NextGen Collaboratory

Daniel Angus (Sydney, Australia) is a Psychologist and board-approved clinical supervisor who splits his time supporting early career helping professionals, seeing clients in his private practice, and fulfilling his commitments to a range of organizations, one of which is as Deputy Commissioner for the New South Wales Mental Health Commission. Daniel was formerly managing Headspace Services, a busy adolescent mental health service supporting young people in both a Primary care setting and those with first-episode psychosis in Western Sydney. More recently, Daniel held a National position with Canteen Australia providing support to Canteen’s Psychosocial Staff employed to support young people impacted by Cancer. Daniel has worked in a range of public and non-government services and continues to provide consultation to various boards and committees. Daniel has a strong interest in creative recovery, is focused on collaborative treatment approaches, and has trained specifically in Narrative therapy, and is particularly passionate about creative and engaging approaches to adolescent mental health.

Tanya Barr obtained her M.A. from Antioch Los Angeles in Clinical Psychology, where she specialized in Applied Community Psychology where she studied the reciprocal relationship between individuals and their communities. She believes that being connected to oneself and sacred other (people, nature, ancestors, etc...) is a pathway for integrative health and empowerment. She is in private practice as an LMFT and professor specializing in narrative explorations around race, trauma, relational dynamics, structural inequities, consumerism, spirituality, and sexuality. She is sex-positive, queer, kink, and poly practicing and welcomes the opportunity to be in communication with others who are seeking voice, clarity, connection in slowing down, and a renewed sense of joyful vitality.

Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, Ph.D., deeply cherishes nature and values being a mother, wife, activist, consultant, teacher, and compassionate practitioner. She was born and raised in Canada, is French speaking, loves cross-country skiing, dancing, rock climbing, and hiking snowy mountain peaks.

Marie-Nathalie directs Skills for Kids, Parents & Schools (SKIPS), a 9-month intense narrative therapy, neurobiology and mindfulness training program in California where she works with children, adults, families, and school communities. Prior to immersing herself in narrative therapy in the early 1990s, Marie-Nathalie had trained in Human Biology and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. She now brings together fields that have influenced her life and work for the last 30 years, and as a result has pioneered narrative clinical practices to respond to distressing emotions and traumatic experiences. She has written over 50 professional articles and many books such as the popular The SKiLL-ionaire in every child: Boosting children’s socio-emotional skills using the latest in brain research (2010), written for parents, teachers and counselors (French, English, Spanish). She has also co-authored Collaborative Therapies and neurobiology: Evolving practices in action (Beaudoin & Duvall, 2017), and Mindfulness in a busy world: Lowering barriers for youth & adults to cultivate focus, emotional peace & gratefulness (Beaudoin & Maki, 2021). Her latest book, co-authored with Gerald Monk is currently in press with WW Norton and titled: Narrative practices and emotions: 40+ ways to support the emergence of flourishing identities. It combines her lifelong passion for the immense possibilities inherent to our bodies and brains, with novel narrative practices inspired by Interpersonal Neurobiology, Sensorimotor Therapy, and Positive Psychology. With a background in improvisational theater and dance, Marie-Nathalie is well-known for her thought provoking and engaging presentations. Her websites are www.mnbeaudoin.com and www.skillsforkids-SKIPS.com.

Gabrielle Brady is an award-winning Australian/ British Director and Screenwriter based in Berlin. Gabrielle’s debut feature film ‘Island of the Hungry Ghosts,' made in collaboration with narrative therapist Poh Lin Lee, was nominated for an Independent Spirit award, Cinema Eye Spotlight award and won the Best Documentary award at the Tribeca film festival, Mumbai International film festival and the Australian independent film awards. The film has been shown at major international film festivals as well as in cinemas worldwide and has received over 40 international prizes.

Gabrielle's work has been featured at the Museum of Moving Image NY, the Institute of Contemporary Arts London, and The Eye in Amsterdam. Her work has been selected as a ‘Critics Pick’ by the New York Times and described by the Guardian as ‘Fierce and compassionate.’ Gabrielle has recently completed two short films for gallery distribution, ‘Remain’ and ‘River Undain’ commissioned by the Art Gallery of NSW Australia and the Prototype platform. Gabrielle is in production on her next feature-length documentary project, ‘The Wolves Always Come at Night’, and is in development on her first feature fiction project, ‘Bird Colony’ (W.T). Gabrielle studied Documentary Direction for three years at La Escuela Internacional de Cine (EICTV) in Cuba. She has previously studied Theatre Performance. She is a Berlinale Doc Station and Talents Alumni.

