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Attunigrate

Narrative Therapy for Depression & Life Transitions in Michigan

Narrative therapy separates you from the story a hard season has been telling about who you are. Depression and grief both have a way of becoming identity instead of an experience you're moving through. This work rebuilds the account of your life around the change, rather than treating the change as the end of the story. Sessions are virtual, across Michigan. 
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​Why it's worded that way. This is lifted almost directly from the grief page's own description of narrative therapy ("rebuilds the account of your life around the change"), for the same reason the EMDR hero borrowed from a testimonial: when existing site copy already says it well, reuse it rather than rewrite it slightly differently in a way that creates two competing versions.

What we use narrative therapy for

  • Depression that has gone on long enough to feel like personality
  • Grief and major life transitions
  • Identity shifts after a diagnosis, divorce, career change, or move
  • Feeling defined by a story about yourself you didn't choose and don't fully believe

    • What a narrative therapy session actually looks like

    You and your therapist look at the story you've been telling about what happened to you, and about who that makes you. Then you go looking for the parts of your life that don't fit that story: the exceptions, the moments it doesn't explain.


    The problem gets talked about as separate from you, not as who you are. "The depression" rather than "I am depressed." That's not a semantic trick. It's the difference between fighting yourself and fighting something you're carrying, and it changes what feels possible to work on.


    Why the externalizing language stays. This is narrative therapy's actual mechanism, not a marketing flourish, and it's the part most likely to make a skeptical reader understand why this is different from "just talk about it and feel better."

    When narrative therapy, and when something else

    Narrative therapy fits when the problem has stopped feeling like something that happened to you and started feeling like who you are. It's especially useful when you've been carrying a label, a diagnosis, or a story for long enough that you can't remember a version of yourself without it.


    CBT fits better when you want structured tools for a specific, nameable pattern.


    IFS fits when the experience feels less like one story and more like different parts of you pulling in different directions.


    Most people end up with a blend, and the blend changes as you do. If you're not sure which describes you, that's genuinely fine. Working that out is what the first two sessions are for.

    What it costs?

    Narrative therapy sessions run $150 for 55 minutes, or $175 with Dr. Leija. With insurance, most clients pay a copay between $25 and $75 per session. We're in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, Aetna, Priority Health, and UnitedHealthcare, and we verify your exact cost before your first session.

    Check your coverage

    You are not the story you've been told

    Tell us what's been weighing on you, and we'll work out together whether narrative therapy is the right way in.

    Start your becoming

    Insurance & Payment Options for Therapy in Michigan

    We accept most major insurance plans. Attunigrate is in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, Aetna, Priority Health, and UnitedHealthcare.

    Most clients using insurance pay a copay between $25 and $75 per session, depending on their plan. We verify your exact cost before your first session so there are no surprises.


    Private pay is $150 per session with most of our therapists, $175 with Dr. Leija.
    We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid.

    Check your coverage
    See full pricing

    FAQ's

    A therapy that works with the story you've been telling about what happened to you and who it makes you, and looks for the parts of your life that don't fit that story. The problem gets treated as something you're carrying, not as who you are.

    No. Narrative therapy doesn't ask you to see the bright side or deny what happened. It's about separating the difficult thing from your identity, not minimizing it.

    Yes. It's particularly useful when grief or a major life change has reshaped who you think you are, since the work is about rebuilding your account of your life around the change rather than pretending you can go back to who you were before it.

    Yes. Part of the process is finding language for it together. You don't need to arrive with a clear story already worked out.

    Yes. It's a conversational approach, so it translates directly to virtual sessions. You need a private space and a stable connection, same as any other session.

    Usually. We're in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network, Aetna, Priority Health, and UnitedHealthcare. Most clients using insurance pay a copay between $25 and $75 per session. Private pay is $150, or $175 with Dr. Leija. We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid.