Awakening to hope through narrative practices— Judith Johnson

At times of severe personal crisis, a person’s problems often become the focus. Individuals can be reduced to diagnoses, taking away their sense of agency. Stripped of the acknowledgement of their unique skills and knowledges their stories and identities become thin and problem-riddled. This article describes the experiences of a practitioner who brought her knowledge of narrative practices to bear when hospitalised as the result of her own breakdown. Narrative practices provided an antidote to pathologising discourses and practices of power and privilege. They enabled her to maintain dignity and facilitated an awakening to hope.