Story Telling Leads to Story Healing — Wellspring Counseling

Healing can be found in the process of telling a hard story. Putting words to a traumatic story is therapeutic in and of itself. It helps a person to remember details, express emotions, choose what is important to say, and make sense of all that has happened to them and in them. Storytelling helps a person begin to write conclusions to the story, which leads to resolution. Left unresolved, negative life events can be personally and spiritually harmful.

Our Wellspring team did a type of storytelling this week. We invited former therapists to come in and debrief our staff about their traumatic experiences of the process of hearing about one of our therapists who was directly involved in the Surfside tragedy. Although it was hard to do, most of us felt better afterwards. We try to do for ourselves what we encourage others to do for their own recovery.

The opportunity to tell our stories can be hard to come by, though. It is unusual and rare to share them without interruptions, advice, judgments, or having to take care of or listen to others in the process. Although story-telling is a basic part of the human experience, the skill and art of intentional listening is almost lost.

For years now, Wellspring has refined the art of Intentional Listening in a process called Story Healing. We use it in our Bounce and Restore trauma recovery programs, as well as in other venues. It is designed to provide a safe, confidential space for someone to fully express and explore their story in order to find resolution. It may not be as natural as having a friend who listens really well, but just like having gyms for exercise in a society that no longer naturally walks or lifts very much, a healthy space for intentional listening may be needed for our society's emotional health.

The Wellspring Story Healing session is a 1 to 1.5-hour narrative therapy session that includes two Trained Listeners (one of whom is a therapist) who guides a person through the telling of a single, negative or traumatic life event. Story Healing is a free service at Wellspring, provided by generous donors who understand the value of narrative therapy.

Give yourself the gift of being heard!

We will listen; we will witness your experiences;

we will not interrupt, advise or judge;

we will be safe and confidential;

we will be present for you!