Books Archives - The Dulwich Centre

Land of a thousand stories: Rwandan narrative therapy and community work — Joseph Kalisa, Beata Mukarusanga and Serge Nyirinkwaya (eds)

Dulwich Centre — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 02:27:15 +0000

Author: Joseph Kalisa, Beata Mukarusanga and Serge Nyirinkwaya (eds)
Publication year: 2022

This unique and powerful book shares stories of original work by Rwandan narrative practitioners as they search for local ways of responding to profound social sufferings and mental health struggles.

From the early work of the counsellors of Ibuka (the national genocide survivors association), to current decolonising and culturally congruent forms of practice, these stories from the land of a thousand hills will move, challenge and inspire.

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A Community of Ideas: Behind the Scenes – The work of Dulwich Centre Publications — Cheryl White and David Denborough

Dulwich Centre — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 01:46:56 +0000

The last twenty years has seen the creation of a ‘community of ideas’ linked to narrative therapy and community work. We conceptualise our work at Dulwich Centre Publications as occurring within this ‘community’. This book describes ways of linking practitioners through the written word; ways of hosting conferences as community events; and ways of organising training programs that are congruent with narrative ideas.

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Yarning with a Purpose: First Nations narrative practice — Dulwich Centre (ed)

Dulwich Centre — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 02:24:47 +0000

This book features the sparkling work of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori narrative therapists and community workers.

From conversations with children in Tenant Creek on Warumungu Country; to visual ways of reconnecting with cultural knowledge; to straight talk within prisons; to strong sistas boxing their way to health; Aboriginal men meeting in Didjeri groups under the Story Bridge; feminist ways of thwarting shame; undercover leadership projects, and much more!

This book illustrates the diverse, creative and hopeful ways that First Nations practitioners are ‘yarning with a purpose’. As Tileah Drahm-Butler declares in the foreword: ‘The projects in this book describe our peoples’ resistance in ways which are hopeful, intentional and inspiring.’ Tileah also describes this book as a call to action – to continue to work towards decolonising therapy.

The authors of the papers in this book are First Nations graduates of the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, University of Melbourne.

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Unsettling Australian Histories: Letters to ancestry from a great-great-grandson by David Denborough

Dulwich — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 12:44:37 +0000

From the Foreword

by Victoria Grieve-Williams – Aboriginal historian and author of Aboriginal spirituality: Aboriginal philosophy – the basis of Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing.

What an honour it is to be invited to write a foreword for this timely and often startling book that is an important step on a journey towards the decolonisation of Aboriginal people in Australia. It is startling in its honesty and candour, its revelations and in the history that it uncovers. This book offers for settler colonials a way of living in this country that is on Aboriginal terms, recognising Aboriginal values, ethics and ways of being as viable lifeways . . . This book is a treasure.

Tom Griffiths, Emeritus Professor of History, Australian National University:

“I found it a moving and stimulating book, and one that I will think about for quite some time. Denborough is enacting in a more personal and immediate way what historians aim to do all the time, which is to cultivate an enlightening dialogue between the past and the present. I learned much from this book, and not just about Sir Samuel Griffith, but also about our shared challenges today as Australians.”

Pete Hollams, Farmer from Yorke Peninsula:

“To me, this is an amazing, insightful account of colonisation right up to where we are today. A personal conversation with history. A must read”

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Pathways Beyond Despair: Re-Authoring Lives of Young People Through Narrative Therapy — Angel Yuen

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 00:51:22 +0000

Are you seeking to:
– Join with young people who are experiencing ongoing despair and suffering?
– Find ways of honouring the injustices and oppression they may be experiencing as well as the skills and wisdoms they are using to respond?If so, this book has been created with you in mind. In these pages, you will find hopeful and effective ideas and practices for re-authoring young people’s lives. Also throughout is a determination to bring forth political considerations that situate lives in broader social and historical contexts.Whether you are new to narrative therapy or whether you are seeking to extend your narrative skills, we hope the moving stories of practice included in these pages will provide you, and the young people with whom you work, hope and possibilities beyond despair.

