(The theme or outcome of the story may be defined with the parents in the therapy sessions, and
the parents can then be coached through the following steps.)
Step 2:Plan the Story
It is said that every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. For healing stories I refer to the be-
ginning as the Problem, the middle as the Resources, and the end as the Outcome—something I call
the PRO-Approach. When planning a story, I find it easiest to begin at the end, finding the Outcome
first, as I suggested in Step 1. Next you need to ask, what is the middle? What skills, progression of
steps, or Resources does the character need to reach its goal? Third, what is the beginning of the story?
What Problem or challenge does the character need to overcome? Fourth, who is the character? What
sort of character will help communicate the story’s message? If you want a warm, fuzzy, cuddly end-
ing to the story, you may choose a teddy bear or one of your child’s pets. If the story is communicat-
ing a message of strength, a character like an elephant or a superhero might be a better choice.
(In working with a parent, it helps at this point to plan an actual story with her or him that can
be taken home and told to the child between therapy sessions. In the follow-up session you may want
to know how the child responded to the story, how the parent felt in telling it, what they noticed
about the parent-child relationship, and how they might continue or build on this experience.)
Step 3:Present the Story
Tell it from the beginning (the challenge or Problem). Describe the steps the character needs to take
or the skills it needs to develop to reach the story’s goal (the Resources). Conclude with the ending
(the Outcome).
(Generally, I want to keep this process as simple as possible to make it easy for the parents to fol-
low, ensuring their successful storytelling, and building their feelings of confidence to continue.
When they are confident, you can suggest Step 4 (next) and introduce them to the guidelines for
storytelling and the storyteller’s voice, as in Chapter 2.)
Step 4:Stop, Look, and Listen
Observe how your child is responding to the story. Is he or she interested or involved? Is he or she
bored and fidgety, or aroused and excited? Is he or she dozing or sleeping? If this is the desired effect
of the story, then keep doing what you are doing. If not, then change the direction of your tale or
engage the child in how it might be improved.
(You can ask parents to record one or two of their storytelling sessions on tape and bring it with
them to an appointment if feedback is required.)
AN EXAMPLE OF EFFECTIVE PARENTAL STORYTELLINGThe effective use of parental storytelling was recently demonstrated to me in an e-mail I received
from the mother of a boy who was part of the project from which I gathered the stories in Chapter
TEACHING PARENTSTeaching Parents to Use Healing Stories 271