Projects
Statements of the heart
The Uluru Statement of the Heart ends with the words: ‘We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.’ It sounds to us that this invitation was not addressed only to those sitting in Parliament, but to all of us Australians. So, it doesn’t make sense for politicians to have the final word on this does it? Instead, we think it’s time for Australians, young and old, to respond to the Uluru Statement, with our own statements, from our own hearts. We invite you to send a message about why it’s important to you that as a nation we take up the invitation from the...
Read MoreFriday Afternoons at Dulwich
We post a new free video related to narrative therapy and community work on this site on the last Friday afternoon of every second month. Click here to view.
Read MoreHealing stories: Partnerships with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
A message from women of Arnhem Land to the Aboriginal community of Port Augusta: Their words speak for us. Their stories are so similar to what we experience. It is like they are talking for us as well. It’s like we are sharing the same problems under the one tent. We know now that these things are not just happening in Arnhem Land but also down south. We are thinking of them and now we would like to pass on something to them. We want to share our stories with them, just like they shared their stories with us. We will speak about our experiences and then link these together with the experiences of those from Port Augusta. This is about sharing knowledge and sharing...
Read MoreNarrative ‘development’ work
Poverty, conflict, and disease are like ‘clouds’ that encircle our communities. We must find ways to raise our heads above the clouds and work towards the world we hope for … Dulwich Centre Foundation is excited to be present an emerging field of practice: narrative ‘development’ work. The Mt Elgon Self-Help Community Project, based in rural Uganda, uses narrative practices to spark and sustain local social action and environmental and economic projects. This video contains some of the stories of the Mt Elgon project and its outcomes. We think this work is vitally relevant for: social and community workers aid and development workers and organisations...
Read MoreWorking in contexts of war and armed conflict
We are currently working in a number of contexts to assist colleagues who are working in contexts of war and armed conflict. This includes being engaged in a three year partnership with the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC) which is based in Ramallah, Palestine. To read about this partnership ad the work of the TRC click here. Over the last few years, this work has occurred with a wide range of people involved in, and affected by, war: former child soldiers in Uganda (in partnership with REPSSI) refugee children in Australia who fled from conflict in the Sudan (see ‘The Team of Life’) Palestinian families who are living under Israeli...
Read MoreA continuing invitation to narrative practitioners to address privilege and dominance
This project has been initiated by a group of therapists, community workers and educators from Samoa, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, USA, and the UK. As professionals and wage-earners we live with a considerable degree of privilege and freedom. At the same time, we represent a diverse number of cultures. While some of us live with white privilege, others of us live as Indigenous people and as people of colour with the ongoing effects of colonisation and racism. Our backgrounds also differ in relation to gender, class, and sexual orientation. What we have in common is a deep sadness at much of what is occurring in the world and a commitment to play our part in...
Read MorePreventing Prisoner Rape Project
The ‘Preventing Prisoner Rape Project‘ is a national project here in Australia aiming to: raise awareness about the issue of rape in prisons; reach out and support prison rape survivors; support those workers both inside and outside prisons who are trying to deal with this issue of sexual violence in detention; and bring about appropriate law reform and changes to prison administration in order to prevent prisoner rape. While our key area of concern relates to men’s and women’s prisons, we are also concerned about sexual violence in juvenile justice centres, secure mental health facilities, and immigration detention centres. We are currently seeking practitioners who...
Read MoreAddressing men’s violence against women and state violence
Dulwich Centre has had a long-standing commitment to explore ways to respond to and prevent men’s violence against women and, at the same time, prevent violence of the state. These issues intersect when the police and prisons are put forward as the only appropriate response to men’s violence. Dulwich Centre is interested in community projects with groups of men and women who wish to address men’s violence against women without involving the police or prison systems. This is a challenging area of work. We are interested in being in touch with others who are engaged with such community projects. Please contact...
Read MoreNarrative songwriting
We have recently uploaded to this website a range of songs that were created through the use of narrative practices. We would be very interested to hear from other practitioners/musicians who are combining these realms. Over time, we hope to create an archive of such songs on this site.
Read MoreResponding to family and friends of those who have committed suicide
We are currently in the process of creating resources for those who have lost a loved-one, friend, or family member to suicide. The resources will also be relevant to practitioners who are trying to respond to this issue in their work. The project is being coordinated by Marnie Sather and David Newman. If you would like to be involved in the development of these resources, please contact us.
Read MoreNarratice coaching and organisational practice
Inspired by recent visits to La Fabrique Narrative in Bordeaux, France, and the European Systemic Business Academy in Vienna, Austria, where groups of organisational consultants are vigorously engaging with narrative practices, we have become very interested in the possibilities of ‘narrative coaching’. Over the coming years we will be engaging in partnerships to explore how narrative therapy ideas and collective narrative practice ideas can be used within organisational contexts. We are now planning on compiling a paper for the International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work on this theme. If you are interested in contibuting to this paper please send...
Read MoreResponding to intergenerational conflict
All too often, relationships between young people and their parents and grandparents become strained after experiences of migration. The Dulwich Centre Foundation is now involved in developing ways of working that provide opportunities for ‘inter-generational honouring’. As this is a crucial issue in many communities, we’re looking forward to seeing a range of local projects come out of this initiative – in Australia, Canada, and around the world. Some of the projects we are exploring include: hosting local community conversations across generations wheresignificant strains are occurring making links between social service workers in countries of migration, and their...
Read MoreNarrative Justice Charter of Story-Telling Rights
Over the last few years, we have become increasingly interested in refusing to separate ‘healing and justice’. As the counsellors of Ibuka in Rwanda state: ‘We never separate healing from justice. These go hand-in-hand. We see in our work how justice is a form of healing and how healing is a form of justice.’ Here at Dulwich Centre, we are now involved in exploring the question ‘what is narrative justice’? When people have had many of their human rights violated and then turn to counsellors, psychologists and/or therapists for assistance, it is vitally important to consider their ‘rights’ in how their lives are spoken about. Because the difficulties people are...
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