Two Maggie Carey Workshops in Vermont!
A big thank-you to Maggie Carey who gave us an invigorating and restorative four days of training in beautiful Vermont, June 10-13, 2014. Maggie Carey’s workshops were co-sponsored by Union Institute & University and Re-authoring Teaching. We were thrilled to welcome Maggie Carey to guide our third “Extending Narrative Practice: Refreshing the Spirit of the Work” gathering at the All Souls Gathering, in Shelburne, Vermont and at Treleven Farm in Vergennes, Vermont.
Continuing Education was available for an extra fee for both events through Union University & Institute (click here for further information).
Please check out here what participants say about what makes these gatherings so unique. We welcome others to add comments below.
Catching up with Narrative Therapy: The Art of Going Slowly with Intent
June 10-11, 2014. All Souls Gathering, Shelburne, Vermont. 
Today’s therapists, social workers and consultants often experience pressure to facilitate the making of ‘big changes’ in the lives of those that consult them,and given the widespread reduction in social resources in many workplaces, to do so quickly. These expectations can have practitioners pushing the persons who consult them to notice difference and to step into new stories of self, and this can have the person who is experiencing the consultation feel that they are not really ‘getting it’ or that they are failing therapy because it doesn’t feel real to them. In this two day workshop, Maggie Carey guided us in looking through the lens of noticing and appreciating small details of lived experience. Together, we will rigorously practice the art of going slowly- what Michael White called, “Loitering with intent”- to scaffold a solid exploration and development of story.
Finn Yarbrough, Earth House Productions
The entire workshop was video-taped by a local filmmaker, Finn Yarbrough (Earth House Productions). These materials have contributed to two online courses: An Introduction to Rich Story Development and Rich Story Development in Action: 3 Live Interviews with Maggie Carey. Both of these courses are now also available for Continuing Education Credit.
Live Interviews: Finding our way in a narrative conversation
June 12-13, 2014. Treleven Farm.
What does it look like in narrative practice to see problems as separate from persons, to take on a multi-storied approach, and to find openings to stories linking people to their know-how and skills? In this 2 day gathering, Maggie Carey worked with a small group of narrative practitioners to explore- and participate in – a series of narrative interviews to explore examples of key narrative principles in action and practice specific skills to help navigate tricky dilemmas in our everyday work.
This was our second workshop on the beautiful Treleven Sheep farm- a setting so conducive to informal, collaborative, rigorous training, we decided to make it the home for our upcoming narrative series. Watch this site here for more information.
Maggie Carey
Maggie Carey, Rob Hall, and Shona Russell
Maggie Carey is one of the co-directors (along with Shona Russell and Rob Hall) of Narrative Practices Adelaide, the centre for narrative training, supervision and therapy that Michael White established before his death in 2008. Maggie has been involved in the practice of narrative therapy since the early 90′s and in the teaching of it for the past 16 years. She has taught narrative approaches in many local and international contexts including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Mexico, Brazil, England, Canada, Israel and Palestine, US, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Maggie enjoys the opportunity to teach both the theoretical principles of the narrative approach and the detailed practices that come from these philosophical underpinnings. She is known for her ability to make the narrative practice and thinking accessible to workshop participants and is energetic in her desire to have practitioners develop their own rich accounts of themselves in their work. Since 1994, Maggie has participated with Michael White and others in a number of community projects relating to a range of issues in people’s lives. These issues have included responding to grief and loss within Aboriginal communities, responding to people living with mental health issues and to homelessness, to people living with a disability and to women and children who have been subjected to violence. Her current therapeutic work covers a range of issues that are impacting on people and she has a lively supervision practice with practitioners across many continents. Watch this space here for further details about Maggie’s next Vermont Workshop (in June 2016)!
Just returning to Alberta, Canada after spending a most “mystical” week with Maggie Carey and others in an area of the country so lushly green and engaging. Never have I had an experience of community so utterly immersed in the practices of patient, respectful, listening from a teacher who in her ways of rhythmically dancing transforms the maps of narrative into something that becomes so clearly understood by all. What a gift of learning resonance!
Don, I don’t think I could say it any better! It was wonderful meeting you and others who traveled from lots of places to get here. Although I am returning to only a few miles away from the conference I also appreciated the sense of community that I felt here. It was fun to see Vt. through the eyes of visitors from outside of the state. It made me appreciate Vt. all the more! I too can’t say enough about how Maggie and all the participants as well created a wonderful, warm, and rich, and vibrant community to help further our learning of narrative practices. The only down side is now I want to be just like Maggie and I wasn’t quite there in my sessions today! Mary
One more thing—Peggy, I want to publicly thank you for all the work you put into this gathering. I for one think it paid off and I have a hunch others do too! Your spirit of generosity enabled us to have a wonderful experience. Thank you. Mary
It was wonderful! Thank you so much Peggy. The spirit was truly refreshed in many ways. I enjoyed every moment of it. As Don so well states, the feeling of community was so present in a strong, warm and nurturing manner. Maggie makes it look so easy and we know it is not. I found her to be so knowledgeable and well informed. Mary, you will have other opportunities to sit as Maggie! Just keep asking the wonderful questions. Christina
Thank you Peggy for providing the space, place, time for these experiences of the last week to occur. Maggie Carey presented wonderful and complex ideas in such a manner that my own work has been re-stimulated and revitalized. I went out and purchased my new dry eraser board markers so that I too can put the map up on the board. I am particularly interested in loitering with purpose; to flow from question to question to help the parents and children uncover and support the preferred story. ( I have to admit to too much focus on the problem story and all its tricks.) It was wonderful to see on the board how the generation of questions support the direction of the preferred story development. For now, I am going to focus on the Maggie Carey Narrative Dance! Thank you Maggie for all your amazing energy, brilliance, joy and thoughtfulness that you bring to this work. I am so amazed at the way you presented this complex and deeply felt work. I have been rejuvenated!
I share the same sense of appreciation as others have expressed, and add my thanks to Peggy for organizing this wonderful gathering.
I’m so inspired by all that I’m reading about Maggie’s coming online workshop. I think it’s a briliant idea, Peggy, to record it and bring this workshop “Rich Story Development” to those who couldn’t attend. Looking forward to participating in this and letting others know about this great opportunity.