Narrative Counselling Cairns
Some people carry stories about themselves that are heavy.
This post is about narrative counselling in Cairns, and how I use it in a simple, human way at Strong Foundation Support.
The idea behind narrative counselling is not that we pretend life has been easy. It is that we slow down and look at the story a person has been living with, and whether that story still fits.
What is narrative counselling?
Narrative counselling looks at the stories people tell about themselves, their life, and the problems they face.
These stories can come from many places:
Family
School
Work
Trauma
Disability
Grief
Diagnosis
Failure
Shame
Other people’s opinions
Over time, a person may start to believe one story is the whole truth.
I might hear things like:
“I always mess things up.”
“I am too much for people.”
“I am broken.”
“I should be over this by now.”
In narrative counselling, I do not rush to correct the person.
I do not tell them to think positive.
I listen for how that story formed.
I listen for what has been left out.
Most people have more than one story.
A person may feel anxious, but also be caring.
A person may feel stuck, but still be showing up for their family.
A person may feel ashamed, but still have values they are trying to live by.
Narrative counselling makes room for the fuller picture.
This fits with the way I work at Strong Foundation Support. My counselling is practical, plain, and respectful.
You can read more about my general counselling work here:
Individual counselling in Cairns
How does narrative counselling Cairns work?
Narrative counselling Cairns is not about giving someone a script for life.
It is more like sitting beside someone and looking at the story together.
I may ask about the problem as if it is something separate from the person.
In simple words, this means:
You are not the problem.
The problem is the problem.
For example, instead of saying, “I am anxiety,” we may talk about how anxiety has been affecting your day.
I may ask:
When does it show up?
What does it tell you?
What does it stop you from doing?
What have you already tried?
That small change can matter.
It gives a person a bit of space.
They can look at the problem without feeling like their whole identity is being judged.
I may also ask about the times when the problem was not as strong.
Even small examples count.
A person might say, “I was anxious all week.”
Then later they remember one moment where they:
Answered the phone
Went to an appointment
Made dinner
Told someone the truth
Took a break before reacting
That does not erase the hard parts.
It just means the hard parts are not the whole story.
In my work, this is often where things become more useful.
Not perfect.
Not fixed.
Just clearer.
Why do people get stuck in one story?
People often get stuck in one story because the hard parts have been repeated for a long time.
If someone has been criticised for years, they may start to believe they are the problem.
If someone has lived with disability, pain, or illness, they may start to feel like life has been reduced to appointments, limits, and other people’s views.
If someone has gone through grief, trauma, or major change, they may feel like life is split into before and after.
These stories can become very strong.
They can shape:
How someone sees themselves
What they expect from other people
What they think they deserve
What they avoid
What they stop asking for
A person may avoid support because they think they will be judged.
They may stay quiet because they think their needs are too much.
They may give up on goals because they think the outcome is already set.
This is one reason counselling can be useful.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that 21.5% of Australians aged 16 to 85 had a 12-month mental disorder in 2020 to 2022, with anxiety being the most common group at 17.2%: ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing.
As a counsellor, I stay within my scope.
I do not diagnose medical conditions.
I do not promise that counselling will fix everything.
What I can do is provide a safe and steady space to talk, reflect, and make sense of what is happening.
Can narrative counselling help with anxiety?
Narrative counselling may support some people with anxiety by helping them understand how anxiety has shaped their story.
Anxiety can become loud.
It can tell a person they are unsafe, even when there is no clear danger.
It can make simple tasks feel heavy.
It can lead to avoidance.
It can also make a person feel weak or embarrassed.
In counselling, I may ask:
When did anxiety first become a big part of the story?
What does anxiety tend to say?
What does anxiety get in the way of?
What do you value that anxiety has been pushing against?
What helps, even a little?
These questions are not magic.
They are just a way of slowing things down.
For some people, anxiety counselling may also include practical tools.
This could include:
Grounding
Planning
Thought checking
Simple routines
Looking at patterns that keep anxiety going
Practising small steps that feel manageable
If anxiety is the main concern, this page may be a better fit:
What does “your story is not finished yet” mean in counselling?
“Your story is not finished yet” means your life is not only the worst part of what happened to you.
It does not mean the pain was small.
It does not mean you should move on quickly.
It does not mean you need to turn hard things into a lesson.
It means there may be other parts of you that have not had enough room.
There may be:
Values that still matter to you
Relationships that still need care
Choices that are still yours to make
Strengths you have stopped noticing
Parts of your identity buried under stress, grief, fear, or shame
In narrative counselling, I am careful with this idea.
I do not use it as a slogan.
I do not want people to feel pushed into being positive.
Some people are tired.
Some people are angry.
Some people are grieving.
Some people feel numb.
Those responses make sense.
Counselling can give space for those parts too.
What might we talk about in a session?
A session may begin with what has been happening lately.
That might include:
Stress at home
A change in health
A hard conversation
A problem with support workers
Grief
Anxiety
Burnout
Feeling stuck
Feeling like you do not know who you are anymore
From there, I may ask about the story around it.
I might ask:
What name would you give this problem?
How has it affected your life?
What has it taken from you?
What has helped you stand up to it, even a little?
Who would notice the real you underneath all this?
These are not questions that need perfect answers.
Sometimes people need time.
Sometimes the first session is just about saying things out loud without being interrupted.
For NDIS participants, counselling may also sit alongside other supports.
I work with self-managed and plan-managed participants where counselling fits the person’s goals and plan.
You can read more here:
A real observation from counselling work
In client work, I have noticed that people often speak about themselves much more harshly than they would ever speak about someone else.
A person may describe years of stress, loss, pain, or pressure.
Then they still finish by saying, “I should be handling this better.”
That sentence tells me something.
It tells me the person is not only dealing with the problem.
They are also dealing with the story they have built around the problem.
I also bring lived experience to my work.
I know what it is like to live with disability and to have other people make assumptions about what your life means.
That does not make me know someone else’s life.
It does make me careful about not reducing a person to one part of their story.
For me, narrative counselling is not about giving people a new label.
It is about making room for a more honest story.
One that includes:
The hard parts
The parts that survived
The values that still matter
The choices still available
The person underneath the problem
Is narrative counselling the right fit for you?
Narrative counselling may suit you if you feel stuck in the way you see yourself.
It may also suit you if you are dealing with:
Anxiety
Grief
Disability
Burnout
Shame
Stress
A major life change
It is not the only approach I use.
I may also use practical counselling tools, CBT-style questions, solution-focused work, and trauma-informed support where they fit.
The main thing is that the work needs to suit the person in front of me.
Some people want to talk through their story.
Some people want practical steps.
Some people need both.
That is okay.
Counselling is not about forcing one method onto every person.
It is about working together in a way that makes sense.
Closing
If this post fits with something you have been carrying, counselling is available through Strong Foundation Support in Cairns and by telehealth across Australia.
You can get in touch through the website contact page:
Contact Strong Foundation Support
Written by Allan Bunyan, CPCA — counsellor at Strong Foundation Support, Cairns. Allan works with adults and young people aged 14 and over, in person in Cairns and via telehealth across Australia.
