Agency and dialogic tension in co-editing more preferred narratives

As narrative therapists and researchers we are interested in how conversations invite co-authoring and co-editing possibilities to develop self-narratives preferred by our partners in dialogue. ‘Problem saturated stories’ acquire their dominance and self-defining plausibility through unquestioned personal and cultural conversations. Questions and responsive dialogues, however, can invite consideration and elaboration of previously implausible plotlines and discourses pertaining to self-narratives. Accordingly, we report on processes and outcomes from research conversations with volunteers who self-identified as having been sexually abused, and who joined Sarah in co-authoring and co-editing ‘small stories’ of healthy intimacy after the abuse.