Dear Reader,
Here at Dulwich Centre, we regularly receive emails requesting articles about a range of therapeutic concerns. As therapists are consulting people facing particular issues, they seek out writings that will assist them in their next conversation. This journal issue contains papers on some of the topics about which we most often receive requests.
The first paper, by Belinda Emmerson-Whyte, focuses on couple therapy. If there is one topic about which we are most often approached, this would be it! In this paper, Belinda describes an effective use of ‘internalised other interviewing’, a way of working originally developed by David Epston and Karl Tomm.
The second paper, by David Newman, provides examples of narrative practice in responding to anxiety and depression. This paper was originally given as a keynote address at the Reconnexion Annual National Anxiety and Depression Conference in Melbourne, Australia.
And a paper by David Epston and David Marsten completes the first section. This paper, entitled ‘What doesn’t the problem know about your son or daughter? Providing the conditions for the restoration of a family’s dignity’, offers a novel approach in which children’s problems can be directly corresponded with.
The second section of this journal consists of three collective narrative initiatives. The first of these relates to group work with parents of children with autism. Courtney Olinger describes her work in this area in the first paper we have ever published on this topic.
Another area of practice about which practitioners consistently approach us is in relation to narrative approaches to drug and alcohol addiction. Therese Hegarty, Greg Smith & Mark Hammersley provide new metaphors and ideas in their paper ‘Crossing the river: A metaphor for separation, liminality, and reincorporation’.
And finally, Marcela Polanco describes a collective narrative project within a university setting. In doing so, she introduces the methodology of the ‘wall of wisdom’.
We hope these papers provide encouragement and ideas to your own practice. As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions for future issues.
Warm regards,
Cheryl White
