This 6 session consultation group will be beneficial for practitioners who are trying to support communities and individuals to enrich their narratives through performing arts. Contemporary theatre shows an increased interest in personal stories, while the narrative community might be interested in the means to embody and celebrate participants/clients preferred identities.
In this Collab, Sasha discussed some of what she has been learning since the law changed in Aotearoa and facilitated a conversation about narrative practices that might be helpful when a person is contemplating how they want to die. Sasha described some examples of conversations with people who: chose to die through assisted dying, who deteriorate suddenly before the assisted dying assessment process has been completed and with people who change their minds and opt to die with palliative care support only. There was an exchange with participants who had experience in this area of practice.
The principles of improv theater (making your partner look and feel good, counting on chaos and uncertainty, showing up for the moment) seem to be relevant to the current collective moment where there is still a lot of uncertainty. We became curious whether improv wisdom ideas and practices can go hand in hand with the narrative therapy and community work. We decided to talk to narrative practitioners from all over the world about their experiences around improvisation. This Salon will showcase the highlights of those conversations, provide space for reflections and new practices to emerge and, hopefully, give us an opportunity to play some improv games.
Around the world, Covid-19 profoundly impacts our everyday lives. As narrative practitioners we are trained to double-listen to problems, to pay close attention to the suffering as well as to initiatives and events that might not be predicted by the problematic stories. What are some of the sparkling moments where the dominance of the pandemic problem disappears? Please join us as we begin our new year with a range of contributors sharing experiences and the joy of collaborative projects across the world: making poetry and art, creating Covid inspired music, learning from Community gatherings and from our children.
The environmental crisis is increasingly showing up in our neighbourhoods through severe weather events, struggling ecosystems, and the coronavirus pandemic. How can we, as narrative therapists, offer pathways for coming into relationship with these escalating risks in ways that are not overwhelming nor lead to despair? How might we contribute beyond individualised models that leave far too many people without care for their collective challenges? How do we show up in solidarity with those who recognise the potential for a great breakthrough towards environmental and social justice? Narrative therapy has a rich lore of collective practice that has evolved beyond the office, which can be valuable in this context. Merle and Jenny will share collective initiatives in diverse settings in response to Earth’s environmental crisis and opportunity, followed by a conversation to explore possibilities and potential for our narrative therapy community.
This Collab Salon will bring together people from around the world with contributions to the Archive of Resistance: Anti-anorexia/Anti-bulimia. We hope to explore the following questions: *What are the possibilities and limitations of collectivised narrative therapy within the league of anti anorexia? *What could collective collaboration between insiders and outsiders look like? How could it work?* What learnings can be found through the political movements that are happening around the world that serve as examples of the power of networks in seeking healing and justice? Kitty Thatcher & Dave Villfaña (Santiago, Chile)
What do narrative approaches have to offer these wild, uncertain times? How can we contribute? Can ceremonial and community practices bring us together in our grief? In our creativity? Let’s talk about raising environmental concerns in our community and work. Dominant stories of Doom & Disconnect sink spirits and hoodwink people into thinking they are too small to matter. Could emergent liberative narratives stand up to and surpass doomsday stories? Are stories of empowerment and inspired response rooted in people’s gifts? Could we be part of a r/evolution that moves humans from eco-cidal practices towards loving, eco-sourced, joyful ways of living and envisioning for our exquisite Earth?