Adolescence is a time of rapid change, but sometimes life throws a curveball that feels unmanageable. Whether it is a sudden health diagnosis, a parental divorce, a cross-country move, or a mental health struggle, these major disruptions often leave teens feeling powerless. They may feel like life is happening to them, rather than feeling like they are in the driver’s seat.
As educators, coaches, and youth-serving professionals, our primary function is to help young people navigate these stormy waters. One powerful, evidence-based tool to achieve this is narrative coaching—specifically, the concept of the “Hero’s Journey.” By helping teens “re-story” their experiences, we can empower them to transform their perspective from one of helplessness to one of purpose and resilience.
The stories we tell ourselves about our lives shape our reality. A recent study by Benjamin Rogers and colleagues (2023), published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that “seeing your life story as a hero’s journey increases meaning in life.”
The researchers discovered that when people frame their life experiences using the structure of a classic hero’s narrative, they experience a causal increase in their sense of meaning. For a teen facing a crisis, this “re-storying” intervention is vital. It allows them to reconsider the existing narratives they have about their lives—often narratives of victimization or confusion—and write new ones better suited to their goals and values.
To help a teen rewrite their narrative, it is helpful to understand the framework of the Hero’s Journey. Rogers’ study breaks this down into seven distinct elements. By identifying these elements in their own lives, teens can see structure in the chaos.
You can use the following prompt-based exercise to support teens through a major life disruption. This activity is designed to foster their power over the narrative and help them process a challenge that feels out of their control.
Sit down with your student or client and ask them to reflect on their current struggle using these open-ended questions. Remind them that they are the author of this story.
Question: What makes you, you?
Guidance: Encourage them to consider their identity, personality, and core values. This grounds them in their character before the conflict arises.
Question: What change of setting or new experience is prompting your journey today?
Guidance: This helps reframe the disruption (the divorce, the move, the diagnosis) not as an ending, but as the “Inciting Incident” of a story.
Question: What goal are you striving for?
Guidance: Help them identify what they are fighting for. Is it peace of mind? Stability? Health? Connection?
Question: What challenges or obstacles will you face on your journey?
Guidance: This could be a “nemesis,” a rival, or a specific negative event. Naming the challenge makes it a concrete object to be overcome, rather than an abstract cloud of anxiety.
Question: Who can support or help you on your journey?
Guidance: This reminds the teen that they are not alone. Ask them to list friends, family, teachers, or even pets who serve as helpers.
Question: How can you personally grow as part of your journey to become who you want to be on the other side?
Guidance: This is the crucial pivot point. Even in the midst of pain, what strengths do they hope to develop?
Question: In what ways can this be part of your legacy?
Guidance: How can they use their “power for good”? How might their survival and growth apply to benefit society or help other teens in similar situations?
Reflecting on these various aspects allows a teen to describe how they might see themselves as a hero on an epic journey. When a young person realizes that the “Shift” and the “Challenge” are just plot points that lead to “Transformation,” the disruption feels less like a tragedy and more like an origin story.
By using these prompts, you provide a safe space for adolescents to process their emotions and reclaim their autonomy. You aren’t just helping them cope; you are helping them build a legacy of resilience.
