Collective Narrative Practice: Responding to individuals, groups, and communities who have experienced trauma

by David Denborough

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 Collective narrative documents, Enabling contributions through exchanging messages and convening definitional ceremonies, The Tree of responding to vulnerable children, The Team of 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.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, sensitive, instructive treatment on the role and practice of collective narrative practice in responding to trauma in and among groups and communities. This is no mere "how to" book. Rather, by presenting stories of how narrative practice has been deployed in various situations of trauma we are able to envision the use of narrative practice in situations and groups with which we might be personally familiar. I particularly appreciate the focus on how such practice empowers individuals and groups to respond to others in trauma.