Event Types Single Event

September, 2015 Collab Salon: Stories that honor cultural integrity – marcela polanco

marcela polanco from Our Lady of the Lake University was our featured guest for the September Collab Salon. After overcoming some initial techno difficulties, we engaged in a discussion about a question Michael White raised in his work “How is it that people pull the materials of culture together to form an identity and a life, and of the processes by which these cultural knowledges and practices are reworked in people’s expressions of living?” (White, 2001). We focused on the complex ways in which culture shapes the oral traditions that support the fabrication of stories and the assembling of our lives in turn. Marcela's work emphasizes the importance of honoring the cultural integrity of stories by recognizing cultural difference between the person of the therapist and the consultant. She situated the discussion in a narrative therapy framework informed by traditions of her own cultural upbringing in Colombia, including the literary genre of magical realism; and her experiences with bilingualism as an immigrant in the U.S.

Peggy Sax2019-12-29T08:37:18-05:00July 8th, 2016|Comments Off

October, 2015 Collab Salon: Exploring new possibilities for outsider witnessing

Over the years, The Collab developed a process for witnessing each other's discoveries and dilemmas. We called this discussion forum, 'I need a witness!" Now that Zoom makes it possible to meet in real-time, we'd like to think carefully together about how we might adapt intentional witnessing practices to bear witness to developments in Collab Salon members' work. Our intent is to co-create our own process for respectfully witnessing each other through this digital media. Prior to this Collab Salon, we asked members to review some of your own experiences with intentional witnessing, reflecting teamwork, and to send us your favorite outsider witness handouts with simple guidelines for reflection. After reviewing possibilities, Mike Giancola, Charley Lang and Will Sherwin created our first cyber- interview with outsider witnessing.

Peggy Sax2020-01-01T09:08:34-05:00July 8th, 2016|Comments Off

November, 2015 Collab Salon: Case Studies: Writing, Mapping and Learning Practice

Case stories or teaching tales are widespread in every professional jurisdiction. They provide for something other than maps or manuals. They are primarily an oral literature that circulate in any profession from senior to junior, from peer to peer. They embody far more than the formalized and canonical 'rules and regulations' of manuals and the far more informal 'map' which proposes how you get from one place to another and what considerations you might have to keep in mind as you go. Case stories intend to do far more than either and perhaps can be best distinguished as providing the listener/reader with a sense of having been there.

Peggy Sax2024-03-24T22:20:36-04:00July 8th, 2016|0 Comments

December 2015 Collab Salon: Recuperating Michael White and recuriositizing narrative therapy

Our December Collab Salon discussion traced some of Michael White's contributions to our thinking through the gift of reviewing very rich workshop notes from 1991-2007 by Linda Moxley and Sarah Hughes.Linda Moxley graciously shared her meticulous notes from two of Michael White's workshops (1991; 2007), and then aided us in rescuing the said from the saying; together we evoked Michael's intentions, paying particular attention to themes, shifts in language and zig-zagging. Michael talked about conversations zigging back and forth in a number of ways: between action and identity questions; between remote past, possible future and present; between what is known and familiar and what is possible to know; between problem stories and stories that fit with intentions. Philosophy brought richness to Michael's ideas. We also applied the zigzagging metaphor around Michael's love of building on ideas from others and weaving these into his thinking and practices across time. Honoring Michael's legacy means not limiting our thinking, searching for many possibilities, and remembering "No correct route."

Peggy Sax2019-12-29T08:40:16-05:00July 8th, 2016|Comments Off

January 2016 Collab Salon: Re-imagining Narrative Practice: Where might narrative therapy go now?

In December, 2015, Linda Moxley opened a conversation about Recuperating Michael White and recuriositizing narrative therapy. Having graciously shared her meticulous notes from two of Michael White’s workshops (1991; 2007), Linda notes movingly evoked Michael’s voice, rescued the said from the saying, and captured some of his intentions and innovative thinking. She guided us to particularly pay attention to themes, shifts in language and zig-zagging. Now, our January Collab Salon continued this conversation with a focus on bringing Michael’s inspiration forward into the future. As featured presenters, Sarah Hughes and Linda Moxley began the conversation by sharing some of their own thoughts as to where Michael might have gone if he had the chance. Others then joined in to share their ideas about where narrative therapy might go now with a particular intrigue regarding narrative and the performative turn.

