In narrative therapy and also when I work with children/teens, I actively externalise the problem. This involves turning an adjective “I am a depressed Mother” “My child is anxious”..into a noun. “I am experiencing depression”‘ “I am experiencing anxiety”. It separates the person from the problem. The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem. Whether that be a person’s relationship with drugs, alcohol, food; anger etc. Externalising makes it possible for the family or individual to look at the impact of the difficulties, without blame or shame. Externalising creates space to explore and develop storylines about life “outside the problem”. e.g. Times when the problem (anxiety/depression/..) doesn’t exert as much influence.