In this course, Maggie Carey articulates and demonstrates narrative interviewing practices that she learned as a close associate of Michael White, co-founder of narrative therapy. Maggie was a founding member of Narrative Practices Adelaide, the center Michael started in 2008, just a few months before his untimely death. Alongside her colleagues Shona Russell and Rob Hall, she was involved in the teaching of narrative therapy and community work for many years, both in Australia and internationally. Prior to the establishment of NPA, Maggie was a cherished member of the Dulwich Centre teaching faculty. Now retired, Maggie thoroughly enjoys engaging with her home, gardens, family and community in Adelaide, S. Australia.

Piper Clyborne is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has over 20 years of experience working with diverse populations in a multitude of clinical and non-clinical contexts from a Narrative Therapy approach. Piper began her career as a social justice advocate and community worker, providing services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, women-identified, and children subjected to multiple forms of violence and trauma, and international social work with impoverished communities. Her professional career began with an undergraduate degree in human services and political science from Evergreen State College in 2004. In 2008, she completed a master’s in social work with a concentration in mental health from The University of Vermont. Piper’s career as a psychotherapist has primarily been focused on serving communities most marginalized by political injustice and trauma so they may reclaim their voices and collective power/influence. Most recently, Piper spends a great deal of time loitering in the arts to bring creative inspiration, wonderment, and new possibilities into her work.

Gene Combs, MD is a Co-Director of Evanston Family Therapy Center and founding members of the Chicago Center for Family Health, an independent affiliate of the University of Chicago.along with co-director Jill Freedman, they have co-authored more than 30 journal articles and book chapters and 3 books -- Symbol, story, and ceremony: Using metaphor in individual and family therapy, Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities, and Narrative therapy with couples.... and a whole lot more!

Lucy Cotter is the co-founder of Narrative Counseling Center and a narrative therapist in L.A., California. She has a passion for narrative therapy and couples counseling, individual and family therapy. With an MFA as a painter and collage artist from Otis College of Art, she brings out-of-the-box and creative thinking to her psychotherapy clients' stories. Her interests in postmodern narrative therapies, art, and critical thinking have intersected in ways that her clients and students have appreciated.

Tim Donovan is a mental health social worker in Alice Springs, Australia. While working with clients who experienced sexual abuse, he met ‘Dale’ and his fight for justice and freedom from shame. The stories Tim hears in his work often represent a political act against acts of oppression. Tim currently works as a school counselor for a secondary college and is the author of ‘Reclaiming Lives from sexual violence’ in The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work (2018) and co-authoring ‘Reclaiming Lives from Sexual Violence: Understanding Shame' with Dale Johns. Tim's passion for sharing stories beyond the four walls of therapy has culminated in his acceptance into a doctoral program, which will further give evidence to the ideas documented in Dale and his book.

Amy Druker (she/her) from Toronto, Canada, first met the narrative worldview when she was working as a harm reduction outreach worker in downtown Toronto. A co-worker encouraged Amy to attend a workshop on narrative therapy because of their shared ethics and politics. At the time, Amy was not interested in pursuing the practice of therapy, as she did not yet understand how the projects of social justice and the practice of therapy were combinable. This changed when Amy attended her first workshop on collective narrative practices. Amy was particularly captivated by an approach to working with people that did not insist on the individualizing or pathologizing of people’s suffering. Amy sought out work at a public agency whose programs (serving youth and families) were guided by Narrative Therapy, where she practiced for 7.5 years. Amy describes her time at Oolagen as one of the richest learning and unlearning experiences of her life. Amy currently runs an independent practice where she consults with individuals, couples/people in relationships and engages in clinical supervision (co-learning conversations) with therapists and community workers both in her independent practice and at Breakaway Community Services, a harm reduction agency. Amy’s practice is guided by post structuralist ideas and the ethics of social justice (anti-oppression), curiosity, consent and collaboration. Amy has facilitated workshops on various topics on narrative therapy since 2014. Amy is on faculty at the Narrative Therapy Initiative, Narrative Therapy Centre and Re-Authoring Teaching. To get in touch with Amy, please email her at [email protected] or visit her website: www.amydruker.com.

