Our use of Narrative
We want to create a series of podcast that can be listened once, but also listened again and again, and shared in multiple occasions. One of our aims is to spark a chain of possibilities around people’s power to construct new meanings through the stories they tell, enact, remember and share with use. By doing so, we hope to be able to enlarge the concept of RARE/D and how it impacts on those living with and those who work with rare diseases and conditions.
Influenced by the narrative approach we hope that these podcast become life documents of a variety of RARE communities including communities of concern. We believe that in the circulation of the preferred stories of theses communities through us, they will have a bigger audience.
Narrative practices
The origins of Narrative ideas go back to the 80’s with the influence of the french philosopher and psychologist Michel Foucault (knowledge and power ) in Michael White and David Epston from AU and NZ – challenging the normalising truth of society and culture that limits people’s freedom of narratives.
Meanwhile in Manchester – UK bands like “The Smiths’ “The Stone Roses”, “Oasis”etc were also challenging the politics of the moment as factories were closing down in the city under the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher and over 4 million people were being declared unemployed.
Narrative practices support the reconstruction of preferred stories to be able to live less oppressed. This way of thinking, considers the self /identity to be social. Problems are also considered to be located in the social context.
Over the years the Narrative Practices evolve and are influenced by Feminism and Anthropology in the 90’s.
Around 2000 the influence of language and the power of language together with the influence of communities and the collective is shaping the way we understand narrative therapy and narrative practices.
Narrative ideas are influencing therapy all over the world – follow these links if you want to know more about these ideas:
https://dulwichcentre.com.au
http://www.theinstituteofnarrativetherapy.com/
https://www.narrativetherapychicago.com/jill-freedman-and-gene-combs
http://riverbankpsychology.co.uk