2022: Issue 3 Archives - The Dulwich Centre

The Hui Process: A framework for counsellors to explore abortion decision-making — Chris Hannah, Suesanne Kutia, Tiziana Manea and Catherine Cook

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:27:03 +0000

Abortion-specific counselling practices can fail to attend to clients’ self-knowledge and lived experience. The intention of this article is to discuss the scope of counselling in relation to a decision about accessing an abortion, and to trouble frameworks that seek to fragment women’s and pregnant persons’ lives into pre- and post-abortion counselling segments. When stories cannot be told in a space that is free from judgement – or worse, when they cannot be told at all – silencing is inevitable. The context of this exploration is a regional publicly funded community based sexual and reproductive health service in Aotearoa New Zealand. To explore the role of the counselling conversation throughout a person’s decision-making, the Indigenous framework the Hui Process is integrated. The relationship-building principles of te ao Māori (the Māori world) in the Hui Process complement a narrative approach to companioning. Both narrative therapy and the Hui Process support cohesive approaches to offering a safe space in which people can be heard.

Hannah, C., Kutia, S., Manea, T., & Cook, C. (2022). The Hui Process: A framework for counsellors to explore abortion decision-making. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.4320/HXLA8166

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Reclaiming classrooms: Collectivising students’ wisdom, hopes and support — Pooja Jain

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:25:07 +0000

As a microcosm of society, colleges hold great potential for inviting young adults’ stories of resistance and hope. This paper describes the application of collective narrative approaches in my work with students at St Mira’s College for Girls, an undergraduate and postgraduate women’s college in Pune, India. I sought to integrate narrative ideas into the existing mental wellbeing program by documenting and showcasing students’ stories of mental health and wellbeing and their local knowledge about making the campus a safe place. The focus of this paper is on a collective suicide prevention project, which took place over four months in online and offline modes. This paper highlights students’ analysis of suicide as a social problem and their unique ways of supporting others through difficult times. Narrative concepts such as enabling contribution, externalising problems and collective documents are demonstrated.

Jain, P. (2022). Reclaiming classrooms: Collectivising students’ wisdom, hopes and support. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 60–66. https://doi.org/10.4320/FKMM2509

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Fala aí checklist: Peer conversations recognising practices of care, hope and solidarity in times of loss and difficulty — Lúcia Helena Abdalla

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:22:28 +0000

In Brazil, as elsewhere, The COVID-19 pandemic and related upheavals exacerbated problems like unemployment and domestic violence. Feelings of hopelessness, isolation and impotence became pervasive. Seeking ways to respond to the uncertainty, insecurity and discouragement that many young people were expressing, the author sought ways that stories of courage, care, hope and solidarity could be shared and acknowledged. Drawing on the ‘checklist of psychological and social resistance’ developed in Lebanon by David Denborough and Mohamad Safa, a conversation guide for Brazilian communities was developed. It can be used by professionals, but is particularly designed for use among friends, family members and colleagues. It can even be used for individual reflection. Through consultation with the Nelson Mandela Favela in Rio de Janeiro, and its young people in particular, the Fala aí checklist was refined to be accessible and culturally resonant as a prompt for peer conversations that sustain hope and connection. The Fala aí checklist is included in the paper.

Abdalla, L. H. (2022). Fala aí checklist: Peer conversations recognising practices of care, hope and solidarity in times of
loss and difficulty. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 49–59. https://doi.org/10.4320/DVKT5746

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STEPS Together: Conversations with people facing terminal illness — Amanda Tay

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:21:06 +0000

Terminal illness, death and dying are universal human experiences, but discussing them can be challenging. This paper demonstrates the use of a therapeutic conversation guide, ‘STEPS Together’, which employs narrative practices to develop preferred identities in the face of hardships related to terminal illness. The paper also demonstrates the localisation of narrative practices so that they are culturally appropriate and resonant in Singapore.

