It can be argued the history of the helping professions has been complicit with social injustices carried through cultural norms.  Grounded in a poststructuralist perspective, narrative therapy accepts professionals cannot be neutral in their therapeutic conversations. This approach begins with questions about power in therapy contexts, and the implications of those considerations for practice. This program will introduce the ethics, assumptions, and general practice domains for what has come to be referred to a “narrative therapy.” In addition, participants will see an example of narrative therapy in practice and learn through small group exercises.

Learning objectives:

1. Discuss the difference between normative and narrative worldview

2. Explain the stance of the narrative therapist

3. Describe the dual landscapes of narrative therapy, which include deconstructing and re-authoring

The Program Agenda

9:00 – 10:30                            Narrative and Normative World-Views

10:30 – 10:45                          Break

10:45 – 12:00                          De-Centered and Influential

12:00 –1:00                             Lunch

1:00 - 2:30                               Deconstruction with Exercise

2:30 - 2:45                               Break

2:45 – 3:30                              Re-Authoring with Exercise

3:30 – 4:30                              Open Dialogue and Closing

Program Code: NT60

6 CE Credits | Fee: $135

Stephen Gaddis, PhD, teaches and practices post-structural narrative therapies. He earned his doctorate in family therapy from Syracuse University and has taught at numerous universities and colleges throughout the Northeast. He currently teaches narrative therapy at Salem State University and Boston College. Stephen and his family spent a year in New Zealand, where he taught in a master’s level counseling program that is known internationally for its leadership in feminist post-structural theory and narrative therapy. He also spent a year completing a postgraduate training certificate in narrative therapy with Michael White in Adelaide, Australia. He has led trainings around the world on various issues related to narrative therapy, including Norway, South Africa, New Zealand, and Canada. He has published papers in national and international journals. Stephen currently directs the Narrative Therapy Initiative at The Salem Center for Therapy, Training, and Research.