Introduction to Narrative Therapy and Community Work

Member price: $149.00 including GST (member price will display once logged in)

Non-member price: $298.00 including GST

This course introduces the key principles and practices of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. It is delivered by leading Narrative practitioner and academic Dr. David Denborough, co-Director of the Dulwich Centre and co-ordinator of the Master of Narrative Therapy at the University of Melbourne.

Topics include:

• An introduction to the histories of these approaches
• Summary of key aspects of the narrative approach, such as externalising conversations, the use of documentation, and the Team of Life metaphoric practice
• Discussion of community projects informed by narrative principles.

Who should register? This course is relevant to social workers (and other counsellors and allied health professionals) working with individuals, families, groups and/or wider communities, including within clinical mental health settings.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• Develop an awareness of the histories of Narrative Therapy and Community Work
• Develop an understanding of the story metaphor and its implications for practice
• Develop an understanding of externalising conversations (the person is not the problem; the problem is the problem, and the solution is not only personal) and their application in a range of contexts
• Develop an understanding of the significance of documentation (the written word, song, video) in supporting people to reclaim their lives from problems
• Learn about the Team of Life and Tree of Life narrative approaches and other metaphoric practices
• Develop an appreciation of the diverse work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander narrative practitioners
• Gain knowledge of a range of narrative practice community projects.

AASW Credentials: Mental Health (Focussed Psychological Strategies); Clinical



Presenter details

David Denborough (PhD) works as a community worker, teacher and writer/editor for the Dulwich Centre. He is particularly interested in cross-cultural partnerships which limit the chances of psychological colonisation and create possibilities for cross-cultural inventions, such as the Team of Life narrative approach and Tree of Life (with Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo). These collective narrative methodologies seek to assist people to address the effects of traumatic experiences without having to speak directly about them.

David is also vitally interested in how collective narrative practices can spark and/or sustain social movement and in projects that respond to racism and seek to strengthen social inclusion. His recent teaching and community assignments have included Rwanda, Brazil, Palestine, Singapore, Austria, Hong Kong, Kurdistan (Iraq), India, Canada, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile and a number of Aboriginal Australian communities.

David is a co-ordinator of the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work at the University of Melbourne, where he is also involved in supervising graduate researchers. His songs in response to current social issues have received airplay throughout Australia and Canada. His publications include:

• Retelling the stories of our lives: Everyday narrative therapy to draw inspiration and transform experience
• Collective narrative practice: Responding to individuals, groups, and communities who have experienced trauma
• Working with memory in the shadow of genocide: The narrative practices of Ibuka trauma counsellors
• Beyond the prison: Gathering dreams of freedom
• Family therapy: Exploring the field's past, present and possible futures (editor)
• Trauma: Narrative responses to traumatic experience (editor).