Landscape of Identity and Action Questions
Use two question types to map both what the person DID (action) and what that reveals about who they ARE (identity).
Why it works
Narrative therapy distinguishes two "landscapes" in a story: the landscape of action (what happened, in sequence) and the landscape of identity (what the events reveal about the person’s desires, values, and qualities). Asking only action questions produces a sequence of events but no meaning. Asking only identity questions produces abstract self-description with no grounding. Alternating between the two thickens the story in both dimensions simultaneously — grounded events that reveal character.
How to do it
- Map the action landscape first: "What did you do? What happened next? When did you decide that?"
- Then shift to identity: "What does it say about you that you did that? What does that reflect about what matters to you?"
- Alternate: let the identity answer prompt a new action question to ground it.
- Work forward and backward in time: find the history of the quality, and imagine its future.
- Use both landscapes when exploring unique outcomes, not just when building the preferred story.
Evidence
The two-landscape model is a central theoretical framework from White’s narrative therapy practice and his use of Bruner’s narrative psychology. Bruner’s distinction between landscape of action and landscape of consciousness is well-established in narrative psychology. (mechanistic)
The two-landscape framework is theoretically grounded in narrative psychology; its clinical effectiveness as an isolated technique has not been separately trialed.
Sources
- Bruner (1986), "Actual Minds, Possible Worlds" — foundational narrative psychology framework
Common mistake
Staying only in the action landscape ("and then what happened?") and never turning toward identity — this produces an interesting story but no transformation of self-understanding.
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More practices for Narrative Therapy: Rewriting the Stories That Define You
- Externalizing the Problem
Separate the person from the problem by talking about it as if it exists outside them.
- Finding Unique Outcomes (Exceptions to the Problem Story)
Surface moments when the problem did NOT dominate — these are the seeds of an alternative story.
- Re-Authoring the Alternative Story
Build a preferred story of identity by thickening the exceptions into a narrative with a plot.
- Definitional Ceremonies and Outsider Witnesses
Invite meaningful others to witness and retell the new story — being known differently by others consolidates the new identity.
- Therapeutic Letters
A therapist’s written letter to a client between sessions — documenting alternative-story gains before they fade.
- The Absent But Implicit: What Problems Reveal About What We Value
Every problem story implies a violated value — surfacing that value reveals the person’s strengths, not just their struggles.
Related concepts
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Made Practical
The core techniques, the mechanisms, and where the evidence is strongest
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Made Practical
The core ACT processes, the mechanisms behind them, and an honest read on the evidence
- Internal Family Systems (IFS), Made Practical
The parts model, the mechanisms behind it, and an honest read on an emerging evidence base