Therapy as a Conversation, Not a Diagnosis

When people come to therapy, they often arrive with a label already attached—or at least the fear of being given one.

“Am I anxious?”
“Is something wrong with me?”
“Do I need a diagnosis to get better?”

As a therapist, I want to gently challenge this idea: you are not your diagnosis. You are not a list of symptoms or a category in a manual. You are a whole person, with a rich, complex story. Therapy should honor that—not reduce it.

Labels Can Help—and Hurt

Sometimes, a diagnosis can offer clarity or access to support. It can help name what’s happening. But it can also become a box—a shorthand that others (and even we ourselves) start using to define who we are. Especially with kids and teens, I’ve seen how quickly these labels can stick, and how hard they can be to shake.

That’s why in my practice, I approach things differently.

Narrative Therapy: A Different Lens

In narrative therapy, we explore the stories you hold about yourself—and the ones the world has handed you. I don’t see therapy as a place to classify. I see it as a conversation:

• What’s been going on in your life, and how are you making sense of it?

• What strengths or values have helped you get this far?

• What story do you want to tell about this season of your life?

And most importantly: Who are you, beyond the problem?

Renaming the Struggle

One of the ways I approach diagnosis without stigma is through renaming—giving the experience a name that feels more true to you, not just a clinical term. Instead of calling it “anxiety,” a young client might name it The Worry Cloud. Instead of “oppositional behavior,” it might become The Volcano Voice that shows up when things feel unfair.

Renaming creates distance. It helps externalize the struggle: this is something you're dealing with, not something you are.It also gives us a shared language to talk about what's happening—one that invites curiosity, compassion, and even creativity.

When we rename, we reclaim. We shift the focus from what’s “wrong” to what’s happening, and how you want to relate to it.

You’re More Than a Label

Whether you're a child struggling with big emotions, a teen exploring identity, a veterinarian holding grief, or a first responder carrying stress—your experiences are real, but they don’t define you.

You're not broken. You're not a diagnosis.
You're a person with a story that deserves to be heard—and rewritten, in your own words.

Warmly,

Abbey Vince, AMFT