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Justice-Doing at The Intersections of Power: Community Work, Therapy and Supervision — Vikki Reynolds

Dulwich Centre — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 02:55:57 +0000

In this book, activist/therapist Vikki Reynolds describes the ways she works to bridge the worlds of social justice activism with community work and therapy. This collection includes papers that describe ways of resisting burnout with justice doing; ways of witnessing that honour the poetic resistance of survivors of torture and political violence; and ways of centring ethics in group supervision.

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Intersecting Stories: Narrative therapy reflections on gender, culture and justice — contributions from Tileah Drahm-Butler, Jill Faulkner, Alyssha Fooks, Sekneh Hammoud-Beckett, Renee Handsaker and Simangaliso Brenda Nyoni

Dulwich Centre — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 01:36:33 +0000

Feminist ideas were central to the development of what has become known as narrative therapy and community work. Now, 30 years on, feminist ideas and activism are once again shaping the future directions of narrative practice. Through engaging with new insights and challenges offered by gender diversity and intersectionality, the practitioners whose work is brought together in this collection bring fresh rigour and vision to narrative therapy and community work.

In this book you will find detailed and diverse examples of practices that linger at the intersections of gender, race and privilege:

disrupting binaries in work with incarcerated women who have both used and been subjected to violence
inviting difficult and necessary conversations about racism and white privilege in counselling practice
addressing issues of power, privilege and accountability in bringing together people who have caused death or serious harm with their ‘victims’, including bereaved loved ones.

This book is for anyone seeking to develop their counselling or community work practice in ways that go beyond individual healing to seek cultural change and justice.

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Political Dictionary for the field of narrative practice — David Denborough

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 00:51:47 +0000

This dictionary is a guide in relation to the politics of narrative practice – narrative therapy and community work. Mind you, it’s a dictionary like no other. If you are looking for clear and concise definitions, all written in the same style and voice, you will not find them here. What you will find are definitions, descriptions, examples, and quotes from multiple authors and perspectives. It includes entries that emphasise political considerations and dilemmas; that amplify some of the more overtly political voices, histories and concepts in the field; and at the same time draws form the Michael White archive some of the political aspects of Michael’s work that might otherwise slip from view. This partial, incomplete and biased dictionary can be read from cover to cover; dipped into for inspiration/challenge; or you can use the index at the back to find particular concepts that intrigue There are also blank spaces where you can add your own entries!

David Denborough is a narrative practitioner, writer, teacher and songwriter. He is a co-director of Dulwich Centre and coordinates the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work at the University of Melbourne. He is consistently delighted, challenged and intrigued by the politics of narrative practice.

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A memory book for the field of narrative practice — Compiled by Cheryl White

Dulwich Centre — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 02:02:18 +0000

This long-awaited memory book for the field of narrative practice contains exquisitely diverse stories from the 1970s and 1980s. In these pages, Cheryl White has sought to include perspectives that are not usually included in formal or academic histories. In this regard, this book is a social history that uncovers the traces, experiences and impact of ordinary people. The stories honour the diverse contributions of children, friendships, coincidence, social movements, and cross-cultural partnerships. Here you will find stories that are in turn enchanting, profound, hilarious, challenging, and unexpected. It is hoped these histories will provide a foundation for continued innovations, creativities, and generative partnerships.

Contributors include: Johnella Bird, Judith Cross, Tileah Drahm-Butler, David Epston, Ron Findlay, Jill Freedman, Jane Hales, Phillipa Johnson, Stephen Madigan, Macarena Maturana, Salvador Minuchin, Elizabeth Quek, Taimalie Kiwi Tamasese, Karl Tomm, Charles Waldegrave & Kaethe Weingarten.

