In narrative therapy, the stories we live by — the inner narratives that shape our sense of self, struggle, and possibility — are not just metaphors. They are central to how we make meaning in our lives. Contemporary narrative therapy is an ongoing reimagining of those ideas, one that embraces creativity, collaboration, and evolving practice rather than rigid techniques or fixed formulas.

The Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy (JCNT) reflects this spirit. Rather than presenting completed academic papers polished into certainty, the journal invites practitioners to share ideas in the midst of invention — half‑formed, experimental, reflective — with the intention of engaging other therapists in living dialogue. It is described as an “anti‑journal” that prioritises innovation, participation, and discovery over traditional scholarly convention.

Beyond Manuals: Narrative Therapy as Creative Practice

At its core, contemporary narrative therapy grows out of the work of Michael White and David Epston, the founders of narrative practice. Instead of seeing problems as residing within individuals, narrative therapy understands them as influences that have shaped the person’s life story — influences that can be externalised, examined, and re‑authored.

But contemporary narrative therapy goes further than telling clients they are not their problems. It emphasises the artistry of therapeutic conversation — the craft of asking questions that reveal hidden meanings, unspoken intentions, and alternative narratives that have been overshadowed by dominant problem stories. Contemporary practitioners see narrative therapy not merely as technique but as an art form, involving curiosity, creativity, and relational attunement. This focus on the making of practice — on how curious, attentive conversation using imaginative and artful questions, shapes the very emergence of meaning — is something the Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy champions. Rather than waiting for ideas to be “finished,” narrative therapists share them while they are alive, evolving, and in dialogue with other clinicians.

Stories, Creativity, and the Therapy Encounter

Contemporary narrative therapy values storied practice — therapeutic engagements that are described not through technical jargon or static categories, but through rich, experience‑near storytelling. A section of JCNT called “Storied Practice” champions this approach: writing that places the reader in the midst of the therapeutic encounter, showing the therapist and client as they are living the work together.

This is not writing for clarity’s sake alone; it’s writing as a therapeutic medium. Storied practice texts aim to awaken experience, inviting the reader to feel the dynamics, uncertainties, and breakthroughs of narrative work as if they were in the room themselves. This emphasis on narrative as lived process is a hallmark of contemporary narrative practice.

A Collaborative, Evolving Tradition

The journal’s embrace of innovation reflects a deeper commitment to what might be called narrative commingling: the idea that narrative therapy grows through dialogue with practitioners, communities, and clients themselves. Unlike some traditional academic journals that archive polished results, JCNT invites contributions that are emergent — experimental, provisional, and open.

This orientation aligns with contemporary narrative therapy’s stance that therapeutic knowledge is not a fixed body of truths but a relational phenomenon — co‑created in conversation and continually reshaped by practice, reflection, and cultural context. It’s an approach that welcomes diversity of voice, imagination, and innovation.

Ethics, Imagination, and Change

Contemporary narrative therapy is not just analytical; it is ethical and imaginative. It invites practitioners to consider how therapy can expand possibilities for clients rather than reinforce limiting narratives. It recognises that people are not passive recipients of treatment but co‑authors of their own lives. This emphasis on agency and dignity is central to the practice’s ongoing evolution.

Many contemporary narrative pieces explore themes such as relational accountability — how our stories shape not just our lives but the lives of others in our relationships — and the ways narrative can nurture compassion, creativity, and moral imagination.

A Living, Participatory Approach

In essence, contemporary narrative therapy is less a fixed method and more a living practice. It treats therapeutic ideas as phenomena to be explored — not concluded — and values co‑creation, experimentation, and participation. The Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy embodies this ethos by providing a space where ideas are in the making, inviting therapists and readers alike into conversations about how narrative practice continues to evolve in real time.

Contemporary narrative therapy is not about having all the answers — it’s about crafting better questions, listening deeply for the stories worth reclaiming, and inviting people into new possibilities for who they have been and who they might