Peggy Sax2019-12-29T08:41:06-05:00July 8th, 2016|Comments Off

February 21, 2016 Collab Salon: Exemplary Tales: Writing, Mapping and Learning Practice, Part 2

Narrative therapy has depended heavily on the exemplary tale (otherwise known as the ‘case story’) as one of its most characteristic means by which its practice is told. Michael White had a mastery of such a form, and now David Epston continues in this tradition. In November 2015, we were delighted to welcome David, Sasha Pilkington & Kay Ingamells (Auckland), and Travis Heath (Denver) for a special two hour session of the Collab Salon about using case studies as pedagogy (Collab members can review this Past Salon here). This time, David was accompanied by his colleague Tom Carlson (North Dakota, USA) to share what they are learning from using exemplary tales as a pedagogy with Tom’s students (Sarah and Anna) at North Dakota State University. Sasha Pilkington & Kay Ingamells also joined us. This was such a lively and thought provoking Collab Salon!

Peggy Sax2024-03-24T22:32:28-04:00July 8th, 2016|0 Comments

March 20, 2016 Collab Salon: Bridging Narrative Therapy and Psychiatry

What do narrative therapy and narrative psychiatry have in common? Our three co-presenters took turns sharing different experiences with bridging narratively-informed psychotherapy, psychiatric care and mental health treatment. The conversation focused on about common core principles and practices for therapeutic conversations that foster resilience, employ externalizing practices to develop culturally-contextualized understandings of problems that are separate from the person’s identity, and build on the family’s or individual’s values, cultural context and vision of well-being.

Peggy Sax2021-06-15T05:16:48-04:00July 8th, 2016|Comments Off

April 17, 2016 Collab Salon: Narrative Therapy in Wonderland – Book Launch!

It was a delight to join David Marsten, David Epston & Laurie Markham to learn more about their book, Narrative Therapy in Wonderland: Connecting with Children's Imaginative know-how. Soon-to-be published by WW. Norton, this innovative book makes a significant contribution to recognizing and utilizing the power of children’s voices and imagination in narrative therapy. In this Collab Salon, we also focused on applications in working with adults.

Peggy Sax2019-12-29T08:25:30-05:00July 8th, 2016|Comments Off

May 15, 2016 Collab Salon: Narrative and Mindfulness Practice

With their shared backgrounds in both traditions, this discussion with David Paré (Ottawa, Canada) and Ian Percy (Perth, Australia) lived up to its promise to be a generative examination of the integrative possibilities for mindfulness and narrative therapy. Thank you Ian and David for presenting such a stimulating and thought-provoking Collab Salon!

Peggy Sax2019-12-29T08:24:27-05:00July 8th, 2016|Comments Off

Live Interviews: Finding our way in a narrative conversation

We have chosen to repeat the format of the workshop we did two years ago for this 2-day workshop with Maggie Carey at Treleven Farm. The workshop is structured so that various participants will have the opportunity to be interviewed by Maggie. These interviews will then be used as a platform to talk about the ways that are possible to go in a narrative conversation, to respond to questions participants have of Maggie about why she went the way she did in each interview. Please note: we have moved the workshop location to All Souls in Shelburne, Vermont.

Peggy Sax2020-01-07T06:46:41-05:00July 29th, 2015|0 Comments

Responding to Trauma and Difficulties in People’s Lives

This two-day workshop with Maggie Carey and Peggy Sax will share some of the Narrative practices that have been found useful as ways of working with people’s experiences of difficulty and trauma in their lives such as abuse or violence, intense loss, or being subjected to oppression or injustice. Trauma can have the effect of establishing a sense of vulnerability, hopelessness and a sense of being stuck in the past events and not able to ‘do’ life.

Peggy Sax2020-01-07T06:46:02-05:00July 29th, 2015|0 Comments

Working with People Facing Severe and Persistent Problems

A 2-day Workshop with SuEllen Hamkins, MD! The workshop, Sustaining Hope, Creativity & Emotional Attunement When Working with People Facing Severe and Persistent Problems, took place on Thursday-Friday, June 18-19, 2015 at Treleven Farm in Vergennes, Vermont. When we are working with people who are dealing with serious and relentless problems or mental health challenges, at times we can feel discouraged and as if we are offering virtually no help to the person who is suffering—we [...]

Peggy Sax2019-12-29T08:19:38-05:00July 29th, 2015|0 Comments

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