International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work

Cultivating queer joy: Letter-writing campaign by Aaron Patey

Dulwich Centre — Fri, 15 May 2026 01:30:00 +0000

This practice note describes a letter-writing campaign dedicated to sharing insider knowledges of Queer Joy. Letter-writing campaigns seek to create a context to share community knowledges of care in ways that can be accessed by members of the community of concern. This campaign begins with a queer invitation to allow members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in our province to write letters about their experience of cultivating queer joy. These letters are then distributed in sessions if a person is struggling to create queer joy in their life. This audio note reviews the care put into the letter-writing invitations. It includes responses from three letter writers and outlines the effects for both readers and writers. I hope that others can create seeds of queer joy in their lives through listening to how others have traversed, creating their queer joy.

All names used in this audio recording are pseudonyms.

Additional information and downloads relating to this practice note are available from https://dulwichcentre.com.au/cultivating-queer-joy-letter-writing-campaign-aaron-patey/

References

Denborough, D. (2008). Collective narrative practice: Responding to individuals, groups and communities who have experienced trauma. Dulwich Centre Publications.

Maeder, R. (2020). Queer Invitations: Fostering connection between queer young people and their loved ones. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 11–23.

Additional sources

Chilisa, B. (2014). Indigenous research is a journey: An interview with Bagele Chilisa by Cheryl White and David Denborough. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (2), 41–44.

Denborough, D., Freedman, J., & White, C. (2008). Strengthening resistance: The use of narrative practices in working with genocide survivors. Dulwich Centre Foundation and Evanston Family Therapy Centre.

Gerlitz, J. (2015). Linking lives: Invitations to clients to write letters to clients. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (2), 9–18.

Madigan, S. (2011). Narrative therapy: Theory and practice. American Psychological Association.

Madigan, S. (2012). Anti-individualist narrative practice: Listening to the echoes of cultural histories. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 27–34.

Okumura, A. (2007). No turning back: Male to female transgender journeys of getting through tough times. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (3), 57–66.

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Aaron Patey is a queer, nonbinary First Nations therapist working in a family-founded nonprofit called the Jacob Puddister Memorial Foundation, which provides free counselling services to people aged 12 to 35. They work in a 10-session model with the option for people to reapply as needed, and support a drop-in program, which is dedicated to 2SLGBTQIA+ people. The drop-in program has no age mandate so it can service all community members. Throughout this work, Aaron focuses on addressing the systems involved within issues, creating opportunities for double-storied accounts, bringing to light the implicit, and upholding the initiatives people take in their movements of life. Their role in this work is a gently influential co-researcher and witness.

Patey, A. (2025). Cultivating queer joy: Letter writing campaign [Audio recording]. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (2), https://doi.org/10.4320/NFTH2000

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International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work is published by Dulwich Centre Foundation. More about this recording and a treasure trove of articles, videos, and multimedia works are available from https://narrativetherapyjournal.org It’s all free to access and share with no log-in required.

Dulwich Centre is located on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country and pay respect to Elders past and present.

https://narrativetherapyjournal.org

Fear busting and monster taming by Michael White, read by Hamilton Kennedy

Dulwich Centre — Fri, 01 May 2026 01:30:00 +0000

"Fear busting and monster taming: An approach to the fears of young children" by Michael White was originally published in 1985 in Dulwich Centre Review, a precursor to International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work.

In this paper, childhood fears are considered within the interactional context of the family. It is argued that the survival and growth of such fears is dependent upon the presence of a "fears life-support system". The details of this life-support system can be derived by an examination of the family members' inadvertent participation with a fears lifestyle. Interventions to disrupt this participation are discussed. These interventions include the introduction of a non-threatening interactional description of the problem and a structured ritual to challenge the fears lifestyle. A case example is given.

Additional information and a PDF of this paper are available at https://dulwichcentre.com.au/fear-busting-and-monster-taming-an-approach-to-the-fears-of-young-children-by-michael-white-read-by-hamilton-kennedy/

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Michael White was the co-founder of narrative therapy and of Dulwich Centre.

Hamilton Kennedy is a researcher, animal lover and ex-patient of psychiatry. They are completing their PhD at La Trobe University.

Original paper: White, M. (1985). Fear busting and monster taming: An approach to the fears of young children. Dulwich Centre Review, (1), 29–34.

This recording: White, M. (2025). Fear busting and monster taming: An approach to the fears of young children (H. Kennedy, Narr.) [Audio recording]. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1). https://doi.org/10.4320/GPQZ2492 (Original work published 1985)

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Dulwich Centre is located on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country and pay respect to Elders past and present.

https://narrativetherapyjournal.org

Chapters

(00:00:13) - Childhood Fears
(00:11:42) - Fear Management 1, The role of family members
(00:22:09) - The Fear Busting Ritual for Children

Wisdom on living with loneliness by Chelsea Size

Dulwich Centre — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 01:30:00 +0000

Chelsea Size shares a practice note describing the generation of a collective document of insider knowledges about living with loneliness with older people living in Eldercare residential aged care homes.

