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DULWICH CENTRE EMAIL NEWS
December 2008
Issue #37
www.dulwichcentre.com.au
newsandconnections@dulwichcentre.com.au
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G'day,

The year is slowly drawing to a close and here at Dulwich Centre we have just held the 9^th International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference. There is so much news to share!

CONTENTS

1. 9^th International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference: thank you to all involved
2. Memorial for Michael White
3. News from the Dulwich Centre Foundation … now we’re on Facebook
4. New book now available! Collective narrative practice: Responding to individuals, groups and communities who have experienced trauma
5. Responding to hardship and trauma – international training and supervision program
6. A project focusing on memory
7. ‘Narrative Sex Therapy’ journal issue now available
8. Narrative therapy, collective narrative practice and research
9. International Training Program: Narrative approaches to therapy and community work
10. Explorations: E-journal of narrative practice … calling for papers
11. Level One and Level Two Intensives in narrative therapy
12. Collective narrative practice workshops for 2009 – working with individuals, groups and communities
13. Subscriptions to this FREE Dulwich Centre Email News

1. 9^th International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference: thank you to all involved
Over the last few weeks we have welcomed to Adelaide over 400 participants to the 9^th International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference. Participants came from Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Hong Kong, Russia, Fiji, France, UK, Israel, Sweden, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, USA, South Africa, Mexico and elsewhere! This was the biggest event we have held in Australia since 1999 and many are telling us it was the most significant conference that they have attended. We so appreciated the ways in which everyone participated. There were many highlights and we will soon be placing photographs and descriptions up on our website (see http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/Conference.htm). We would particularly like to mention the contributions made by:  

* The Drop the Rock Team and members of the remote area mental health team from Cape York
* The team of Aboriginal workers from Hermannsburg (Ntaria) in Central Australia
* All the presenters who shared hopeful, creative narrative therapeutic work from their own contexts
* The young men from St John’s High School who shared with us the Team of Life and offered their message of support and solidarity to the Sudanese community in Adelaide
* All those who shared songs/dances within the conference concert
* Those working hard to link narrative therapy practices and research
* Those presenters who stretched our thinking theoretically
* Those involved in the queer keynote … who pushed our hearts and minds
* All those who engaged in the conference in not their first language!
* Everyone who attended who contributed to such a good hearted inclusive context

We are now very much enjoying receiving emails from participants with their feedback and reflections on the conference. If you would like to send us photographs or descriptions to be placed on the site please send these to dulwich@dulwichcentre.com.au We hope we will see you at an upcoming Dulwich Centre conference. We will soon be announcing exciting news in relation to the plans for the 10^th International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference.

2. Memorial for Michael White
One of the most significant events that was held as a part of the conference was the memorial in relation to Michael White. This memorial took place at Dulwich Centre in a large tent/marquee and was facilitated by the Just Therapy Team from New Zealand: Charles Waldegrave, Warihi Campbell and Taimalieutu Tamasese. This memorial was a very significant event for all of us. Stories and songs were shared from family members, friends, colleagues and a number of young people who have known Michael nearly all of their lives. In the lead up we had some apprehension about how this memorial would all proceed but as it unfolded it was powerfully healing for all of us. This was really due to the ways in which everyone rose to the occasion with such grace, kindness and thoughtfulness. The tent has now been taken down, and most of the conference participants have left. But the memories, stories and songs from the memorial still seem to be with us in a very good way. In coming weeks we will share via our website more about this memorial. We are going to collect the speeches made at the memorial and place these on our website and if anyone took photographs at the event please feel free to send these in. For now, though, we would just like to thank everyone who participated within it. Next year the Michael White archive will continue to play its part in remembering Michael’s work and contributions and will also seek to create contexts in which future generations of narrative therapists can engage with his legacy. On this note, we would also like to thank those who have sent to us copies of the videos of interviews that Michael conducted with them, or the recordings of Michael’s teaching presentations that workshop hosts have donated. More news about the Michael White Archive will be available in the new year.     

3. News from the Dulwich Centre Foundation … we’re on Facebook!
The Dulwich Centre Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable association dedicated to responding to groups and communities which are facing mental health difficulties as the result of significant hardships (trauma, violence, drug and alcohol issues, grief & loss, poverty, racism, discrimination, dispossession and so on). In 2009 the Dulwich Centre Foundation will continue working in partnership with a number of Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory in collaboration with the Division of General Practice. We are hopeful that a number of new methodologies will be developed from these collaborations and we will let you know as this proceeds. Dulwich Centre Foundation International will also be working in South Africa, Palestine, Uganda and Rwanda next year and there is also a possibility of a visit to West Papua. Just prior to the conference, the Dulwich Centre Foundation received some significant news. The Foundation has now been endorsed as a deductible gift recipient by the Australian Taxation Office. What this means is that if anyone makes a donation to the Foundation this is tax deductible for them. This is also true retrospectively. If anyone wishes to make donations to the Dulwich Centre Foundation we will always be delighted to hear from you! We also want to let you know that the Dulwich Centre Foundation is now on Facebook J Please feel free to visit us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dulwich-Centre-Foundation/30531674546 Please also feel free to start discussions, contribute to existing topics, and post reflections etc. We look forward to hearing from you.

