Michael White
Separated the person from the problem.
Co-founder of narrative therapy, holding that people are distinct from their problems and can re-author the stories that shape their lives.
techniques
The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem.
Who they were
Michael White was an Australian social worker and family therapist regarded as the founder of narrative therapy. Born in Adelaide, he founded the Dulwich Centre in 1983. With David Epston he developed narrative therapy, set out in their 1990 book Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends, working notably with children, Aboriginal communities and people facing trauma.
Terms they cared about
Ideas worth knowing
Their techniques
How the work was done
Their big idea
Narrative Theory
We live by stories; separating person from problem opens room for a preferred narrative.
The approach they founded
Narrative Therapy
You live by stories. It separates the person from the problem and helps author a preferred one.
Questions in their spirit
What they’d ask you
Sit with one. Answer online, or in the app.
Carry the idea forward
White — What they’d ask you
Psipas asks you one small, honest question at a time — and builds the picture from your answers.