Narrative Exposure Therapy - Christchurch
Trauma can make life feel fragmented, like your story has been interrupted in painful ways. Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) helps piece those moments back together by guiding you to tell your life story in a safe, structured way. By placing traumatic events within the broader context of your life, NET can help reduce the emotional weight they carry and bring more clarity to who you are beyond what you've been through. Originally developed for survivors of war, torture, and repeated trauma, NET is backed by a strong research base and has since been adapted for use in a wide range of settings. It offers a way to gently confront what happened without getting lost in it, helping people reclaim their sense of identity.
How does NET help with trauma?
When trauma builds up over time, it can leave your mind holding memories in a scattered, intense way. Instead of being stored like a typical memory, traumatic events often stay vivid and emotionally charged, easily triggered by everyday experiences. NET guides you to place these events in chronological order, alongside meaningful parts of your life. This structured retelling helps your brain process what happened more fully, so the memories become more organised and less intense. Over time, this can reduce emotional reactivity and help you feel more in control of your story.
What to expect in sessions
NET is usually delivered over 8 to 20 sessions, depending on the complexity of your experiences and your pace. Each session builds on the last, gradually helping you create a clear and detailed narrative of your life.
During the early phase, we begin mapping significant life events together on what’s called a "lifeline." This includes both meaningful and traumatic experiences, represented symbolically with flowers and stones. This lifeline offers a coherent, organised structure to begin piecing your story together.
The main part of NET involves sharing your life story in detail, one event at a time. You’ll be supported to stay grounded as you work through each memory. Sessions are audio-recorded so that your therapist can transcribe your words and read them back to you in later sessions. This process helps anchor the narrative, making it feel more structured and manageable. The goal isn’t to erase painful memories, but to place them within your story in a way that no longer feels chaotic or defining.
Is NET Right for me?
NET can be a helpful option if you've experienced multiple traumatic events, especially when those memories feel jumbled, overwhelming, or hard to place in order. People often choose NET for its structured process to make sense of what happened, without needing to analyse every belief or symptom in detail. That said, NET may not suit everyone. It involves repeated exposure to distressing memories, which can be challenging at times. Its structured format also offers less flexibility, and it doesn’t focus on directly challenging specific thoughts like in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).
Finding the Right Trauma Therapy for You
No two trauma experiences are the same, and neither is the process of recovery. Some people benefit most from structured, timeline-based approaches like Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), while others prefer therapies with a different focus or pace.
Trauma-Focused therapy options
Each model we offer has its own focus. Some help organise fragmented memories, others gently address feelings of shame or guilt, and some work more directly with negative thought patterns. If you’re not sure which direction to take, we’re here to help you explore what feels most supportive.
Book a NET Appointment in Christchurch
If you’re looking for a structured, evidence-based approach to process trauma, we’re here to help. Narrative Exposure Therapy offers a clear pathway to organise difficult memories and regain a sense of continuity. Get in touch to learn more or book your first session.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”