Sol D’Urso, M.A., LMFT is Adjunct Faculty in the MFT program at the University of San Diego. Sol’s primary clinical work has been with refugee families, survivors of torture, at risk children and youth and transnational individuals and families in San Diego and the US-Mexico border region. Sol provides therapy and supervision in English and Spanish. In addition to her work as Adjunct Faculty at USD, she has a private practice and also co-facilitates a narrative consultation/supervision group with Dr. Sarah Kahn for therapists in the community. curriculum using a whole systems approach.

David Epston (Auckland, New Zealand) David Epston, co-founder of narrative therapy alongside Michael white, brings a sense of wonder, adventure and innovation to his conversations and collaborations. What makes a good question? What guides inquiry in narrative therapy? What are some narrative lines of inquiry? The collaboration between David and Michael began in the late 1970s, as continued for many years. David’s best known publications are White and Epston(1990), Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends; Freeman, Epston and Lobovits(1997), Playful Approaches to Serious Problems: Narrative Therapy with Children and their Families and Maisel, Epston and Borden(2004), Biting The Hand That Starves You: Inspiring Resistance to Anorexia/Bulimia, Narrative Therapy in Wonderland.

Jan Ewing, Ph.D. (San Diego, California) founded Narrative Initiative San Diego (NISD) with a focus on training Marriage & Family Therapy (MFT) trainees and interns in Narrative Therapy practices in an integrated healthcare setting. With close to 30 years of clinical experience, she trained directly with Michael White. She has been the director of two university-based counseling clinics and is a full-time faculty in the MFT Graduate Program at San Diego State University. In addition to directing the clinical work at NISD, she sees clients in her private practice, Narrative Health Initiatives, where she considers the intersection of physiology and mental health.

Jenny (Jennifer) Freeman is inspired to engage our field as we respond to calls for environmental and social healing and justice. Meeting with people of all ages in independent practice, group, and school settings, she loves collaborative creativity, interweaving Narrative and Just therapies with somatic, expressive arts, and energy therapies. She co-hosts narrativeapproaches.com, Reauthoring Teaching’s Earth’s Environmental Crisis and Opportunity. She collaborated with Dr.Akansha Vaswani-Bye on a Mad in America podcast and contributed a blog; interview for The Psychotherapy Networker, and other media interviews. Earlier work includes Playful Approaches to Serious Problems: Narrative Therapy with Children and their Families, Freeman, Epston, and Lobovits (1997); Enter the Magic Sleep Garden (2007), audio/booklet; multiple chapters in edited books. Jenny is emeritus faculty of John F. Kennedy University. As a member of a Samoan community, she has engaged in collective practice in Samoa, and contributed the essay A Living Legacy to Whispers and Vanities: Samoan Indigenous Knowledge and Religion (2014) and the AFTER THE WAVE film. She is working on a book/podcast on interspecies communication, envisioning humans in healthy, just, restorative ways of interbeing with nature.

Jill Freedman, MSW is a Co-Director of Evanston Family Therapy Center and a founding member of the Chicago Center for Family Health, an independent affiliate of the University of Chicago. Jill practices therapy in the Chicago area and consults to organizations and schools. She is on the international faculty of the Dulwich Centre and teaches in the low-residency Master's program in narrative therapy and community work offered by Dulwich Centre and the University of Melbourne.

Ingrid B Guerrieri (she/ella) is a clinician and art facilitator supporting creative explorations of identity, relational ethics, and intentional living. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an Expressive Arts Therapist based in California, specifically in the southern borderland Tijuana-San Diego. Ingrid is a Colombian immigrant, identifies as a cisgender queer woman, and loves nature, cooking, eating, and dancing salsa; she is also a free-spirited visual artist who believes in the power of community, play, ritual, and imagination.

Ingrid has worked in community mental health settings for about a decade and has recently transitioned to private practice. She has a preference for working with adults, individually and in partnership; and is interested in supporting explorations of sexual diversity, partnership configurations, and intimacy. Ingrid is enthusiastic about promoting community-based art explorations.

Ingrid works in English, Spanish, and Spanglish, and has had the privilege of being trusted to work with HIV impacted communities, couples, LGBTQIA+ folx, and social service workers and therapists. Her private practice (CreArte Counseling) provides virtual clinical services in California, and facilitates community art making experiences nationally and internationally. She is also a founder member of the Art Flow Collective, a group of women of color that offer Expressive Art workshops to underserved communities in San Diego.

Ingrid is grateful for the knowledge and resilience of human and non-human ancestors and relations, and for being entrusted with the stories of those with whom she has had the privilege to work.

