Art for Change · Principle 4 of 5
Creating a New Life Story
Expert interview with Jim Sibel · 11:12 min · in English
About the principle
Creating a new life story can help clients understand themselves in new ways and find meaning, hope and coherence in their experience. Many people carry stories about themselves shaped by shame, powerlessness or fixed roles. Through creative processes the client can examine and rewrite those stories.
Regulating the nervous system. A new, dynamic life story gives the strength to see the trauma from a distance and from a new position. Where the trauma was once all-consuming, it becomes less dangerous, because the new life story is now the primary one.
Building body awareness. Life stories are not only mental – they are felt in the body, in tension, posture and energy.
Creating calm and presence. Making new images, symbols or narratives can open towards hope and the sense that the future need not be fixed by the past.
Extract from the book Art for Change – Creativity in Working with Trauma and Mental Health.
Exercises
- Make a timeline of important moments in life using colours, symbols or images
- Create an image of ”who I was”, ”who I am” and ”who I wish to become”
- Write a letter from your future self to your present self
- Work with collage to create a story of strength, hope or change
- Use artefacts or objects to build a new life story
- Give your life story a new title that better reflects your values
Guidance for the therapist
Be aware that the client’s story is often closely bound up with identity and protective strategies. Avoid pressing for positive rewrites or rapid change. Life stories are always dynamic and in motion, and they need to connect to communities that can carry them forward.
Questions for reflection
- Which stories about yourself have taken up the most space in your life?
- Are there parts of your story you see differently now?
- What strengths or resources do you discover in your story?
- How does the new story feel in your body compared to the old one?
- What do you want the next chapter of your life story to contain?
About Jim Sibel
Dr. James R. Sibel is a co-founder of the True Storytelling Institute® alongside Jens Larsen and others. He holds an MA in Law and a PhD in Organizational Development, has more than 40 years of leadership experience and teaches ethical storytelling and team building in the United States and Europe. This principle builds on True Storytelling®.
In the interview, Jim answers: ”How do we use storytelling to create a new life story as inspiration for therapists in their creative work with their clients?”