International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work

Read more about the article My favourite questions by Jill Freedman, read by Esther Benz
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / Audio (2023-issue 1) / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work

My favourite questions by Jill Freedman, read by Esther Benz

In this audio recording of a favourite paper from the journal’s archives, Jill Freedman offers three sets of questions that she names as “favourites” in her own work. The first two sets of questions are ones therapists can ask clients. The first set may help people link their lives with others. The second may help people organise their experiences into narratives. The third is a question that therapists can ask themselves to help them come to questions that promote experiential involvement.

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September 7, 2023
Read more about the article Addicted to Life, Written and directed by Pola Rapaport (2022), reviewed by David Newman
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work / Reviews

Addicted to Life, Written and directed by Pola Rapaport (2022), reviewed by David Newman

In the opening scene of the 2022 documentary Addicted to Life, about the Belgian athlete Marieke Vervoort, diagnosed with a painful degenerative spinal disease, we hear powerful defiance. Over an internet call, Vervoort, who has obtained papers to end her life via euthanasia, says to the filmmaker Pola Rapaport: "Everyone is pushing me and asking me, 'When are you going to die? Do you know already the date that you’re going to die?' I said, 'Fuck you. … You don’t know when you want to die. When the time comes, when I feel it’s enough, then I will decide'.” ... It is a powerful start to a tender and at times harrowing story of the last three years of a life and the intricate weaving of pain, extraordinary athletic accomplishment, determination, relationships and euthanasia. It’s a story that carefully explores the idea that “not only life but also death is political” (Özpolat, 2017, p. 28).

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September 7, 2023
Read more about the article Curiosity, power and narrative practice, Perry Zurn interviewed by Zan Maeder
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work / Interviews

Curiosity, power and narrative practice, Perry Zurn interviewed by Zan Maeder

What are some of the dominant and alternative stories of curiosity? How do we wield it and to what effect? What does it mean to attend to the politics of curiosity in our lives and work and to acknowledge it as a collective practice and social force that can colonise, normalise and divide us and disrupt, liberate and connect us? Zan Maeder interviews Perry Zurn, Provost Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University and author of Curiosity and power: The politics of inquiry (2021) about work tracing histories of curiosity in philosophy and political theory and co-creating (with many other transgressors, past and present) possibilities for ethical and liberatory curiosity praxis.

3 Comments
September 7, 2023
Read more about the article Making history come alive: Seeking truth and justice, Vijaya Teelock interviewed by David Denborough
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work / Interviews

Making history come alive: Seeking truth and justice, Vijaya Teelock interviewed by David Denborough

In this interview, Mauritian historian Vijaya Teelock discusses breaking historical silences, democratising history, intangible heritage, memorialising and the complexities of seeking justice and reparation for historical wrongs. The interview took place in Vijaya’s home in Mauritius with David Denborough, Cheryl White and Diana Shanto present.

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September 7, 2023
Read more about the article A personal reflection on “depression”: Not only a problem but also a learning opportunity — Barry Sullivan
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work / Peer-reviewed papers (2023: Issue 1)

A personal reflection on “depression”: Not only a problem but also a learning opportunity — Barry Sullivan

For most of 2022, I was challenged by depression. One of its effects was to derail action-taking skills in my personal and professional life, leading to a sense of paralysis. This paper documents the narrative therapy skills and knowledge that helped me to move out from under depression’s dark cloud and shows how I applied learnings from my personal experience to my work with clients, including those also dealing with depression.

4 Comments
September 7, 2023
Read more about the article Building bridges across stories: Developing cross-cultural partnerships to challenge masculinity — Nicolas Mosso Tupper
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work / Peer-reviewed papers (2023: Issue 1)

Building bridges across stories: Developing cross-cultural partnerships to challenge masculinity — Nicolas Mosso Tupper

This paper explores the possibilities of developing cross-cultural partnerships to support men in defying dominant prescriptions of masculinity. It focuses on the individual stories of two men of different ages and experiences living on different continents, and shows the coming together of their stories. Both undertook a migration of identity away from dominating ideas and beliefs that justified harm and abuse, and towards a preferred form of masculinity aligned with their values, and with practices of dignity and nonviolence. Through the creation, translation and sharing of documents of resistance, each of these men was able to contribute to the other, and to receive something in return.

1 Comment
September 7, 2023
Read more about the article Using narrative practices to support academic development in an after-school program — Deborah Mrema
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work / Peer-reviewed papers (2023: Issue 1)

Using narrative practices to support academic development in an after-school program — Deborah Mrema

This paper describes the use of narrative practices in work with young people in an after-school academic support program in Tanzania. Through games, outsider witnessing, re-authoring conversations and the Tree of Life process, we brought to light skills and experiences that had previously been left unrecognised by the evaluation tools we had been using to track students’ progress. The Tree of Life in particular created space for our students to rediscover unique abilities and areas in which they shine. These had previously been hidden behind dominant stories about living in an orphanage or not meeting expectations at school. The use of narrative practices supported growth, development and healing for our students.

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September 7, 2023
Read more about the article The River of Life safety map: Narrative journeys in a school-based setting — Clare Kempton Sladden
2023 / 2023: Issue 1 / International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work / Peer-reviewed papers (2023: Issue 1)

The River of Life safety map: Narrative journeys in a school-based setting — Clare Kempton Sladden

This article explores the use of narrative practices in a school-based setting to approach safety planning with young people. The article proposes an alternative safety planning tool: The River of Life safety map, which draws on the migration of identity metaphor. The author explores opportunities for collaboration in safety planning and risk management, drawing on feminist ethics. A story of practice gives suggestions for how one may use the map.

1 Comment
September 7, 2023

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