Lodovica Guidarelli is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Private Practice in San Diego. Before becoming a therapist, Lodovica earned a Ph.D. in Italian at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and taught Italian language, literature, and culture in several universities in the US. Currently, she works with a diverse population including Italian-speaking clients who live in the US. In her practice, she brings a critical lens to the unique ways in which multilingual speakers engage in the therapeutic process.

SuEllen Hamkins, MD is a psychiatrist and author. SuEllen’s passion is helping people cultivate their values and strengths in the face of challenges and difficulties. Her work centers on three main areas: narrative psychiatry, college student mental health and mother-daughter relationships. She is Assistant Director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. SuEllen is a co-founder of the Mother-Daughter Project, and has created a series of videos on helping mothers and daughter thrive. Her most recent book is The Art of Narrative Psychiatry, published by Oxford University Press. To read more, click here.

SuEllen gave the 2015 workshop, Working with people facing severe and persistent problems, and has presented on the Collab Salon on Working with People Who are Living with Serious and relentless problems or Mental Health Challenges.

Frankie Hanman-Siegersma (they/them) is a descendent of Dutch, British and Irish settlers,
living on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung land in narrm (Melbourne, Australia). Frankie is a
narrative therapy practitioner within a peer-led LGBTIQ+ suicide support service, and with
folks whose lives have been shaped by the effects of transphobia, homophobia, racism, and
other structural inequalities. Frankie is interested in the movement of neoliberal,
individualistic therapy towards activism, and collective liberation. They enjoy facilitating
opportunities for ritual, poetry, music, and pop culture in their work alongside community
members.

Jennifir Bailes Hart was trained as a Dance/Movement Therapist and Mental Health Counselor at Antioch New England and has worked as a counselor and expressive arts therapist since 1999. She has worked with individuals across many life stages, from infants to elders. Her current work is centered on adults undergoing life transitions, members of the LGBTQ+ community, parents supporting neurodiverse children, and neurodiverse adults, particularly those navigating and responding to ADHD.

Jen was thrilled to encounter post-modern approaches and the narrative metaphor as a new clinician when she was part of an Early Childhood and Family mental health team with Peggy Sax as a training and technical consultant and found Narrative Therapy fit in perfectly with her undergraduate focus on post-modern literary theory, queer theory, and textual criticism. She was lucky enough to complete continuing education with Michael White, Shona Russell, Maggie Carey, and Gay Stockell, among others, and found her curiosity and compassionate spirit as a practitioner blossomed in the light of the narrative metaphor, connecting her to her clients and craft in a satisfying and enriching way.

Jen is interested in art, music, movement, and writing as fundamental forms of creative expression and identity investigation and as ways to discover and explore metaphor and personal and universal symbolism. She has cultivated and treasured her own artistic practice for many years and has found joy, connection, depth, and wonder in creating art in many forms. She has noticed the learning she gathers from process-oriented work is as valuable as that gleaned from the final product, and she enjoys sharing these processes with her clients.

Chris Hoff, PhD, LMFT is Founder and Executive Director of the California Family Institute (CFI) in southern California. CFI is a nonprofit organization that was established as a community counseling center that provides desperately needed low-cost counseling services for the community, and for the development of research and training for those interested in post-structuralist, post-oppositional, and compositionist narrative therapy approaches.

Sarah Beth Hughes works as a Couple and Family Therapist in Nelson, BC Canada. She was introduced to Narrative ideas through her work as the North American Distributor of Dulwich Publications throughout the 1990’s. She got the privilege of attending many of Michael White’s training and got inspired to do this kind of work herself. Along the way she also met many of Michael’s colleagues and friends including Peggy Sax who have helped her feed her passion for this work.

Due to my father's job, I grew up in a cinema. I grew up with people, images, and stories. I became a psychologist, a narrative therapist, and a documentary photographer. I work with people, images, and stories. I am trying to keep a political view on every aspect of my life. The ideas of justice, freedom, equality and solidarity are informing the way I think and act. During the most difficult time of my life, someone took my hand and told me, Don't be afraid; we will walk together. Those words made me a therapist. Lately, I think of my professional role as a transition facilitator—something like a boatman. I have a daughter. Her name is Kallirroe. In Greek that means 'nice flow.'

