10-25-24 Possibilities as Plots: Reconstructing and Redefining Reality through Narrative Therapy

Date: Friday, October 25, 2024
Time: 9:00 am – 4:30 pm EST

Format: Hybrid

• Livestream via Zoom, or
• In person: UNC School of Social Work, 325 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

CE Credit: 6 CEs, read for full information on credit types awarded.
Fees: $90 (scholarships available)

Description: 

The stories we tell about ourselves and the world shape our understanding of reality and what might be possible. Thus, it matters who does the authoring and gets included, highlighted, and left out. In this workshop, participants will delve into the philosophies underpinning narrative therapy and engage with practices that facilitate rich story development. Participants will learn key therapeutic processes for supporting individuals and families in deconstructing internalized deficit-focused storylines often rooted in incomplete and simplistic narratives. Mauricio will discuss and demonstrate storying practices to assist clients in reconstructing and redefining reality, while attending to language, discourse, and social context. Mauricio believes that learning to conduct therapy is a deeply personal endeavor. Therefore, he will guide participants through experiential and reflective exercises that use self-narrative as a primary learning tool.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the training participants will be able to:

1. Define at least three principles of narrative therapy and how they inform therapeutic practices.
2. Explain the meaning of “de-centered, yet influential” positioning in therapeutic conversations.
3. Name and engage in at least three storying practices to help clients deconstruct problem-saturated stories of self.
4. Explain how various contexts—social, cultural, political, historical—shape reality, and identify three therapeutic practices that can increase client awareness and empower them to counter these influences.
5. Define and give at least one example of deconstruction, externalization, and re-authoring practices in narrative therapy.
6. Explain the “statement of position map” and its application in externalizing conversations.
7. List at least three examples of intentional open-ended questions that deconstruct incomplete identity conclusions.
8. Understand the concepts of rich story development and thick description and describe how they assist in the reconstruction of preferred narratives.
9. Apply double listening and curiosity to enhance rich story development and re-authoring.

Trainer: Mauricio Yabar, Ph.D., LCSW, M.Ed. is an assistant professor in the Social Work Department at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Mauricio has over a decade of clinical

experience, including in agency and private practice settings working with individuals and families facing the effects of various types of trauma, substance use, sexual offending, and sexual compulsivity. His research focuses on topics pertaining to gay/bisexual men, Latina families, and forensic social work. He draws on social constructivism, reflexive practice, and narrative-based philosophies to inform his clinical work, research, and teaching.

References:

• Bull, B., Byno, L., D’Arrigo, J., & Robertson, J. (2022). Parents of non-binary children: Stories of understanding and support. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 34(1-2), 125-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2022.2029331
• Carter, A., Anam, F., Sanchez, M., Roche, J., Wynne, S. T., Stash, J., Webster, K., Nicholson, V., Patterson, S., & Kaida, A. (2021). Radical pleasure: Feminist digital storytelling by, with, and for women living with HIV. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50(1), 83-103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01822-8
• Conti, J., Heywood, L., Hay, P., Shrestha, R. M., & Perich, T. (2022). Paper 2: A systematic review of narrative therapy treatment outcomes for eating disorders—bridging the divide between practice-based evidence and evidence-based practice. Journal of Eating Disorders, 10(1), 1-138. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-022-00636-4
• Darnell, C. (2018). Using narrative practices in a group sex therapy context. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 33(3), 286-297. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2017.1329522
• Farrell, I. C., & Gibbons, M. M. (2019). Using narrative therapy to assist College‐Age Latino immigrants. Journal of College Counseling, 22(1), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12116
• Ghabrial, M. A. (2017). “Trying to figure out where we belong”: Narratives of racialized sexual minorities on community, identity, discrimination, and health. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 14(1), 42-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0229-x
• Gómez, A. M., Cerezo, A., & Ajayi Beliard, C. (2020). Deconstructing meta-narratives: Utilizing narrative therapy to promote resilience following sexual violence among women survivors of color. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 46(3), 282-295. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2019.1677836
• Hammoud-Beckett, S. (2022). Intersectional narrative practice with queer Muslim clients. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 43(1), 120-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2022.2016664
• Maeder, R. (2020). Queer invitations: Fostering connection between queer young people and their loved ones. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 11-23.
• Matta, T. (2021). Treating caregiver grief with narrative therapy. Innovation in Aging, 5(Supplement_1), 1050-1051. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igab046.3750
• Nylund, D. (2019). Moments to treasure: Narrative family therapy with trans children and cisgender parents. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (2), 16-23.
• Ocampo-Rigor, M. T. W., Fernandez, K. T. G., & Tupaz, E. F. (2022). Narrative therapy interventions for depressive symptomatology. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 41(2), 54. https://doi.org/10.1521/jsyt.2022.41.2.54
• Su, T., & Parker, M. L. (2022). Narrative couple therapy with sexual minority couples: Exploring sexual intimacy. Contemporary Family Therapy, 44(4), 333-343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-022-09644-7
• Yabar, M. P. (2021). Narratives in sex offender management laws: How stories about a label shape policymaking. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 48(1), 33-56.

UNC Chapel Hill – Clinical Institute Program