Since
the begining of time, humans
have been narrative beings, living by narrative or
story means in the form of words -spoken word, writing, oral
history-
and the arts -painting, sculpture,music,
dance, theatre. Our early
ancestors depicted hunting stories inside caves and, to
this day, we make sense of life and who we are through the personal and
collective
stories we hear, tell and share. These stories provide diverse
possibilities for the future direction of our lives, for
this reason, it is of
vital importance that we co-construct enriching stories that allow or
enhance
our preferred living.
"Freedom is
the
right to live as we wish"
Epictetus
All persons have the right to
happiness and wellbeing physically, spiritually,
psychologically and socially, free from open and hidden
oppression and discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender,
age, ability,
sexuality, faith, class, and so on.
"The
secret of happiness is living in accordance with how one thinks"
Jose Mujica
This calls for a psychology that
sees
all persons as whole human beings within their particular historical,
cultural, socio-economic and political contexts, that attends to how
these contexts have contributed
to their difficulties, and transforms that
which gets in the
way of their living by their preferred values and purposes.
"To be free is not merely to cast off one's
chains, but to live in a way
that respects and enhances the freedom
of
others" Nelson Mandela
Preferred living is a contribution to a world in
which all persons can live by their preferred ways of living, in
harmony with themselves, each other and their surroundings, through:
Therapeutic
conversations
to move away from the familiar
stories that are negative and paralysing, towards the
development of richer stories and, in this way, stepping into new life
possibilities, into preferred ways of living.
Consultation
in the form of creative, strengthening and collaborative narrative
practices
with groups, organisations and
communities.
Supervision
of narrative practice with persons, families, small and large groups
and communities,
and supervision of narrative research.
Teaching
and training
You can view here a list of the teaching I have been
facilitating but do contact me with any
request.
Coming soon!!! London
workshops with Stephen
Madigan, Director of the Vancouver School for
Narrative Therapy.