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Working with memory in the shadow of genocide: The narrative practices of Ibuka trauma counsellors

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:36:02 +0000

In 1994, the genocide in Rwanda claimed over one million human lives. Today, Ibuka, the national survivors’ association of Rwanda, has developed ways to respond. The Ibuka trauma counsellors have found ways to heal memories in the shadow of genocide. Together – and through their formal partnership with the Dulwich Centre Foundation International, based in Australia – they have developed local, innovative, culturally-appropriate methodologies, drawing on principles and practice of narrative therapy and community work. These approaches have been used in communities and contexts as diverse as child soldiers in Sudan, migrants and refugees in Canada and Australia, and survivors of natural disasters from Bangladesh to Burma, from Haiti to Bosnia. This publication documents the unique forms of therapeutic and collective practice that Ibuka workers are developing. It contains the stories of this work and its outcomes; the principles they are employing; examples of the methodologies; and ideas for how workers and organisations in other contexts can develop their own effective practices. Also included in this publication are innovations in narrative practice relating to multiple storylines of memory; personal memory/social memory; sharing the ‘problem of memory’, and ensuring the survival of ideals. This publication will be of immediate, practical value for: • social and community workers • aid and development workers and organisations • policy-makers and funders interested in supporting locally-developed, culturally-appropriate programs which are both highly effective and sustainable • doctors, therapists, teachers, volunteers … and anyone else interested in ways in which communities which have experienced hardship and trauma can both heal painful memories, and build communities of resistance and resilience. Working with memory in the shadow of genocide is a document of both thoughtful and effective practice, as well as hope and inspiration.

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Wet beds in times of trouble: Narrative therapy, trauma and enuresis — Dulwich Centre Foundation, Sue Mitchell

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:29:34 +0000

Dulwich Centre Foundation is involved in projects aiming to assist children living in vulnerable circumstances, including children who have experienced or witnessed violence. During these projects we hear about how children and young people in such distressing circumstances are increasingly vulnerable to experiencing bedwetting. We particularly hear about children in immigration detention centers, children who are living with their mothers in domestic violence shelters, and children in contexts of war or natural disaster, who are having to deal with wet beds in times of trouble. While wetting the bed can be a completely normal part of growing up, and is often experienced without any influence of distress or trauma, this handbook aims to offer hopeful and creative ways of responding to children who have experienced trauma and/or witnessed violence and in the midst of dealing with these tough experiences are also finding themselves in wet beds. We hope this resource will be helpful for workers and for parents/carers.

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Things to get you through: Ideas and stories from young people who have been through mental health struggles AND When our children are struggling: What has helped us as parents / carers along the journey — Compiled by David Newman and David Denborough

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:25:17 +0000

This innovative resource for young people and families consists of two parts.

Part One: Things to get you through: Ideas and stories from young people who have been through mental health struggles

This document includes ideas and stories from young people living in a psychiatric in-patient unit about ways of getting through the toughest of times: ‘We know just how easy it is to get lost in life. We hope these documents offer one way for others to find a way back.’

Part Two: When our children are struggling: What has helped us as parents/carers along the journey

When children are struggling with their mental health, it can be pretty tough for parents too. As parents/carers, some of us have been through times when we’ve felt so confused, or frightened, or as if our confidence has been dissolved, as if everything we do is wrong. As we have tried to find the best ways to support our kids we’ve been on quite a journey. There are many things that have helped us along the way and there are many things that we have learnt. In these pages, we’ve tried to share some of the hard-won knowledge that we’ve gathered along the way. If your child is struggling, we hope our words and stories might offer you company.

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Team of Life: Offering young people a sporting chance — David Denborough

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:13:17 +0000

The Team of Life narrative approach uses sporting metaphors to enable young people to deal with traumatic experience without having to speak directly about it. Young people are invited to consider who are the members of their ‘Team of Life’: Who make up some of the team members of your life? These people can be alive or no longer living. They can be present in your life now or people who you have known in the past. Who are the people who have been most influential (in a positive way) in your life? Who is your goal keeper? If you had to name one person who looks out for you, who guards your goals, who is most reliable, who would this be? Who is your coach? Who is it you have learned most things from?. What are some of the things that they have taught you? What is your home ground? Where is the place you feel most ‘at home’? Your home ground might be somewhere that you go regularly, or somewhere that you only visit in your memories or dreams now. Young people then go on to speak about their favourite ways of ‘tackling’ problems, the ‘goals’ they wish to ‘score’, and so on. This DVD outlines the key steps in the Team of Life methodology which is now being used in a wide range of contexts: in schools, with refugees in Australia, with young men in prisons in New York State, with young people in Norway, Uganda, Brazil, Palestine, and elsewhere. The DVD runs for one hour and is available in PAL format.

