets and no scripts. Your therapist asks careful questions and follows your lead, because in this model you hold the knowledge about your life and they hold the questions.
The stance is deliberately non-blaming. Nothing here treats you as broken. The Dulwich Centre, the Australian institute where narrative therapy was developed, remains the field’s central hub for its practice and teaching.
The conversation sits inside a set structure. Session one is an intake. Session two is a psychosocial assessment across your life stages, which is where the dominant story becomes visible. Session three is the treatment plan you build together, written in your words. From there, sessions are weekly, and once a month you complete standardized measures so you and your therapist can see whether the work is moving and adjust the plan if it is not.
Sessions are available at our Queens, Buffalo, and Carmel offices and by secure telehealth across New York and Indiana.
Who is narrative therapy a good fit for?
It fits adults who feel defined or shrunk by a problem, who are carrying shame that never quite fit, or who want a therapy that talks about meaning and identity rather than filling in thought records.
It is used for anxiety, low mood, low self-worth, shame, life transitions, and the effects of hard experiences. It combines well with other approaches, and the American Psychological Association notes that the working relationship is central across every form of psychotherapy. Its research base is smaller and less standardized than the CBT literature, and we describe it on those terms rather than inflating it.
If you want structured skills and measurable homework, CBT is a more direct route, and your therapist will say so plainly. Many MindView clinicians blend the two, using narrative work to loosen a shame story while using CBT tools to handle the symptom in front of you. Care is for adults 18 and over.
How do I get started?
MindView is in-network with most major insurance plans, and we verify your benefits before your first session so cost is clear rather than a surprise on the invoice.
No diagnosis or referral is needed, and you do not need to arrive with your story already sorted out. Book online at our scheduling portal or call (646) 493-4007. We are accepting new clients and respond within one business day.
At a glance
| Best suited for | Adults who feel defined or shrunk by a problem and want a non-blaming, meaning-centered approach rather than a worksheet-driven one. |
|---|---|
| What sessions look like | A 50-minute conversation where you and your therapist talk about the problem as a separate character, examine what it does, and look for the moments it did not win. |
| Typical length | Length depends on your goals, and while narrative work can be relatively focused it is not tied to a fixed session count, so you decide the pace with your therapist. |
What can it help with?
- •Low self-worth and identity concerns
- •Anxiety and depression
- •Shame and self-blame
- •Life transitions
- •Effects of difficult experiences
Who might it suit?
- •People who feel defined by a problem
- •Those who value meaning and self-reflection
- •Anyone wanting a respectful, non-blaming approach
What we use it to treat
What does therapy here actually look like?
The first three sessions follow a clear structure, so you always know what is coming next.
- Session 1: Intake
Your therapist asks what brought you in and takes your history, listening without treating you as the problem. You rate the intensity of what you are feeling on a 0 to 10 scale, which becomes the baseline. You set a recurring weekly time before you leave.
- Session 2: Psychosocial
Your therapist walks through your life across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. In this approach they listen for the dominant story: how the problem came to describe you, where that description came from, and what it leaves out. You can decline any question.
- Session 3: Treatment plan
You and your therapist build the plan together. Goals are written in your language, with methods named plainly: externalizing the problem and giving it a name, mapping its tactics and its costs, and tracing the moments it did not get its way. You also set one personal goal that matters to you.
- Ongoing
Weekly sessions talk about the problem as something separate from you and weave the exceptions into a fuller account of your values and history. Once a month you complete standardized measures, your therapist reviews the trend with you, and the plan is adjusted based on what the data shows.
Therapy here is measured, not guessed
Once a month you have a Psycho-Measurement-Based Care Review (PMBCR). You complete standardized measures, such as the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, and your therapist reviews the trend with you. If something is not working, the plan changes. Regular therapy is the work. The review is the navigation system that keeps it pointed at the right target.
Sessions are weekly for the first two months to build a foundation, then frequency is reassessed with you. You set the pace, and you share only what you are comfortable sharing.
You do not have to figure this out alone.
Booking takes about two minutes. It is a short form, mostly checkboxes. Opens our secure client portal.
Common questions
Is narrative therapy covered by insurance?
We are in-network with most major plans. In Queens: UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Medicare, Oscar Health, Meritain Health, Oxford Health Plans, Cigna, Optum, and MagnaCare. In Buffalo: UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Medicare, Oscar Health, Meritain Health, Oxford Health Plans, Cigna, Optum, Highmark BCBS, Highmark BCBS WNY, and Univera Healthcare. In Carmel, IN: Aetna, Cigna, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. We confirm your benefits before your first session.
What happens in the first session?
You tell your story in your own words, and your therapist listens without treating you as the problem. They will ask how the difficulty has come to describe you and where that description came from. There is nothing to prepare.
How long does it take, and does it work?
Length depends on your goals rather than a set protocol. Narrative therapy has a smaller and less standardized research base than CBT, and we say that plainly rather than overstating it. It is widely practiced and many people find the non-blaming stance itself changes how they carry a problem. No therapy can guarantee a result.
Do I need a diagnosis to start?
No. Narrative therapy is deliberately cautious about letting a diagnosis become an identity. If your insurance requires a diagnosis for billing, your therapist will explain that clearly and it does not have to define the work.
Can I do this by telehealth, and how soon can I start?
Yes. Narrative work is entirely conversational, so it translates well to secure video. Telehealth is available across New York and Indiana. We are accepting new clients and respond to booking requests within one business day.
Does narrative therapy deny that my problem is real?
No. Externalizing does not mean the problem is imaginary or that nothing is wrong. It means the problem is not the whole of who you are, which makes it easier to look at directly and reduce its influence.
How do I get started?
- 1
Check your insurance
Confirm your plan is in-network. Most major plans are accepted, and it takes about two minutes.
- 2
Book online
Pick a time in our secure client portal. It is a short form, mostly checkboxes, and takes about two minutes.
- 3
Meet your therapist
Your first session is an intake. Your therapist asks what brought you in, and you set a weekly time together.
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You do not have to figure this out alone. Book a session or check your insurance in under two minutes.