Narrative practice: Continuing the conversations

An anthology of Michael White’s previously unpublished papers, Narrative practice: Continuing the conversations, was released in 2011. If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, you can order this book through Dulwich Centre’s bookshop. If you’re in the rest of the world, you can order it from online retailers or your local bookstore.

Creating the epilogue for Narrative practice: Continuing the conversations

In compiling the epilogue for Narrative practice: Continuing the conversations, Cheryl White decided to invite narrative practitioners from different countries to reflect upon the legacies of Michael’s work in their particular contexts. She sent the following invitation:

G’day, this is Cheryl writing to you with a special request.

You probably know that a group of people have been working to put a book together of Michael White’s unpublished writings. In going through these papers, we have come across some real gems. While it’s a tender task it’s also one that’s been engaging and inspiring. The book is coming together well, it’s nearly finished, and will be published with W. W. Norton.

After a lot of thought, it was decided that we would invite practitioners from many different countries and cultures to be involved in developing a postscript or epilogue. And so that’s why I’m writing to you now. I am wondering if you would like to contribute to it in some way. Within this postscript, we wish to consider the ways in which Michael’s ideas are being carried on and engaged with in many different contexts. We’ve put together a series of questions and are now inviting a wide range of people to respond to these. People’s responses will then be collated into a collective piece. We hope this will enable us to create a rich tapestry of perspectives. Of course, we will acknowledge all those who contribute to this process.

Just in case you have the time and interest, here are the questions:

• • What are some of the most interesting, hopeful, recent developments in narrative therapy / narrative practice in your context?
  • How do you imagine the futures of narrative practice in your local context?
  • Can you share some examples of Michael’s ideas being carried on in significant ways?
  • Can you share some examples / stories about local innovations – about how practitioners are developing their own diverse forms of narrative practice?
  • Are there particular cultural / language considerations in your context that may require or inspire adaptations / innovations in narrative practice?
  • If you were to have a particular wish in relation to the future of narrative practice in your context, what would it be?

Thanks so much for considering this.

Warmly,
Cheryl

Responses

Responses were received from a wide range of countries. While these have been collated into the Epilogue of the bookNarrative practice: Continuing the conversations, we thought it would also be relevant to include the responses in their entirety here. Very limited editing has been done to the following pieces:

Australia

• The ‘spirit of adventure’ and practice-based evidence, Sekneh Beckett-Hammoud
• The legacy of Michael’s reading of poststructuralist French philosophy, Maggie Carey
• Transforming the definition and language of therapy and community work, Marilyn O’Neill
• Narrative practice and the Stolen Generations, Shona Russell
• From ‘them and us’ to ‘us and us and us’, Gaye Stockell

Austria

• Narrative ideas within a psychiatric clinic for children and young people, Rudi Kronbichler

Bangladesh

• Narrative psychosocial support in Bangladesh, Maksuda Begum

Brazil

• Narrative practices as ‘delicious fruit’ in Brazil, Marilene Grandesso
• ‘Creating something new using the same words available to all of us’, Maria Angela Teixeira

Canada

• Violence and abuse initiatives in Canada, Tod Augusta-Scott
• New options for ‘being family’, Ruth Pluznick
• Finding ways of subverting our power as therapists, Angel Yuen

Colombia/USA

• Rescuing what is most precious, Martha Lopez-Hill

Denmark

• Developing training programs in organisational contexts, Niels-Henrik Sørensen

France

• Narrative coaching in France, Pierre Blanc-Sahnoun
• Making connections between social work, philosophy, and pedagogy, Isabelle Laplante & Nicolas De Beer

Japan

• Innovations and challenges in Japan, Yasunaga Komori

Mexico

• ‘Saying hello again’ in Mexico, Cuqui Toledo
• Narrative practitioners collaborating in Mexico, Leticia Uribe

New Zealand/USA

• Seeking new possibilities, John Winslade

Russia

• Narrative practice in Russia: A snapshot, Daria Kutuzova

Singapore

• Sustaining narrative practices in Singapore, Vivian Navaratnam

South Africa

• Hero books in Africa, Jonathan Morgan

Uganda

• Using narrative practice in trauma work in Uganda, Caleb Wakhungu

UK

• A snapshot of narrative practice in the UK, Hugh Fox

USA

• Interweaving expressive arts and narrative conversations, Jennifir Bailes
• You never know what’s going to be happening at your destination, Christian Beels
• Developing and spreading innovations, Walter Bera
• The ‘life-saving’ effect of re-membering conversations, Lorraine Hedtke
• Using narrative practices in community mental health, Zoy Kazan
• ‘Life is on the move’, Peggy Sax & Sarah Hughes
• Innovations, research, and deconstruction, John Stillman
• ‘Narrative practice works best as a chameleon’, Kaethe Weingarten
• Affect and narrative practice, Jeff Zimmerman