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Strengthening Resistance: the use of narrative practices in responding to genocide survivors — David Denborough, Jill Freedman & Cheryl White

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:07:51 +0000

This publication documents ways in which narrative practices can be used to respond to individual and collective trauma. In late 2007, David Denborough, Jill Freedman and Cheryl White from the Dulwich Centre Foundation (Australia) and the Evanston Family Therapy Center (USA) headed to Kigali, Rwanda, to provide support and narrative skills training to 34 trauma counsellors and assistant lawyers, all of whom are themselves survivors of the Rwandan genocide. This publication documents what was addressed during the workshop. It also documents the skills and knowledges of genocide survivors in dealing with the effects of trauma in their lives. This is a powerfully moving and inspiring testimony. At the same time, this publication practically demonstrate how narrative approaches can be used in situations of extreme trauma in order to strengthen hope in contexts of hopelessness. The publication is accompanied by a short DVD which contains the stories of the skills and knowledges of the Rwandan workers. This DVD is in PAL/region 4 format, and will also play on ‘all region’ DVD players in other areas.) One unexpected aspect of this work has involved the participation of Jewish colleagues from around the world. These colleagues have offered reflections and responses to questions asked by the Rwandan workers about: ‘How do Jewish people deal with the problems of memory?’ A number of these Jewish colleagues’ responses are included in Strengthening Resistance.

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Stories of hope for Aboriginal children, families and culture: Narrative responses to a national crisis — Compiled by Aunty Barbara Wingard and Dulwich Centre Foundation

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 04:58:00 +0000

This resource includes stories of hope in response to a national crisis. We are sharing here stories from families who, despite suffering for their kids, have managed to get them back; stories from foster parents who are fostering not only children but also relationships and pride; stories from child protection workers whose honesty is creating trust in the shadow of the stolen generations and who are prioritising the safety of children through focusing on solutions and partnerships.

Across Australia, Aboriginal families and communities are facing a crisis. The statistics for how many Aboriginal kids are being removed from their families are shocking. For some, when you were taken away from your family as a child and then you have your own kids taken away, this is terribly sad and horribly unfair. In the face of this crisis, our communities are responding and taking action in many different ways. Grandmothers Against Removals are taking to the streets. Aboriginal organisations are running national campaigns. Aboriginal foster and kinship carers are doing all they can to care for children. And across the country, Aboriginal families who have had their children removed are doing all they can to reunite with them.

This resource includes stories of hope in response to this national crisis. We are sharing here stories from families who, despite suffering for their kids, have managed to get them back; stories from foster parents who are fostering not only children but also relationships and pride; stories from child protection workers whose honesty is creating trust in the shadow of the stolen generations and who are prioritising the safety of children through focusing on solutions and partnerships.

This resource also contains a program ‘Solid families: Strong in heart and spirit’. To our knowledge this is the first parenting support program based on Aboriginal values, initiated by Aboriginal mothers in Roebourne, and developed through a cross-cultural partnership. It uses the Tree of Life narrative approach as its starting point. This publication ends with the moving words of Aboriginal dads who are trying to create good memories for their kids. This resource is a small step in responding to the crisis Aboriginal families and communities are facing. We all have to do something to respond. Our children need us.

