European Conference of Narrative Therapy and Community Work

Centre for Narrative Practice

European Conference of Narrative Therapy and Community Work

July 9th – 10th 2009 Brighton, UK

Pre-Conference Workshops

July 7th & 8th

A. Exploring Narrative Approaches to addressing men's violence

2 Day Pre-Conference Workshop, July 7th & 8th, 10.00am - 4.30pm each day

with

Maggie Carey, Rob Hall and Shona Russell of Narrative Practices Adelaide, Australia

B. Foucault, Derrida and Deleuze: their implications for narrative practice

1 Day Pre-conference workshop, July 8th, 10.00am - 4.30pm

with

Allan Holmgren and Anette Holmgren. Alan is from DISPUK and Anette is from the Centre for Narrative Therapy, both in Denmark

C. Introduction to Narrative Therapy

1 Day Pre-Conference Workshop, July 8th, 10.00am - 4.30pm

with

Sarah Walther and Lincoln Simmonds, Sarah Works with Centre for Narrative Practice and with Narrative Training Partnership, whilst Lincoln is a practitioner and trainer of narrative therapy, both in the UK

See details below

For registration form click here

A. Exploring Narrative Approaches to addressing men's violence

2 Day Pre-Conference Workshop, July 7th & 8th, 10.00am - 4.30pm each day

with Maggie Carey, Rob Hall and Shona Russell of Narrative Practices Adelaide, Australia

Michael White intended before his death to bring focus to the ways in which narrative practices could be supportive of practitioners who are involved in working with men who engage in violence. He knew that Narrative ways of working have a great deal to offer this area of work and that Rob, Shona and Maggie could bring together their different areas of experience to enrich this project.

The concepts of respect, accountability, fairness and responsibility will be outlined, as they have continued to shape the work of Rob Hall and his colleague Alan Jenkins. These concepts applied in Narrative ways facilitate responses to the complexities of work with men who use violence in their relationships with women.

This 2 day workshop will be useful for a range of practitioners interested in working with men who engage in practices of violence and abuse. There will be a focus on some of the broader philosophical considerations of this work as well a chance to explore relevant maps of narrative practice including:

The importance of engaging men and the skills involved in this.
Providing men with an alternative territory of life and identity in which to stand, and from which to strongly critique their own abusive and exploitative actions.
Scaffolding the development of respect, responsibility and accountability as concepts that are storied in experience and able to be put into action.
Ways of inviting men to take a position that is not one of remaining complicit in the privileges afforded them through the discourses of masculinity that promote power over others.
Shame as a point of entry for exploration of preferred identity accounts. What is ‘absent but implicit’ in shame?
The ethical position of the therapist in work with men. How do we not replicate the very practices that need addressing? How do we own the position that we are taking?

Maggie Carey, Rob Hall and Shona Russell are founding members of Narrative Practices Adelaide, a small independent centre committed to the practice and teaching of narrative therapy in work with families, individuals, groups and communities.

Maggie Carey has been involved in the practice of narrative therapy since the early 90's and in the teaching of it for the past 10 years. Maggie's therapeutic practice has seen her working alongside young people at risk, with women and children who live with the effects of violence and abuse, and with people having experienced trauma, particularly as refugees. Maggie plays a key role in the teaching of Narrative practice within Australia and internationally.

Rob Hall has been working in the area of gender violence and abuse since 1980. He worked in an emergency counselling service with a team exploring new approaches to inviting men to take responsibility for their violence and to find ways to ensure the safety and well being of people they had abused. The ongoing development of the work with men who have perpetrated abuse has highlighted issues such as workplace harassment and adolescents who have abused

Shona Russell began work as a family therapist in a non Government community based organization and since that time has been enthused by the narrative approach. She went on to study narrative therapy and has made this the focus of her therapeutic work for over fifteen years. Shona’s therapeutic work spans a range of contexts including a specialist service working with the effects of historical sexual abuse, a family therapy team, and independent practice where Shona works with young people, women, men and couples in response to a wide range of concerns. A key component of Shona’s work for many years has been the teaching of narrative practice.

For registration form click here

B. Foucault, Derrida and Deleuze: their implications for narrative practice

1 Day Preconference workshop, July 8th, 10.00am - 4.30pm

with Allan Holmgren and Anette Holmgren. Alan is from DISPUK and Anette is from the Centre for Narrative Therapy, both in Denmark

“Narratives of problems” offers a unique and wonderful opportunity to investigate the many plotlines and storylines that criss-cross in every life. There never just one story. There are always webs of stories with webs of moral obligations, with webs of discourses. Modern power works through the many cultural narratives and discourses which pull the individual in many directions.

This workshop relates these ideas and practices to Michael White’s groundbreaking work but also to some of the philosophical ideas of Foucault, Derrida and Deleuze, and especially to Foucault’s ideas about the ".. perpetual gaps between intentions in relation to each other". It also relates to Derrida’s idea about conflictuality and to Deleuze’s ideas about concepts (for instance "the rhizom", "lines of flight" and "becoming"). Deleuze invites us to think of therapy as a philosophical practice of everyday life where the task is to create new concepts as well as inviting us to think about what we are becoming in the way we are living. Deleuze says "Thinking is a daily revolutionary activity".

The participants are invited to take part in exercises which demonstrate the ideas in practice.

This workshop will

· Introduce ways in conversations to work with power and intentionality in relations.

· Introduce ways to work with the conflictualities of everyday life.

· Introduce ways of creating "lines of flight" in conversations, moving from problem-landscapes to platforms where it is possible to think.

Anette Holmgren is born in 1967, has a degree as psychologist from Aarhus University 1994. She is founder of Centre for Narrrative Therapy in Elsinore, Denmark and has last year published a book on narrative therapy.

Allan Holmgren is born in 1953, has a degree as mag.art (like Ph.D.) in psychology from Copenhagen University 1981. He is founder (1990) and director of DISPUK, Snekkersten & Aarhus, Denmark, (a narrative and poststructuralist training centre) and is adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School since 2006. He has written extensively on therapy, supervision, coaching, leadership and consultancy.

For registration form click here

C. Introduction to Narrative Therapy

1 Day Pre-Conference Workshop, July 8th, 10.00am - 4.30pm

with Sarah Walther and Lincoln Simmonds, Sarah Works with Centre for Narrative Practice and with Narrative Training Partnership, whilst Lincoln is a practitioner and trainer of narrative therapy, both in the UK

This workshop will cover the basics of Narrative Therapy and is intended for those who have little or no knowledge of Narrative Therapy or those who would like to brush up on their understanding. the intention is place participants in the best possible position to take part in and to learn from the conference. It is FREE and open only to those who register for the conference.

For registration form click here