The document Chelsea discusses can be downloaded here: https://dulwichcentre.com.au/wisdom-on-living-with-loneliness-chelsea-size/

In Western societies, older people’s skills, knowledges and values can be treated as irrelevant and obsolete, perhaps especially so for those who are living in residential aged care. Considering the discourses around ageing, frailty and loneliness, this audio note reflects on the operations of modern power and opportunities to address a sense of personal failure in aged care using collective documents.

Sharing different stories from those that are publicly told about older people receiving care or living with dementia, the collective document described in this audio note makes visible older people’s overlooked and diverse skills, know-how and responses in relation to their experiences of loneliness. The practice note also reflects on the process of stepping outside familiar aged care/biomedical processes to publish a collective document in a large not-for-profit organisation. The folks who contributed to this collective document hope you feel less alone after reading their stories and would love to hear any responses from you and/or your communities!

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Chelsea Size is a narrative practitioner who lives and works on unceded Peramangk and Kaurna country (Adelaide, South Australia). Chelsea currently works as a spiritual care coordinator in aged care. She is an ordained deacon in the Uniting Church and is trained as an occupational therapist. Chelsea graduated from the Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work program at The University of Melbourne in 2022 and has since become a faculty member and part of the Dulwich Centre teaching team.

Size, C. (2025). Wisdom on living with loneliness [Audio recording]. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (2). https://doi.org/10.432/OEOF3314

References

Denborough, D. (2008). Collective narrative practice: Responding to individuals, groups, and communities who have experienced trauma. Dulwich Centre Publications.

Myerhoff, B. (1992). Remembered lives: The work of ritual, storytelling, and growing older. University of Michigan Press.

Neves, B. B., & Petersen, A. (2024). The social stigma of loneliness: A sociological approach to understanding the experiences of older people. Sociological Review, 73(2), 362–383.

Trudinger, M. (2024). Recovery planning with communities at the heart. Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 39(2), 62–66.

White, M. (2002). Addressing personal failure. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (3), 33–76.

Wingard, B., & Lester, J. (2001). Telling our stories in ways that make us stronger. Dulwich Centre Publications.

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Dulwich Centre is located on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country and pay respect to Elders past and present.

https://narrativetherapyjournal.org

Telling our stories in ways that make us stronger by Aunty Barbara Wingard, read by Jean McMahon

Dulwich Centre — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 01:30:00 +0000

Yorta Yorta woman Jean McMahon reads this significant paper by Aunty Barbara Wingard from the archives of International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work.

From Aunty Barb's introduction: With Indigenous communities facing so many losses due to past and present injustice, we have been seeking ways of speaking about our grief that are consistent with our cultural ways of doing things. We are remembering those who have died, we are honouring Indigenous spiritual ways, and we are finding ways of grieving that bring us together. We are telling our stories in ways that make us stronger.

This paper was originally delivered as the opening keynote address at the first International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference, which was held in Adelaide in February 1999. A later version of this paper was published as “Grief: Remember, reflect, reveal” in the 2001 book Telling Our Stories in Ways that Make Us Stronger (edited by Barbara Wingard and Jane Lester).

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Aunty Barbara Wingard was one of the first group of Aboriginal Health Workers trained in South Australia. She was involved with Dulwich Centre from 1994 when she played a key role in the “Reclaiming our stories, reclaiming our lives” gathering for Aboriginal families with a loved one who had died in custody. Aunty Barb was part of the teaching team at Dulwich Centre and played a key role in the centre’s engagement in community projects. She also served as Chairperson of Aboriginal Legal Rights and Commissioner for the Environmental Resources and Development Court. As an Honorary Fellow of The University of Melbourne and as a senior Kaurna Elder, Aunty Barb created the Aboriginal narrative practice online course and the Aunty Barb Walking History Journey. Well known for her influential book (with Jane Lester), Telling our Stories in Ways That Make Us Stronger, Aunty Barb was named Elder of the Year in South Australia in 2008.

Jean McMahon is a proud Yorta Yorta woman living on Djaara Country in so-called Victoria. She works at Weenthunga in the women’s social and emotional wellbeing space. Jean brings 25 years of experience as a First Nations educator across community, education and health sectors. She is completing her Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work and is ardent about collective narrative practice, decolonising justice, and healing through connection to Country. A queer woman and parent, Jean loves spending time with her loves out on Country.

Original paper: Wingard, B. (1999). Telling our stories in ways that make us stronger. In Dulwich Centre Publications (Ed.), Narrative therapy and community work: A conference collection (pp. 7–12). Dulwich Centre Publications.