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Skills, values and story cards — Compiled by Ola El-Hassan and Lobna Yassine in collaboration with young Muslims

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 04:49:52 +0000

These cards were initiated and created by Sydney based social workers Ola El-Hassan and Lobna Yassine, in collaboration with the students from Birrong Boys High School and Miller Technology High School, as part of the Tree of Life program. This program was adapted for Muslim young people in Australia. They were created in response to the lack of diversity in resources for young Muslims in Australia. Ola and Lobna felt there was a need to fill this gap, in order to generate useful conversations with young Muslims. The values and skills included in this pack were a result of asking the students about what was important to them. The students were also asked to assist with the images. They did this with genuineness, thoughtfulness, respect and in a spirit of solidarity. Without them this project would not be possible. The questions accompanying the cards were created with the help and support of friends from all over the world, from Sydney to Turkey to Qatar to Adelaide. We are deeply appreciative for their contributions: Sekneh Beckett, David Denborough, Mehmet Dinc, Nada Eltaiba and Dr Abdul Stanikzai. These cards were produced in partnership with the Dulwich Centre Foundation and Bankstown Youth Development Service.

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Responding to trauma that is not past: Strengthening stories of survival and resistance — The Dulwich centre

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 04:42:41 +0000

This first handbook about narrative approaches to therapy, group work, and community work from an Arabic perspective describes some of the key ideas and practices of narrative therapy and includes skilful and thoughtful examples of practice from Palestinian therapists. This handbook consists of four parts. The first describes the broader context of the narrative therapy work of Palestinian counsellors. The second documents a number of key narrative therapy practices and includes examples of Palestinian practice. Part Three conveys how narrative ideas are being used with groups and communities. And Part Four describes how Palestinian counsellors are trying to open possibilities for conversations around very difficult topics.

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Raising our heads above the clouds: The use of narrative practices to motivate social action and economic development — Caleb Wakhungu and the Mt Elgon Self-Help Project

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 04:20:57 +0000

Poverty, conflict, and disease are like ‘clouds’ that encircle our communities. We must find ways to raise our heads above the clouds and work towards the world we hope for… This publication documents an emerging field of practice: narrative ‘development’ work. The Mt Elgon Self-Help Community Project, based in rural Uganda, uses narrative practices to spark and sustain local social action and environmental and economic projects. This document contains the stories of the Mt Elgon project and its outcomes; the principles they are employing; examples of the methodologies; and ideas for how workers and organisations in other contexts can develop their own effective practices. It also contains an overview of key narrative principles as described by Michael White in a workshop taught in Uganda. The work of the Mt Elgon Self-Help Community Project provides a framework for how narrative development work can enhance economic and environmental sustainability, and also contribute to community renewal. This publication will be of immediate, practical value for: • social and community workers • aid and development workers and organisations • policy-makers and funders interested in supporting locally-developed, culturally-appropriate programs which are both highly effective and sustainable.

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Life-saving tips from young Australians — Dulwich Centre Foundation

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 04:11:45 +0000

There are all sorts of hassles that young people have to deal with. Hassles at school, trouble at home. And for some of us, you can add poverty and racism to the mix. That’s why a whole bunch of young Australians from Muslim backgrounds have come together to share our life-saving tips with you. We’ve made this publication and DVD about our ways to survive tough times in life. We hope the ideas we’ve come up with might be helpful to you, wherever you are living, and whenever you’re feeling down. This publication and DVD (PAL only) based on collective narrative practice can be used in work with young people who can then share their messages and responses via our website with young people from other parts of the world.

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It Takes a Team: A collective narrative project involving young people with chronic health concerns and their families — David Denborough, Evelyn Culnana, Rebecca Peters, Tim Demos, Pam Rycroft and Glenda Fredman

Dulwich Centre — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 04:00:26 +0000

This publication describes a unique project that took place at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), utilising sporting metaphors and the Team of Life narrative approach to assist young people and their families. When adulthood approaches for young people who have attended hospital over many years throughout their childhood due to serious and chronic health conditions, the transition can be complex. Moving from the care of dedicated staff at the RCH into adult heath services can pose significant challenges.

This project involved a partnership between the Transition Support Service and the Dulwich Centre Foundation. We worked together to adapt the Team of Life narrative approach to support young people and their families.

This publication describes the process of these sessions, explains the key principles, and includes the words of young people and parents. It also includes reflections from team members and feedback and evaluations from participants. It is hoped that this will provide information and inspiration to those working in other health settings.

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