Narrative Therapy and the Cyclic Intervention

This diagram shows the dynamic driving this client’s problem gambling.

The cyclic intervention has an impact similar to Narrative Therapy’s externalisation of the client’s problem.

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The cyclic intervention

Here is a brief overview of the self-reinforcing feedback cycle that emerged during the session with Zed.

This diagram shows the dynamic driving this client’s problem gambling.

Towards the end of the session, I summed it up, saying to him:

  • There is a cycle here.
  • The more you gamble to feel respected while you’re winning,
  • the more money you lose and the less respect you get at home and at work, so
  • the more you need respect, and
  • this throws you back to gamble more.
  • This vicious cycle is making life difficult for you.

The method for generating and using the cyclic intervention is critical; the linked page describes the counselling session.

Narrative therapy

Narrative therapy proposes that counsellors present the client’s problem as something external to the client, rather than the client being the problem or the problem being within the person. In this process, called externalising, the counsellor objectifies or personalises the client’s problem and can give it a name or a character of its own.

For instance, for a child who does not control their bowels, the counsellor could externalise the problem by calling the problem “sneaky poo”. By treating sneaky poo as the problem, the counsellor shifts attention away from the child being at fault. Then the counsellor can encourage change by asking externalising questions, for example, “Tell me about a time when you were able to trick sneaky poo”, and “What did your mum think when you tricked sneaky poo?” Focusing on these exceptional times of success can build the client’s narrative around overcoming the problem.

Externalising

The cyclic intervention is a little like externalisation, but it does not externalise Zed’s problem entirely. It does objectify Zed’s gambling problem. It also moves the emphasis from Zed being the problem, as when his mother calls him crazy, to the cyclic behaviour being the problem. However, this still locates the problem within Zed as the vicious gambling cycle is a cycle of his behaviour.

The intervention left him with a clear understanding of his gambling and the aim of breaking the cycle.

Naming the externalised entity

The cyclic intervention opens the way for the further use of narrative therapy techniques. I could have asked Zed to name this vicious cycle, and he could have picked something like the “respect shredder”.

Externalising conversations

Then a counsellor could begin an externalising conversation, asking:

  • Tell me about times when you were able to resist the shredder.
  • What strengths were you using when you resisted the shredder?
  • Where did you get those strengths?
  • Did you notice others respecting you when you pushed back the shredder?
  • Did you find yourself respecting yourself more when you turned from the shredder?

Zed was full of excitement about gambling as a means of finding respect, a flawed solution. Externalising conversations could help him identify his strengths and build his interest in other activities that help him gain respect, generating virtuous cycles that help him escape his vicious gambling cycle.

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First Loaded: 19 Dec 2025