ABOUT THE CENTER
About The Narrative Center
The Center for Narrative Studies is a hub for learning and community on the rich content of the narrative therapy approach. We provide community and professional training through workshops, community events and professional resources and training.
Born in the 1980s in Australia at The Dulwich Center, narrative therapy is now a mainstream modality around the world.
In the 1980s, Australian social worker Michael White and New Zealand family therapist David Epston developed what has come to be known as Narrative Therapy. The two men co-founded the Dulwich Center in Adelaide, AU in 1983 and co-wrote a seminal book in 1990, titled Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends, which brought Narrative Therapy to a broad international audience.
The Dulwich Center grew into a major home for development, training, community work and international conferences in the field. Today, Narrative Therapy is considered to be a mainstream modality and is offered by therapists and training centers around the world.
“The most powerful therapeutic process I know is to contribute to rich story development.” —Michael White
What is narrative therapy?
Narrative therapy is a collaborative and non-pathologizing approach to counselling and community work which positions people as the experts in their own lives.
It’s a respectful, nourishing and productive process that works well in the therapy space for individuals, couples and families as well as for whole communities.
Narrative therapy views problems as separate from people and assumes people have many skills, values, and beliefs that will assist them in changing their relationship with the problems in their lives. It helps both individuals and communities learn to:
● Rewrite our individual and collective stories.
● Cultivate listening, curiosity, collaboration, and creativity for self-empowerment.
● Explore the broader context of diversity including culture, class, race, gender, and sexual orientation.
● Develop skills to make more constructive meaning of our lived experience.
● Shape preferred stories that better fit our hopes and dreams.