What is the DNA of Narrative Practice beyond the variations across cultures and languages? Pierre Blanc-Sahnoun (Bordeaux, France) will share how Narrative Errances – The Narrative Factory- collectively as a professional community has created the first ethical professional code composed only with questions…

Considering ourselves as ‘citizen therapists,’ as part of a ‘global citizen’s movement’, how do we step outside of the box, beyond ‘business as usual’ practices, to invite awareness and potentials for engagement, including collective narrative practice? This Collab Salon will invite us to be in positive community, tuned into our natural surroundings, as we respond to questions about our relationship– personally and professionally–to these wild times. Each of us have stirrings and unique gifts to offer. What are we called to?

“In one of the last Michael White workshops that I attended he introduced his work as “a tender therapy.”  He said the training would be a week of prayer and protest.  These words have resonated with me so deeply as they described so well what I witnessed when watching Michael work in Narrative ways with people. I have held that concept of tenderness in my heart ever since then and moved it into how I approach my work and my life. In this Salon, we will use one of my stories of how I apply Michaels’ teaching and his essence into my own life.  This is a story of me processing my sister’s death with the help of my internal Michael interviewing me. I will be interviewed about this story and how it applies to how I work with Michael. We will create a live outsider witness team in the session with the participants.”Sarah Hughes

As a counsellor working for hospice I meet with people who are suffering, sometimes with unsolvable problems, as they live with serious illness and the knowledge of their approaching death. Suffering at the end of life can be transformed when a person views their life as meaningful and experience themselves as agentic (Wachholz, Fitch, Makowski & Tjia, 2016).  In this Collab Salon I will be sharing some of my reflections on practices that ease suffering. These include thoughts on how we create space for stories of suffering, how we respond to big stories day to day and questioning practices that can be significant in restoring a sense of meaning and agency. I look forward to hearing how you might apply such practices to your own context for work. To facilitate the discussion I will be providing a collaborative document to illustrate some of the narrative practices we will be reflecting on. Sasha Pilkington

What is your comfort level when working with someone who does not readily engage in conversation? What happens when a child is not quickly answering your questions? What do you do when the child is wandering the room and engaging in repetitive noises and actions? Will and Courtney will share some ways that Narrative approaches can be utilized to support Neurodiversity and engage children with diverse levels of skills and abilities. We will explore ways that children with communication challenges and/or differences in play development can be centered in the circulation of their preferred experiences, identity and connections. Courtney Olinger & Will Sherwin

“Sexual offenses committed by youth occur more often than some people might choose to accept. Youth who are convicted of a sexual crime are usually court-mandated to attend treatment. Offense-specific treatment makes little, if any distinction between types of offenses, age of youth, and other important factors such environmental influences or history of mental health challenges or trauma. There is a lot of research on youth sex offenders, but there seems to be a gap in understanding the effects of being labeled a “sex offender” by the court system, as well as by treatment providers, and how all this affects mental health and identity. Therapy with youth who committed a sexual offense should also address ways to heal from the harm of being labeled a sex offender. Narrative ideas and counter-story practices are creative ways to therapeutically engage youth. Because narrative therapy is non-judgmental and collaborative, it presents an opportunity to counter-story problems related to being labeled a sex offender. By prioritizing these youths’ mental health and counter-storying damaging self-narratives, therapists can potentially interrupt a cycle of abuse and other self-destructive patterns of behavior; and by doing this, they can assist their clients envision new possibilities for their futures.” Mauricio P. Yabar

“Having had the privilege of working with many remarkable children and young people and their families, during some of the most challenging times of their lives, I hope to share some of what we learnt together about living and not just surviving.  This includes; Finding the wonderfulness in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU);
Living as a family in Hospital; Holding onto your dreams even when you are being told you could die; Choosing how to say goodbye.  By sharing the lessons I have learnt I hope to inspire you to see the strength and resilience children and young people show in the most challenging situations, how to move away from the concept of surviving and move towards living, and how hope and life can be found in the darkest moments including death.  This is just a snap shot and cannot explore all the depths and complexities the very concept of children and young people dying raises, but I hope it will generate creative discussion and inspire innovative ways of thinking about working with children and young people with a LLI and their families.” Dr Claire Cooley, Kent United Kingdom