Sarah Kahn (San Diego) is the Director of the Counseling and Social Change program at San Diego State University (SDSU) and teaches at SDSU at both the undergraduate and graduate level. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has been learning and practicing from a narrative perspective since 2003. Sarah’s research focuses on narrative approaches to pedagogy, the clinical supervision process and mentorship. Her teaching addresses the areas of culture, power and difference, the social construction of identity and applied clinical training. She is interested in the many bridges that can be constructed between narrative, power, pedagogy, and community practice. In addition, Sarah maintains an active therapy practice, supervises and co-leads a community based narrative consultation group for both licensed and unlicensed therapists. She is also a member of Narrative Initiatives San Diego, a community-based therapy practice and training center located in San Diego, California.

Mona Klausing (San Diego) is the co-director and clinical supervisor at NISD Counseling, a non-profit counseling center where we train marriage & family therapists and serve low-income and uninsured clients. In September 2023, she launched a new marriage & family therapy corporation, Avani Counseling, where she works as a licensed therapist, clinical supervisor, and mentor to a team of therapists.Mona also teaches as adjunct faculty at San Diego State University.

Charley Lang, MFT (Los Angeles, California) created the online course, Queer Counseling & Narrative Practice and cohosts The Collab Salon. He is co-founder of Narrative Counseling Center, providing resource-oriented consultation services for individuals, couples, and families, in addition to strength-based psychotherapy training for interns and therapists in the Los Angeles area. As Director of the Psychology and Addiction Studies Concentrations at Antioch University, he teaches numerous courses, including Narrative Therapy in Practice, Human Sexualities, Shakespeare Deconstructed and Madness in American History & Film. For many years he was Director of the Postmodern Therapy Training Program at the California Family Counseling Center and mental health supervisor at the AIDS Service Center in Pasadena. Always on the lookout for new and engaging alternative stories, Lang produced and directed several documentary films, including the HBO award-winning Gay Cops: Pride Behind the Badge.

Poh Lin Lee is a Chinese Malaysian Australian woman who comes to her practice through multiple experiences and relationships as a narrative therapy practitioner, social worker, co-researcher of trauma/displacement, writer, teacher, film protagonist and creative consultant.

Since 2004 Poh has been engaged in therapeutic co-research with people and communities responding to themes of experience such as family and state violence, displacement (from rights, land, home, body, identity, relationships), liminality and reclaiming practices of staying with experience and preference. Creative and therapeutic fields intersected for Poh whilst working with people seeking asylum within a film project with director Gabrielle Brady, Island of the Hungry Ghosts (2018).

Mary Clark Moschella is the Roger J. Squire Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Yale Divinity School. Prior to joining the YDS faculty in 2010, she taught at Wesley Theological Seminary for ten years; before that she served as a pastor in UCC congregations in Massachusetts for thirteen years. Among her publications are: Caring for Joy: Narrative, Theology, and Practice (Brill, 2016); The Edward Wimberly Reader, co-edited with Lee H. Butler, Jr. (Baylor University Press, 2020); and the 2nd edition of Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice (Pilgrim, 2023). Her current scholarship articulates a narrative approach to pastoral and spiritual care practices. She also studies prison-based literature and teaches Inside/Out courses that bring divinity and incarcerated students together in carceral settings.

Gerald Monk PhD (San Diego, California) is the former Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology at San Diego State University. He is a practicing Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, AAMFT Supervisor, and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. His research and teaching interests include Affective therapy, narrative mediation & conflict resolution, constructionist & discursive theories, restorative practice, and mental health recovery.

Randy Nelson, MA, LMHC likes words and people. Fifteen years ago, he fortuitously stumbled upon Narrative Therapy in the Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling program at Seattle University. He has been an active member of the Seattle Narrative Group, a Narrative Therapy consultation and training collective. He is immensely grateful for the generosity of wisdom and care of Marcy Rivas and others in the Seattle Narrative community. For the last thirteen years, Randy has worked as an adult case manager/counselor in the community mental health setting of Harborview Mental Health Services in Seattle. He has conducted trainings on Narrative Therapy for the UW Medicine Department of Psychiatry and other community organizations. In the consulting room and in life, Randy endeavors to position himself at the clunky and elusive intersection of skepticism, lightheartedness, and solidarity.

