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The Power of Using Stories in Practice
Background
You are the most important resource when working with others.
But welfare work has had a difficult past few years with welfare budgets being cut and services stretched. Many services have become reliant on procedures and manualised approaches. This workshop aims to re-engage the imagination of practitioners.
The aim is to open up a space that allows us to work with stories – the stories we tell about our service-users and the stories we tell about ourselves.
Stories are a fundamentally human approach to working with trauma.
Workshops
This work is carried out over two half-day workshop sessions.
The first considers the role of story-telling in supporting understanding and connection. Before the second session all participants will write a story that reflects a real life experience in practice.
The second provides a space for group discussion and analysis of stories written by group members. Stories will be considered in a number of ways, including how power and control impacts upon the characters involved.
Exercises include:
- Free writing
- Improv warm-up exercises to prompt creativity
- Developing themes to write to
- Group analysis of stories
As with all my workshops the comfort of those taking part is paramount. We will set ground rules together and whilst I may challenge participants, no-one will be asked to do anything outside of their comfort zone.
Outcomes
At the end of the workshops you will:
- Have an understanding of the role of stories in trauma-informed care
- Have made the links between creativity, story-telling and supporting trauma
- Feel better equipped to analyse stories
- Had space to reflect on and analyse your own and others stories
Excellent training - really informative and gave me time to reflect on working practices when working with victims of DA and how I actually listen to their story.
Thank you so much.
(Workshop Participant)
