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Coaching approaches

Narrative coaching

Narrative coaching helps you look at the story you are telling about a situation, notice the parts that do not fit it, and consider whether another account would serve you better. It adapts narrative therapy, which therapists began developing in the 1980s, for coaching conversations, and it is set out most fully in the writing of David Drake. The evidence is thin. No outcome study of narrative coaching turned up in the searches for this page, and I did not verify a peer-reviewed outcome study of narrative therapy either, so the approach is graded as practitioner tradition.

What it is

A narrative conversation asks you to tell the story of a situation in your own words, and then notices which parts of that story are doing the work. The coach is interested in the names you give things, the roles you describe for yourself and others, and the endings you expect. Stories are treated as useful but not final: a story can organise what you notice, and it can also leave out details that matter.

The coach looks for exceptions, which this tradition calls unique outcomes: moments that do not fit the problem story. Those moments become material for an alternative account, and you decide whether to adopt it. Narrative coaching is therefore less about finding the right story than about making room for a second one.

Where it comes from

Narrative therapy, the parent practice, was developed by therapists from the 1980s onward. It holds that problems are shaped by dominant stories about people's lives, and that those stories can be re-examined and re-told.

David Drake has written on narrative approaches for coaching psychology, arguing that thinking narratively has implications for coaching practice (Drake, 2007). A chapter on narrative coaching followed (Drake, 2020).

The principles underneath

Stories shape what you notice

The account you give of a situation decides which details seem relevant, and so which options seem available (Drake, 2007).

Separate the problem from the person

The problem is described as something that affects you, rather than as a fixed fact about who you are. The narrative tradition calls this externalising.

Look for unique outcomes

Times when the problem was less present, or when you acted differently, are treated as openings for a second story rather than as exceptions to be dismissed.

You are the author of the account

The coach asks questions and offers observations, and you decide which account to keep, change or drop (Drake, 2020).

How a session runs

  1. You describe the situation as you currently tell it, in your own words, and the coach notes the key terms you use.
  2. The coach asks what the story says about the problem, what it says about you, and what it leaves out.
  3. The coach asks about moments when the problem was less present or when you handled things differently, and what those moments show about you.
  4. The coach asks what alternative account would fit those moments better, and what it would mean for the next decision.
  5. You choose one action that fits the new account, and agree how you will notice whether the story is changing in practice.

When it tends to fit

  • You keep describing the same situation the same way, and every version ends with you at fault.
  • You are making sense of a change, such as a move, an ending or a new role, and want to tell it in a way that fits what you want next.
  • You hold a belief about yourself, such as 'I always end up on my own', and want to test how far it holds across the other areas of your life.

What the research shows

Evidence: Practitioner tradition — little or no outcome research

Narrative coaching is a conceptual practice. I did not find a controlled outcome study of narrative coaching, and in the searches for this page I did not verify a peer-reviewed outcome study of narrative therapy either. The closest peer-reviewed research is on Narrative Exposure Therapy, a trauma treatment that also works with a person's life story. A review of its emerging evidence (Robjant & Fazel, 2010) is cited here as adjacent research, not as evidence for coaching. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of narrative therapy for depressive symptoms in adults is listed as a preprint on SSRN (Hu et al., 2024). It has not been checked against a peer-reviewed version, and it is cited only as a pointer to where evidence may be found.

Where the evidence is thin: Drake's writing is conceptual and case-based, and the research above does not test narrative coaching or the coaching use of narrative therapy. Its usefulness in coaching has not been tested in controlled studies that I could find, so the approach is best held as a reflective practice rather than as a tested method.

Sources

  1. Drake, D. B. (2007). The art of thinking narratively: Implications for coaching psychology and practice. Australian Psychologist, 42(4), 283–294.
  2. Drake, D. (2020). Narrative coaching. In The Coaches’ Handbook (pp. 257–266).
  3. Robjant, K., & Fazel, M. (2010). The emerging evidence for Narrative Exposure Therapy: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(8), 1030–1039.
  4. Hu, G., Han, B., Gains, H., & Jia, Y. (2024). Effectiveness of Narrative Therapy for Depressive Symptoms in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. SSRN.

Where it stops

Narrative work can feel like being asked to rewrite something that really happened. A story about harm, abuse or a loss that has not been acknowledged needs a qualified therapist, not a reframe in a coaching conversation.

A new story does not change circumstances. If the problem is money, safety or a relationship that is harming you, the work needs practical help alongside any change in how you describe it.

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