Dear Reader,
Well, this is very exciting isn’t it!
Welcome to the first issue of our new journal – The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work.
We have been looking forward to this moment for quite some time and now it has arrived. This new journal is our way of staying in touch with readers about the latest thinking and developments in narrative practice. In this edition we have included papers from Norway, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. With each edition we intend to broaden the range of countries represented in these pages. We are looking forward to including perspectives from a diverse range of contexts.
As you know, this first issue focuses on ‘the question of forgiveness’. We’d have to say that putting together a journal on this topic has stretched our hearts and minds. We have tried to engage with the broader philosophical questions around the issues of forgiveness and at the same time continually relate these back to the work and concerns of counselling practitioners and community workers. Throughout this process, the one consistent theme was that wherever we turned there was yet another challenge to our thinking. It has been an intense and sometimes tumultuous journey.
Everyone working here at Dulwich Centre has been involved in reading the papers in this journal and having long discussions about the issues raised. We reckon we probably need to thank all of our families, friends and even mere acquaintances for their patience!
We think the experience of reading this journal may engage you similarly. You may not agree with every author’s viewpoint, as various papers express divergent views, and you may relate to some papers more strongly than others. Whatever the case, we are confident that you will be thinking differently about the question of forgiveness by the time you reach the final page of this publication.
Finally, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our long-term readers for their support of our publications over the last seventeen years. When we began the Dulwich Centre Newsheet all those years ago we would never have imagined that one day we’d be writing an editorial for an international journal. It is only through the support, ideas, feedback of those who read our publications that this journal has become a possibility. So … thank you.
And to those of you who are new readers … we hope you enjoy this new journal!
Warm regards,
Cheryl White,
Editor.
PS: After you’ve read this issue, we’d love to hear your thoughts, reflections and feedback. Please email us at: feedback@dulwichcentre.com.au Thanks!