Courtney Olinger, PsyD, LMFT (she/her) is the owner of Respect Family Therapy & Consulting (San Diego, CA, USA). She also works for a local non-profit as an Instructor across 3 vocational programs for autistic adults. Since 2000, Courtney is passionate about and continuously learning about disability justice, social justice, neurodiversity affirming principles and practices, LGBTQIA+ affirming principles and practices, and anti-racist principles and practices. She has worked with autistic individuals of all ages in a variety of clinical, educational, vocational and community settings. Her roots in Narrative practices have been the backdrop for her continued learning, starting with mentorship while training in San Diego and including the formative experience of the Intensive Narrative training through Dulwich Centre in 2008-2009. Courtney has also had the privilege of mentoring several teams of therapists and behavioral providers who collaboratively worked together to provide clinical support to individuals, families and schools.

marcela polanco, Ph.D. was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, land of her Muiscan ancestors. Currently an Assistant Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at San Diego State University, her supervision, teaching, research and therapy are informed by the work of Latin American academic and social activist on decolonial and anti-racist Andean feminisms. She is also inspired by an ethics of solidarity. Until recently, she directed the Psychotherapy Services for Spanish Speaking Populations Certificate and the Master’s in Family, Couple and Individual Psychotherapy at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas. She is member of the international faculty team at the Dulwich Centre, Adelaide, Australia

Beth Prullage (she/her) is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker from Easthampton, MA. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Smith College School for Social Work, where she has taught narrative therapy since 2007. She currently works at the Counseling Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is a supervisor in the training program, and also is the Co-Coordinator of the Groups Program.

Marcy Rivas (Seattle, USA) was raised in a tradition of helping others, with a strong sense of kinship, strong connections to the land and its storytellers. In 1986 working as a family therapist for child protective services, I was fortunate to encounter Michael White and have been exploring the ideas and practices of social constructionism and narrative therapy ever since. I’m interested in peer professional learning groups, and providing post graduate training in narrative ideas and therapeutic practice. A storytelling approach to life started for me at a young age with stories told of the land, who our people and kin are, how we were made, and how we can grow into ourselves through the stories we tell, calling on the strength of our ancestors and community, so we might create our life’s story as one of meaning, purpose, right living and well-being.

Juan Carlos (Choco) was born and raised in El Salvador, where he obtained a Bachelor’s in Science with a major in Psychology at Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA). After his undergraduate studies, he worked in a church community clinic and in private practice, providing low-cost mental health services. In 2013, he was awarded a scholarship to attend San Diego State University’s Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy program with an emphasis on narrative therapy. Following the completion of his Master, Juan Carlos worked for a year as a bilingual case manager with the homeless population in San Francisco, California, supporting primarily undocumented, Spanish-speaking immigrants.

Lynne V. Rosen, LCSW (Pasadena, California) has been engaged in therapeutic work for over 25 years in medical, residential, inpatient, community and private practice settings. She found her therapeutic and philosophical home in the early 90’s when she traveled to New York to hear Michael White and David Epston. Most recently, she has focused her attention on integrating Narrative Therapy with EMDR, Somatic Therapies and Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) with clients who are living with the effects of Trauma, Eating Problems and other difficulties that compromise relational well-being. Her favorite proverb is an African one: “Until lions have historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter.” Lynne has had a long-standing interest in bringing forward lions’ tales, stories and experiences at the margins, where there is wisdom and knowledge that can transport us all. She continues to feel passionate about teaching, supervising and public conversation work and for many years, she had the privilege of working as Core Faculty and Director of the Postmodern Therapy Training Program at PGI and Co-Founder of WPLA (Women’s Project Los Angeles).

Arturo Sanchez, PhD (UC Santa Barbara, CA) has 35 years of experience teaching and supervising Marital Family Therapy for Doctoral (Northern Arizona University) and Master’s degree (California State University, Chico) students since 1986. He served as Coordinator of the MFT program at CSU, Chico, for 12 years. I have been teaching post-structural postmodern perspectives and methods to graduate students pursuing careers in Marital and Family Therapy
as well as School Psychology for over 35 years, if you consider my pursuit of non-normative perspectives found within multicultural and feminist counseling practices. The last 20-plus years have focused in earnest on introducing Narrative practice in the classroom. This effort culminated in supporting our next generation of Narrative students’ involvement in annual weekend trainings in Advanced Narrative Therapy Practices via David Epston’s annual Berkeley
weekend workshops. It has been such a joy to witness students’ creative abilities and personal know-how flourish and amplify as they engage/discover/uncover their respective storied lives.

Peggy Sax, Ph.D. (Cornwall, Vermont), is the founder and Executive Director of Re-authoring Teaching – the global learning community of narrative therapy practitioners, teachers, and enthusiasts that is represented on this website. Peggy carries a steadfast commitment to preserving, developing, and extending the legacy of narrative therapy. She loves to collaborate with colleagues across narrative generations, co-creating quality training materials and together building a narrative learning community. Having apprenticed herself to narrative therapy since the early 1990s, Peggy also works in independent practice as a Licensed Psychologist, consultant, international teacher, and international trainer. She is the author of several articles and the book Re-authoring Teaching: Creating a Collaboratory. Creating this online series is a dream come true for Peggy: working with people she profoundly respects, persevering to develop excellent courses together, and thereby contributing to a field she deeply values.

