From seeds to a forest: Nurturing narrative practice in an adolescent mental health program — Beck Paterson

This article describes the author’s experience of incorporating narrative practices into an in-patient crisis treatment program in Calgary, Canada. It was written to offer solidarity to new and emerging narrative practitioners, and to highlight some examples of how narrative practice can be used in a setting in which pathologisation is dominant. Exploring examples that emerged in their work both organically and intentionally, the author describes their process of bringing narrative ideas – such as externalising practices, honouring insider knowledge, and using definitional ceremony and rites of passage – to the forefront of their own practice and influencing change in the larger program.