Practice paper: Walking bravely in the face of uncertainty: A narrative family therapy practice story

This paper shares a story of practice with a family who initially came to counselling because the 17-year-old son was suicidal. Our work came to focus on the family as a whole and their process of coming back together after being separated for some years in response to the father’s drug use. We developed a new understanding of the mother’s decision to ask the father to leave the family home as an act of bravery that had contributed to the wellbeing of all involved. Through identifying individual and collective wonderfulnesses, the family members developed a new shared identity in which bravery, resilience and calm could provide a foundation for responding to current and future life challenges.