4. New book now available: Collective narrative practice: Responding to individuals, groups and communities who have experienced trauma
We’re pleased to say that this book, by David Denborough, is now available. This book introduces a range of hopeful methodologies to respond to individuals, groups and communities who are experiencing hardship. These approaches are deliberately easy to engage with and can be used with children, young people and adults. The methodologies described include: Collective narrative documents, Enabling contributions through exchanging messages and convening definitional ceremonies, The Tree of Life: responding to vulnerable children, The Team of Life: giving young people a sporting chance, Checklists of social and psychological resistance, Collective narrative timelines, Maps of history, and Songs of sustenance. To illustrate these approaches, stories are shared from Australia, Southern Africa, Israel, Ireland, USA, Palestine, Rwanda and elsewhere. This book also breaks new ground in considering how responding to trauma also involves responding to social issues. How can our work contribute not only to ‘healing’ but also to ‘social movement’? As we work with the stories of people’s lives can we contribute to the remaking of folk culture? And is it possible to move beyond the dichotomy of individualism/collectivism? Collective narrative practices are now being engaged with in many different parts of the world. This book invites the reader to engage with these approaches in their own ways. It is now available via the narrative therapy library 

5. Responding to hardship and trauma – international training and supervision program
For the first time, 2009 sees the development of a new Dulwich Centre international training and supervision program specifically designed for those practitioners who are responding to people who have experienced significant hardship and/or trauma. These may be women for instance who have experienced violence, or groups of vulnerable children, or working with those in prison, or those struggling with physical illness, or broader communities who are struggling with the effects of grief, poverty, war, migration and/or colonisation. This narratively informed program will provide:
•     training in practical easy-to-engage methodologies
•     supervision and support in using these in your work
•     links with practitioners working in similar contexts
•     specifically tailored program to fit practitioners’ particular challenges
•     reading and writing program to consistently reflect on practice
•     the use of a range of different mediums of practice – conversational, individual, group, community, visual art, song
•     ways of working relevant for use within institutions – schools, hospitals, prisons, detention centres, psychiatric units

Each participant will identify a particular project in their own working context that they would like to focus on and the training/supervision program would then become a context where this work would be highly supported. The program would be shaped so that it fitted the particular requirements and interests of those who attended. Collective narrative work that Dulwich Centre has been involved with in a wide range of countries and contexts (Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Aboriginal Australian communities) will be shared. And participants will be trained in a range of easy-to-engage narrative collective methodologies such as Collective documents, the Tree of Life, Team of Life, Collective timelines and The River of Memories/River of Dreams. These are methods of working that utilise narrative ideas and can be used with individuals, groups and communities who have experienced significant hardship and/or trauma.

The teaching blocks for this program will take place in Adelaide and in South Africa. It will be possible for participants to attend either or both of these blocks. Optional learning trips may also be available to Uganda, Rwanda and an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia. Other aspects of the training will be delivered on-line. The faculty will include Jill Freedman (USA), David Denborough (Australia), Geir Lundby (Norway), Ncazelo Ncube (Zimbabwe/South Africa), Barbara Wingard (Australia) & Cheryl White (Australia). If you would like more information about this program please write to us c/o dulwich@dulwichcentre.com.au

6. A project focusing on memory
Throughout 2009, one of the areas we will be particularly focusing on at Dulwich Centre will be the relationship between narrative practices and memory. This project has been sparked by conversations with colleagues from Ibuka (who work with genocide survivors of Rwanda), the Barcai Institute in Israel, and narrative therapists who are responding to children and adults who have experienced trauma. This project will aim to develop further resources for narrative therapists who are working with those troubled by traumatic memory. It will also explore the use of narrative practices in circumstances of memory loss and dementia. Furthermore, we are interested in the relationship between the senses, the body, the arts and memory. If you are interested in these realms we invite your participation in this project. If you have any reflections, ideas, challenges or questions about memory in your work, please write to us c/o dulwich@dulwichcentre.com.au   

7. ‘Narrative Sex Therapy’ journal issue now available
This journal issue features what we believe will be an influential paper by Yael Gershoni, Saviona Cramer and Tali Gogol-Ostrowsky entitled: ‘Narrative sex therapy: Talking with heterosexual couples about sex, bodies, and relationships’. This is a topic that has been sorely neglected within the field of narrative practice and we suspect that this paper will spark considerable interest in creative, respectful and effective forms of narrative sex therapy. The journal issue also includes a range of other papers, on themes including: Using the ‘failure conversations map’ with couples experiencing fertility problems & ‘Rescuing the said from the saying of it’: Living documentation in narrative therapy. Two thoughtful papers explore ways in which research can influence practice. One of these relates to the meanings of sexualised coercion and gender in psychosocial group sessions for women. The other undertakes conversational analysis of externalising conversations. As you can tell, it’s a diverse journal issue! There are so many interesting developments in narrative practice at this time. As always, we’d like to acknowledge both the authors and the readers/subscribers of the International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work.

