Home Study Group

" I love to talk about ideas, to explore theory, to be challenged and to challenge, to hear what other people are doing and thinking. This group offers me a forum for this that I don't have anywhere else. I love that I have met new people and carry them with me in my work. I also do not want to lose the narrative focus on response to trauma, and resistance stories. That piece connects into what happens in the brain and the stories the body tells and wants to tell." - Sarah Hughes, study group member from British Columbia, Canada

"I think that narrative allows for more openness to spirituality than a lot of other ways of working. It at least connected me and gave me the freedom to talk about these things freer in therapy. The ability to unpack and deconstruct in a very meaningful and respectful way helps me and others to thicken the spiritual plot." - Yishai Shalif, study group member from Jerusalem, Israel

Would you like to join an international group of psychologists, social workers, counselors and other mental health and human service practitioners to actively study developments in narrative inquiry? Are you able to set aside a bit of time to read seminal writings - historic and current - and then share learnings and questions with others drawn to narrative practice and collaborative inquiry? Would you welcome opportunities to converse online with some of the authors whose writings you are studying and consulting with knowledged people outside the study group? Do you yearn for opportunities to reflect on the ethics guiding your own practice and to exchange ideas about applications in your work setting? Would you like to earn continuing education credit for your home study?

"The Narrative Practice and Collaborative Inquiry Study group" has begun, with members coming onboard who wish to pursue their studies of narrative practice and collaborative inquiry, and to reflect on developments in their own work. In addition to studying Michael White and David Epston's enduring contributions to counseling and community work, the study group features guest authors - the well known and the hidden jewels - whose writings and recordings offer tremendous food for thought and practical guidance toward becoming more skilled practitioners. The ongoing commitment includes readings, exercises for practice, recordings, guest authors, consultations with esteemed leaders in the field, and ample opportunities for inquiry and reflection.

The study group is also a place where members can become experienced consultants to each other, sharing stories and understandings from their own work settings, exploring emergent ideas and writing projects - always ethically and with respect for confidentiality. Members are creating an island of belonging with others who wish to take up collaborative ideas and practices, develop new skills and resist sliding back into old habits. . They are coming together to share specific interest areas and discuss topics relevant to their work such as trauma, mind-body and neurobiology; addiction and substance abuse; psychiatric crises; playful approaches to work and living; diversity and spirituality; independent practice, hospital and/or agency settings; and collaborative approaches to working with children, teens and their families. This commitment is folded into active lives without the constraints of university pressures, with the freedom to participate to the extent possible, always toward enhancing life and practice.

The international online study group is finding its members, one person at a time. So far, the group has included social workers, psychologists, counselors, and nurses. Some - including teachers - have been exposed to narrative ideas and practices for many years. Others have less experience, and perhaps fresher eyes. Some people are practitioners in independent practice, while others work primarily in community agencies, hospitals, or universities. Some members are talented writers, and others are less confident writing, expressing themselves more freely in song, dance, art, or other modes of expression; we are just beginning to explore these online possibilities.

A yearly $200 USD "club membership," gives all study group members access to the media library and discussion boards. Membership includes a 2 week trial period before billing begins; scholarship by request is available for a limited number of people that are unemployed or on fixed agency incomes.

It is possible to join the study group at any time. We are eagerly in search of new members. For more information, click here.