“We cannot live without meaning, that would preclude any sense of identity, any hope, any future.” – Carlina Rinaldi – She was the stuff of nightmares. The doll that was given to my daughter on her first birthday. The doll that became the focus of my child’s affection. Dragged through the dirt, chewed up by…Continue reading Ragged Dolls and Strong Stories
Tag: Narrative Therapy
2020: The Year the World had to Let Go!
feel it. the thing you don’t want to feel. feel it. and be free. nayirrah waheed I have been curious about humans and liminal spaces for many years now. It was my own life experiences that drew my attention to this concept that was first introduced to the field of anthropology in 1909 by…Continue reading 2020: The Year the World had to Let Go!
When Global Crisis Comes Knocking at our Door …
… you can say “it’s a hoax” and “it will go away”, but like world leaders have found out, this was not the case for COVID-19. A crisis does not go away because some demagogue wishes it so. A crisis like a pandemic knocks at the door, then bashes it in and unleashes hell. COVID-19…Continue reading When Global Crisis Comes Knocking at our Door …
Weaponising Forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive…” – I don’t know who said this, but it’s BOLLOCKS! “You just need to forgive and move on!” How many times have we heard this? How many times have we said it? Forgiveness: one of the most central virtues of human existence. Religion, in all its different shapes and sizes,…Continue reading Weaponising Forgiveness
Grief Needs No Justification
“Today, in our “shut up, get over it, and move on” mentality, our society misses so much, it’s no wonder we are a generation that longs to tell our stories.” – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, On Grief and Grieving – It was a Sunday morning in 1997. The 31st of August, to be exact. I…Continue reading Grief Needs No Justification
‘Just Be Yourself’: It’s Bloody Annoying!
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man …” -Polonius to Laertes (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3) ‘Just be yourself’ – One of the most confusing things we tell ourselves and each other! In my…Continue reading ‘Just Be Yourself’: It’s Bloody Annoying!
Life Atlas Therapy and the Reclaiming of Precious Memories (Part 2)
“There are, of course, many forms of memory, some of which are constructive, some of which are destructive and some of which are redemptive.” -Fr. Michael Lapsley (The Healing of Memories: An Interview) Dear Reader – if you have not already done so, please read Part 1 of this BLOG post in order to understand…Continue reading Life Atlas Therapy and the Reclaiming of Precious Memories (Part 2)
Life Atlas Therapy … and why You may find it Helpful (Part 1)
“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.” (C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination) The many ideas and methodologies that comprise Narrative Therapy have me regularly intrigued. I witness their effects as I work with individuals and groups. Perhaps one of the most noticeable reactions…Continue reading Life Atlas Therapy … and why You may find it Helpful (Part 1)
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” – Patrick Rothfuss – Stories: they shape our world, they change our world, they are our world. We all live our lives to the rhythm…Continue reading The Stories We Tell Ourselves