“Externalizing the Internalized:” Exploring Externalizing Conversations in Narrative Therapy with Adolescents and Young Adults in the Indian Context

People who seek therapy often view the problems they are experiencing as reflections of something internal, which could lead to a sense of helplessness over the problem, ideas of blame, and negative self-worth. Narrative therapy is a respectful, non-blaming approach to therapy that centers people as the experts in their own lives and views problems as separate from people. Externalizing conversations are a facet of narrative therapy that seek to separate individuals from these “internalized” understandings or ideas of a problem, place the problem in the social context, and construct preferred stories that align with their values and skills to re-author problem stories. The problem stories people bring into therapy may often focus on perceived failures, weaknesses, or feeling overwhelmed with the problem. Externalizing conversations can play a role in deconstructing these narratives and therefore challenge the negative perceptions of self and identity associated with the problem.

The stories presented in this article by three narrative practitioners working in the Indian context revolve around their therapeutic work with three young people, with a focus on the use of externalizing conversations to de-pathologize LGBTQIA+ identities, work with experiences of violence and abuse without retraumatization, and deconstruct the diagnosis of ADHD. Here, externalizing conversations serve as a framework to deconstruct ideas of internalized blame, shame, and guilt for young people with different problems, ages, and socio-cultural contexts. Weaving these distinct stories together and reflecting on the use of externalizing conversations in the therapeutic context, this article seeks to explore and discuss dominant ideas about problem stories and therapeutic intervention and create paths to reauthored stories with a focus on individual agency and social justice.