This recording: Wingard, B. (2025). Telling our stories in ways that make us stronger (J. McMahon, Narr.) [Audio recording]. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (2). https://doi.org/10.4320/ZKPA8661 (Original work published 1999)

Further information and downloads available at https://dulwichcentre.com.au/telling-our-stories-in-ways-that-make-us-stronger-by-aunty-barbara-wingard-read-by-jean-mcmahon/

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International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work is published by Dulwich Centre Foundation. More about this recording, and a treasure trove of articles, videos, and multimedia works, is available from https://narrativetherapyjournal.org It’s all free to access and share with no log-in required.

Dulwich Centre is located on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country and pay respect to Elders past and present.

https://narrativetherapyjournal.org

Resisting erasure: How Muslim women in India are responding to hate and hostility by Sara Asfiya Ali

Dulwich Centre — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 03:30:00 +0000

Sara Asfiya Ali shares a practice note about the creation of a collective narrative document called “Resisting erasure: How Muslim women in India are responding to hate and hostility”.

The document brings together the voices of Muslim women living across urban India. It centres the voices of Muslim women responding to everyday Islamophobia. Through shared stories of childhood, education, family life, work, motherhood, faith and public life, the document highlights the skills, values, knowledges and commitments that Muslim women draw on as they navigate hostility, othering and hate. Grounded in collective narrative practice, this document weaves individual testimonies into a shared voice, illuminating both the impact of social violence and the everyday acts of resistance, refusal, care and dignity that often go unseen. Alongside written narratives, the document includes illustrations that offer a visual language for memory, presence and response. Readers are invited not as analysts but as witnesses and are encouraged to reflect on what these stories make visible about Muslim women’s lives, agency and ongoing struggles for belonging and justice.

The document Sara discusses can be downloaded here: https://dulwichcentre.com.au/resisting-erasure-how-muslim-women-in-india-are-responding-to-hate-and-hostility-sara-asfiya-ali/

Sara Asfiya Ali is a social designer and researcher from Kerala, India. Her work is grounded in listening closely to the needs and lived experiences of diverse communities across the globe and in building ethical, community-centred digital platforms addressing their needs. She is interested in collective narrative practice as a way of documenting and foregrounding the agency of Muslim communities in contexts of marginalisation, and in creating spaces where people can reclaim the right to tell their own stories in their own ways. The collective narrative document described in this practice note emerged from her Diploma in Narrative Therapy and Community Work and from her ongoing engagement with Muslim women in India.

Asfiya Ali, S. (2026). Resisting erasure: How Muslim women in India are responding to hate and hostility [Audio recording]. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1). https://doi.org/10.4320/QDOO9358

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Dulwich Centre is located on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country and pay respect to Elders past and present.

https://narrativetherapyjournal.org

The Tree of Life Project: Using narrative ideas in work with vulnerable children in Southern Africa by Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo

Dulwich Centre — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 03:21:00 +0000

In honour of the 20th anniversary of the Tree of Life narrative metaphor, we are sharing this reading of a significant paper by Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo from the archives of International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. It is read by Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo.

The paper describes the use of narrative ideas in work with vulnerable children in Southern Africa. How can the lives of children who have experienced significant losses be responded to in ways that are not retraumatising and that bring to light children’s own skills and knowledge? What sorts of exercises can be used in camps for vulnerable children? How can children be provided with significant experiences that do not separate them from their families, values and cultural norms? This paper describes a creative adaptation of the “Tree of Life” exercise informed by narrative therapy principles and practices.

Original paper: Ncube, N. (2006). The Tree of Life Project: Using narrative ideas in work with vulnerable children in Southern Africa. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1), 3–16.

This recording: Ncube-Mlilo, N. (2026). The Tree of Life Project: Using narrative ideas in work with vulnerable children in Southern Africa (N. Ncube-Mlilo, Narr.) [Audio recording]. International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, (1). https://doi.org/10.4320/FGIA3542 (Original work published 2006)

Further information and downloads available at https://dulwichcentre.com.au/the-tree-of-life-project-using-narrative-ideas-in-work-with-vulnerable-children-in-southern-africa-audio-from-the-archive-nczelo-ncube-read-by-nczelo-ncube/

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Dulwich Centre is located on the land of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country and pay respect to Elders past and present.

https://narrativetherapyjournal.org

Chapters

(00:00:12) - The Tree of Life Project Using Narrative Ideas in Work with V
(00:07:15) - Masiye Camp
(00:15:55) - The Tree of Life at Masiye Camp
(00:24:21) - Tree of Life Exercise
(00:30:39) - The revised Tree of Life Exercise
(00:34:55) - Tree of Life and Forest of Life
(00:39:34) - Children share their hopes and dreams for their life
(00:45:04) - trees in a forest
(00:47:24) - When the Storms Come
(00:49:55) - The hazards faced by children
(00:52:27) - How Children Respond to Storms of Life
(00:56:02) - Tree of Life Certificate Giving
(00:57:29) - Tree of Life Writing a letter to caregivers
(01:02:28) - The Revised Tree of Life Exercise