Narrative Therapy vs SFBT
A side-by-side comparison: mechanism, evidence, the conditions each treats, philosophical roots, and where they actually disagree clinically.
At a glance
Narrative Therapy
- Tradition
- Postmodern
- Founder
- Michael White / David Epston (1990)
- Evidence
- Emerging evidence
- Focus
- Narrative + Relational
- Format
- Indiv + Family + Community
- Duration
- Short-medium
SFBT
- Tradition
- Postmodern
- Founder
- de Shazer / Insoo Kim Berg (1985)
- Evidence
- Guideline-recommended
- Focus
- Strengths-based
- Format
- Indiv + Family + Group
- Duration
- Very short (1-8)
How they work
Narrative Therapy
Core mechanism: Externalizing problems + re-authoring preferred identity narratives through unique outcomes
Ontology: Dominant cultural narratives constrain identity; problems are social/linguistic constructions, not internal pathology
SFBT
Core mechanism: Identifying exceptions, preferred futures, and existing strengths amplifies what already works; solution-building vs. problem-solving
Ontology: Problems are not continuous; exceptions exist. Focusing on problems maintains problems; focusing on solutions builds solutions
Conditions treated
1 shared · 4 Narrative Therapy-only · 3 SFBT-only
Both treat
Only Narrative Therapy
Only SFBT
What each assumes — and misses
Narrative Therapy
Philosophical roots: Foucault (power/knowledge, subjugated knowledges); Ricoeur (narrative identity); Derrida (deconstruction); Bruner (narrative as mode of knowing); Bateson (ecology of mind); social constructionism
Blind spots: Can feel intellectually abstract; political framing may not resonate with all clients; limited controlled research
Therapeutic voice: So depression has been telling you that you're worthless. When has there been a time when you didn't believe depression's story?
SFBT
Philosophical roots: Wittgenstein (language games — meaning is use); de Shazer (solution-focused); social constructionism (Gergen); pragmatism (what works matters more than why)
Blind spots: May minimize genuine suffering by focusing prematurely on solutions; limited depth for complex trauma or personality work
Therapeutic voice: Tell me about a recent time when the problem wasn't happening. What was different?
Choosing between them
Narrative Therapy and SFBT both sit within the Postmodern tradition — they share a worldview about what suffering is and how change happens. Differences are more often about technique and emphasis than about underlying theory.
For deeper coverage: see the full Narrative Therapy and SFBT pages, or use the interactive comparison tool to add more modalities to this comparison.