Monday, Oct 29, 2018
EastView at Middlebury
Middlebury, Vermont

Are you meeting with people living with a serious illness, facing life-ending illness and/or loved ones grieving after someone has died?  What guides your approach to these conversations? Or are you interested in narrative practices and extending your skills? Through case stories, transcript and an audio recording, Sasha McAllum Pilkington shared a narrative approach to therapeutic conversations that focus on:  listening for virtue, companioning, making meaning and enhancing a person’s sense of agency. Her presentation set the stage for a lively exchange of ideas about serving people as they approach the end of their lives, and their families/friends/communities supporting them.

We  were thrilled to welcome Sasha McAllum Pilkington to Vermont for her first visit to the USA. Having been a narrative therapist for more than 30 years, Sasha has worked since 2008 as a counsellor for Hospice North Shore in Auckland, New Zealand.  As part of Sasha’s weekly practice she meets with people who are living with a life ending illness, and their families, both in the community and in the hospice inpatient unit. She also meets with family members who are grieving after someone has died.

Sasha has published several articles illustrating narrative practice with people who are dying and is currently writing a book with co-authors Arthur Frank and David Epston.

• Pilkington, S. (2018)  Writing narrative therapeutic letters: Gathering, recording and performing lost stories. Journal of Narrative Family therapy, Special Release. pp 22-49.
• Pilkington, S.  (2018) A story illustrating narrative therapy in a cross cultural conversation with someone approaching death.  New Zealand Journal of Counselling, Vol 38/1, pp 39-49.
• Pilkington, S. (2017) Deconstructing Denial: Stories of Narrative Therapy with people who are dying and their families. Journal of Narrative Family Therapy. Release 1, 2017, pp. 54-75. www.journalnft.com
• Pilkington, S. (2016) Insurance Policies for Miracle Cures: A story illustrating narrative counseling practice with someone approaching death. Journal of Systemic Therapies, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2016, pp. 71–87
• Pilkington, S. (2014) Traveling on the Journey to Death: A story illustrating narrative practice for counselors. Journal of Systemic Therapies, Vol. 33, No. 4, 2014, pp. 79–93

For further interest:

•  Carlson, T., Epston, D. , Haire, A.,  Corturillo,  E., Lopez, A.,  Vedvei, S.,  Pilkington, S. (March 2017) Learning Narrative Therapy Backwards: Exemplary Tales as an Alternative Pedagogy for Learning Practice, Journal of Systemic Therapies,  Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 94-107
• Epston, D., Heath, T., Ingamells, K., Pilkington, S. (June 2016) Exemplary Tales: Virtual Apprenticeships

Thank you Sasha for giving us this day and joining the community conversation(s) the following day.  Please join us in adding reflections below.