Shoshana Simons, (she/her/femme) PhD, RDT (Registered Drama Therapist) is a Professor and former Program Chair of CIIS’s MA in Counseling Psychology, Expressive Arts Concentration, and Interim Chair of the Community Mental Health Concentration where she teaches Family & Couple Dynamics, Multicultural Counseling & the Therapeutic Relationship & Narrative Expressive Arts Family Therapy, a voice actor and arts-based coach & consultant with Key of Life Academy. She is also adjunct faculty at the Northwest Creative & Expressive Arts Institute, Seattle, WA, where she offers a Certificate in NarrARTive Expressive Arts in Coaching. Shoshana has 35+ years of experience working in multicultural settings with children and adults in the fields of play, education, antiracism, counseling psychology, organizational development, and community work.

Originally from London, UK, Shoshana came to the USA in 1990 to complete a clinical traineeship at The Stone Center, Wellesley College, MA. She returned to the Stone Center in 1998 as Training Director for The Open Circle Program, training elementary school teachers to implement a ground-breaking SEL curriculum using a whole systems approach.

Shoshana has worked as a therapist in the UK and USA and has taught in the fields of counseling psychology and intercultural relations at Goddard College, VT, University of Vermont, and Lesley University, MA.

Shoshana’s interests include narrative and systemic expressive arts practices, indigenous healing traditions, Jewish mysticism and Jewish shamanic healing, the role of expressive arts in leadership, and arts-based research methods.

Shoshana holds a MA degree in Sociology & Social Policy from London Metropolitan University, a MA degree in Human Development, and a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from The Fielding Graduate Institute, CA. She graduated from the Omega Transpersonal Drama Therapy Program in Boston, MA and Wisdom of the Whole Coaching Academy.

Jon Tatelman is an adjunct faculty at Antioch Los Angeles and a licensed marriage and family therapist in California. He teaches Postmodern Approaches to Addiction Treatment, aiming to deconstruct the stigmas around drug use and help students understand how socioeconomic and political conditions tie into the complexities of addiction. He founded Scribble, a non-profit center in L.A. offering affordable individual, couples, group, and family sessions on a sliding scale.

Kitty Thatcher is an Australian clinical psychologist based in Santiago, Chile, and was first introduced to narrative therapy ideas through the Masters in Clinical Psychology for children and adolescents at the Universidad de Chile. Following this she undertook the fantastic narrative apprenticeship with David Epston, Kay Ingamells, and Tom Carlson. During the pandemic she returned to Australia and worked as a provisional psychologist in rural NSW then Sydney to gain her registration there under the supervision of the wonderful Daniel Angus. Moving between mental health systems in Chile and Australia has only encouraged her nomadic bent, and she is fascinated by how being between, immersed, and at times running out of language shapes our connections with ourselves and the world (and vice versa!).

Meet Keiko Tsuzuki, a seasoned counsellor, and psychotherapist whose journey spans over three decades of helping others navigate life's challenges. Originally from Japan, Keiko now lives in Australia. She established ‘Evolved Conscious Village,’ where she blends the ancient wisdom of Japanese culture with modern
therapeutic approaches.

From her rich cultural heritage, Keiko has crafted ten unique methods tailored to address diverse needs. Her expertise lies in nurturing human potential and healthy relationships, a skill she imparts through training and consultancy services to clients and practicing professionals across Australia and Asia via her well-established company, ECOV Australia.

Keiko's quest for innovative solutions led her to the world of Collective Narrative Approaches. Fascinated by the collaborative nature of the work, she completed a master's degree in Narrative Therapy and Community Work, where she was taught by Poh Lin Lee. This deepened understanding enriched her in promoting sustainable social change and advocating for marginalized communities.

Beyond her professional pursuits, Keiko's commitment to community care is her passion. From coordinating daycare services for elderly migrants and offering counselling to those grappling with intergenerational trauma and refugees at the Multicultural Services Centre of Western Australia, Keiko's dedication to community care is evident through her every endeavour.

Her vision extends further, aiming to establish a sustainable base for an Evolved Conscious Village where individuals can reside for extended periods. She has travelled extensively around India and has found an ideal place for her dream, nestled amidst the Himalayan mountains in Sikkim, India.