8. Narrative therapy, collective narrative practice and rigorous research
Another area of focus in 2009 will be on the continuing development of forms of research about the effects of narrative therapy and community work. We are particularly interested in forms of research that are congruent with narrative principles and practices and that also demonstrate scientific rigour. We are in the midst of discussions and collaborations with researchers from a range of universities and hope to continue these in the new year. If you are interested in participating in these discussions please contact us c/o dulwich@dulwichcentre.com.au

9. International Training Program: Narrative approaches to therapy and community work
This week the final teaching block of our 2007-2008 International Training Program is taking place here at Dulwich Centre. Participants from a wide range of countries have already presented their final oral and written projects on a diversity of topics. We are thoroughly enjoying having this group with us and we are looking forward to seeing the ways in which they creatively engage with narrative approaches in their own contexts in coming years. A number of their written projects will be published in upcoming issues of the International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. The International Training Program is our most rigorous program. It occurs over 12 months and consists of three two week teaching blocks, a detailed reading and writing component, supervision on taped interviews, and an oral and written presentation. Over the years we have developed a particular pedagogy that contributes to considerable skill development. Our next International Training Program will start in November 2009 and its faculty will include: Jill Freedman (USA), Carolyn Markey (Australia), David Epston (NZ), David Denborough (Australia), Angel Yuen (Canada), Cheryl White (Australia), Lorraine Hedtke (USA), Sekneh Beckett (Australia), Jodi Aman (USA), David Newman (Australia), John Winslade (NZ/USA), Barbara Wingard (Australia), Jane Hutton (Australia). If you are interested in attending, please write to us c/o dulwich@dulwichcentre.com.au

10. Explorations: E-journal of narrative practice … calling for papers
Dulwich Centre Publications is launching a new journal. It will be an electronic journal and will be an open access journal available from the Dulwich Centre website. The primary purpose of this journal is to provide a publication outlet for stories of narrative practice. We have hopes that this e-journal will contribute to the creative development of narrative practices by supporting new generations of writers and enabling free access to stories of narrative practice to practitioners in different parts of the world. The intention is for this e-journal to: provide a publishing forum for a wide range of practitioners (both experienced and new authors); provide an avenue for teachers within narrative training institutes and universities to promote the work of their students; and enable free access to a regular journal of narrative practice to those who cannot afford to subscribe to the International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, or who live in countries in which mail is unreliable. The E-journal will aim to solicit, edit and publish articles that fit within the following criteria:

·         Creative papers from new authors which are easy-to-read.

·         Explorations of dilemmas & mistakes in practice.

·         Articles from a client perspective about the experience of narrative practice.

·         Conceptual articles about practice issues.

·         Research articles that focus on narrative practice.

·         Interviews of more established narrative therapists by younger practitioners.

·         Questions and answers pieces about narrative practice.

·         Interactive pieces including letters to the editor, discussions and responses.

·         Links to various relevant websites so that information and resources will be easily accessed.

·         Reviews of books, conferences and other events of interest to narrative practitioners.

If you would like to submit a paper, suggest an interview or review, or have ideas about what sort of articles you would like to read then we would like to hear from you. Please write to us c/o dulwich@dulwichcentre.com.au

11. Level One and Level Two Intensives in narrative therapy
Continuing a long-standing tradition here at Dulwich Centre, next year it will be possible to attend both Level One and Level Two Intensive 5-day trainings in narrative therapy. For information about these workshops see: http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/Narrative_therapy_one_week_trainings.htm

12. Collective narrative practice workshops for 2009 – working with individuals, groups and communities
In February, Cheryl White, Barbara Wingard and David Denborough will be holding a 5-day workshop on collective narrative practice. It will be particularly relevant to those working with individuals who would like to find ways to use narrative ideas to link people together; those working with groups; those working with communities; and those wishing to work in collective and community orientated ways. These five days will provide an immersion in collective practices. Participants will learn these approaches and also experience them. For more information see: http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/Responding_to_hardship_One_Week.htm

13. Subscriptions to this FREE Dulwich Centre Email News
If you would like to subscribe to Dulwich Centre Email News, please let us know by emailing us at: newsandconnections@dulwichcentre.com.au If you know of others who would like to subscribe, simply ask them to email us at the same address and we will put them on the list.

As we mentioned earlier, if you have suggestions about particular topics for papers, presentations, journal issues or projects, we are always interested to hear from you. And any feedback on these editions of Dulwich Centre Email News is most welcome.

Bye for now

from all of us here at
Dulwich Centre

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Dulwich Centre
345 Carrington Street
Adelaide, South Australia 5000
www.dulwichcentre.com.au
www.narrativetherapylibrary.com