Narrative Therapy and Trauma

Learn a narrative approach to trauma that can provide immediate relief for clients and is sustainable for therapists. Within narrative therapy, the telling of a traumatic story is not focused on what was done to the person, which can retraumatize the teller, but rather on their responses. Narrative therapists help people rewrite traumatic experiences into stories about their intentions and values. This approach decentralizes the therapist, helping the therapist avoid feeling responsible and overwhelmed. This workshop is accessible for people new to narrative therapy.

Guest Instructor:
Will Sherwin, MFT, is the clinical supervisor of Edgewood Center's Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation program.

Learner Outcomes

By the end of the course, you will have learned:

Narrative philosophy about trauma
Use of narrative therapy to help people re-author traumatic stories into richly detailed stories of meaningful actions, intentions and identity
A detailed look at what makes a question fit a narrative approach and what doesn’t
How to help clients reassociate traumatic experiences within their preferred identities
How to avoid burnout using strategies of decentering the therapist

Learner Outcomes

Sections

Professional Program in Trauma-Informed Interventions

Required Workshops

Electives

Notes

Accrediting Associations