Akansha Vaswani-Bye Ph.D., was introduced to narrative practices in Mumbai when she began working at Ummeed Child Development Center in Mumbai in 2010. Here she was also introduced to principles of family-centered care, early intervention, and community-based advocacy. Her interest in systemic change took her to San Diego State University where her studies in marriage and family therapy strengthened her commitment to developing clinical practice through the lens of de-colonizing, feminist, and postmodern practice. Her doctoral work at UMass Boston, focused on drivers of institutional corruption in psychiatry and solutions for reform, particularly the practice of deprescribing and rational prescribing grounded in informed consent. She is currently an Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine where she works on the implementation of family-to-family support programs for families of persons managing psychosis.

Sabine Vermeire works at the Interactie-Academie, a training and therapy center in Antwerp, Belgium. For more than 30 years, she has been engaged in several youth and family care projects and goes on therapeutic journeys with children, youngsters, and families in the context of trauma, violence, and abuse. She leaves the beaten tracks in playful and creative ways when speaking becomes difficult. She is a Narrative and Systemic trainer, psychotherapist, and supervisor and is responsible for the year training ‘Narrative Therapy and Community work’ and the postgraduate ‘Family counseling’ at Interactie-Academie. As an associated trainer at The Institute of Narrative Therapy (UK) and at the faculty of Dulwich Center she shares her work with children, youngsters and families. She wrote several articles and books on this work.

Latest publications: Unravelling trauma and weaving resilience. Playful collaborations with children, families, and their networks and keynote at the Conference of Narrative Therapy and Community Work in Brighton 2017.

Shuo Yuan (袁硕) is a 1.5-generation immigrant of Chinese diaspora living and working on the traditional land of the Duwamish people, also known as Seattle, WA. She was formally introduced to narrative therapy and narrative practices through her graduate traineeship with Narrative Initiatives San Diego (NISD) where her fondness of storytelling and art intersected with her interests in mental health and social justice. Shuo currently works in private practice where she primarily serves client community members at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities whose stories have far too long been deliberately erased and delegitimized.

Julia is an experienced therapist, couples counselor and coach who provides innovative, informed and interactive therapy.

Navid Zamani: I’m an Iranian-American man who was born and raised in Southern California. I was raised in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, until I moved to Davis, CA to continue my studies. After acquiring my BA in Psychology and minor in Music from UC Davis, I moved to San Diego to continue my studies at San Diego State University in Marriage and Family Therapy. I have resided in San Diego since 2010 and have fallen in love with the cultures, geography, food and music.

There are threads in my life that have been constant, and initiatives that have developed due to opportunities at the time and/or my location. Music has always been a big part of my life, and I continue to enjoy playing the piano/keys and the drum kit. I am an avid surfer, and enjoy outdoor activities with my wife, such as camping, hiking and biking around San Diego. Reading and writing have always been a pleasure of mine, and academia became a natural fit in this way. Gardening is also one of my obsessions and I also really love my dog. All of these hobbies are situated within a framework of experiences that come along with identifying as a heterosexual male, an Iranian-American and the experiences of biculturalism that accompany that, my ability to speak Farsi and English, my education, and the values I hold.

I grew up observing the charitableness of my family, and connected with the sense of urgency and gratitude that they experienced from helping others. I watched my mom always donate her time and money to the underprivileged and underserved. I watched my aunts (who are educators in Iran) advocate and stand up for students who often didn’t have a voice. I am continuously grounded by the love and compassion my wife models in her daily life. I truly believe that my community’s health impacts my health, and I am dedicated in supporting those in need.

Larry Zucker, LCSW, presented a 2015 Vermont workshop and subsequently created the online course Escaping Blame: Helping couples develop account-ability. Larry has been practicing therapy and training therapists for over 30 years. He is a frequent presenter for- and participant in- The Collab Salon, including Tales of Integration with Lynne Rosen (September, 2016), Introducing the new online course with Peggy Sax (August, 2016) and Escaping Blame (February 2015). Larry’s background in social work and community organizing led him to see people in context, and to focus on strength and resiliency. Larry is committed to escaping blaming frames of reference in a field that encourages therapists to see people and relationships as problematic. He prefers seeing people as embedded in normal problems of living, full of untapped skill and knowledge for creating the lives and relationships they want, despite difficulties encountered, and to seeing therapy as a relationship that helps bring forth that knowledge.