Tay, A. (2022). STEPS Together: Conversations with people facing terminal illness. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (3), pp. 38–48. https://doi.org/10.4320/OQIJ8115

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The Moonlight Treasure Box: A companion for people affected by suicidal thoughts — Chan Ka Lok (Peter)

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:19:19 +0000

People affected by suicidal thoughts often find it hard to identify someone to share their experience with. This paper introduces the idea of ‘personification’ as an alternative way to build companionship for people affected by suicidal thoughts. Used alongside art and documentation practices, the personified Moonlight Treasure Box helped four people dealing with suicidal thoughts and experiences to face loneliness, counter their problems and develop rich storylines.

Chan, K. L. (2022). The Moonlight Treasure Box: A companion for people affected by suicidal thoughts. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (3), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.4320/BMXB9269

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Singing for our city: Using song, story and definitional ceremony to honour resilience during social unrest in Hong Kong — Josephine Wu and Samuel Ho

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:17:14 +0000

The social and political unrest in Hong Kong in recent years has left many people feeling distressed and struggling to hold on to hope for the city. Some accounts have blamed the unrest on the ‘shortcomings’ of the young people involved. As a counter to this discourse, we sought to elevate the voices and knowledge of young people. This paper relates the story of a young person called Sammy, who struggled to resist the aftereffects of the trauma he experienced during the protests in 2014 and 2019. Through exploring the values that underpinned his actions during the events, he developed a preferred story of deeply held commitments to protecting the lives and wellbeing of others, and to the city of Hong Kong itself. Together we explored creative means to document and share his lived experience. Sammy eventually developed his own form of therapeutic documentation, devising a performance that wove together song and story. This performance also became a definitional ceremony through which witnesses to Sammy’s story came together as a community united by shared values and commitments, challenging the silencing and individualising of a collective experience.

Wu, J., & Ho, S. (2022). Singing for our city: Co-research about resisting the effects of social unrest in Hong Kong. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.4320/GAVB8219

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Seeking to live more peacefully with painful histories — Chaste Uwihoreye

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:13:09 +0000

In this interview, Chaste Uwihoreye describes his work with young people in Rwanda, from collective truth-telling conversations to supporting child-headed households in ways that foster, rather than undermine, children’s leadership. Chaste draws on Rwandan songs, poems and proverbs as forms of cultural acknowledgement and comfort in workshops with very large groups of young people. These workshops begin with a ‘story gifting’ process that acknowledges what has happened to the young people and their families, and at the same time creates new stories about ways of living together with difficult histories. Metaphoric practices are described, including an umbrella exercise in which people depict the problems they are facing in the present as rain, and the skills and knowledges that they use to face these problems as a protective umbrella. Memories are transformed into a ‘usable past’ that can be used to generate songs, poems or artworks. Possession of these tangible forms provides options for action: whether to share a song, burn a poem or keep a drawing. Chaste describes solidarity camps (Ingando) in which young people can be together and witness each other’s suffering and strength, and be trained and supported to facilitate group work with other young people. In the shadow of genocide, Chaste shares the hopeful collective work of remembering painful histories in ways that enable people to act and to live good lives in the present.

Uwihoreye, C. (2022). Seeking to live more peacefully with painful histories (D. Denborough, Interviewer). International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.4320/SRNB1931

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Let the precious hidden values shine brightly: A collective project with high school boys — Fariba Ahmadi

admin@dulwichcentre.com.au — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 01:59:51 +0000

This paper documents collective narrative practice in an Australian high school with students from refugee backgrounds and their families. Teachers were concerned about the students’ truancy and their behaviour in class. I met with a group of boys to develop a counter story of their knowledge about respect. Drawing on their family and cultural backgrounds, the boys shared rich understandings about ways of demonstrating respect, and about its value. The documents they developed will be shared with their school community and with young people at other schools.

Ahmadi, F. (2022). Let the precious hidden values shine brightly: A collective project with highschool boys. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (3), pp. 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4320/BFUF8170

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