When is Storytelling Therapeutic?—Hurtful and Healing Stories

This chapter discusses when stories can be hurtful or healing. The latter occurs when it is possible to transform or replace previously devaluing, energy-consuming, possibility-limiting life stories into appreciative, energy-giving, possibility-expanding stories for the listener. The context in which a story is told is at least as important for its effect as the content. In therapy, stories are listened to with the expectation that they will contribute to a solution. The client’s concern creates a framework in which the helpful aspects of the story gain more intense effectiveness than if they were read in a book, for example.