Narrative Invitational Therapy with Violence and Abuse

2023 TBC

Terry Callahan, Mark Byrne

Drawing inspiration from the work of Alan Jenkins and Michael White, this workshop opens space for reflection and practice around ethical and accountable ways of working with men who abuse. It explores the scaffolding of respectful collaboration with a man that provides the conditions for a man to begin to face up to often shameful acts towards his partner and children.

First conversations with a man to map out a journey of responsibility invitations to a man to 'tell it like it is' developing the skill of 'respectful interruption' of stories of blame, justification or denial bringing forward a man's hopes and ethics as a father and partner responding to shame (and avoiding 'shaming') contact with a man's partner and children searching for exceptions to control, violence or abuse, where a man has acted in accordance with his ethics unfolding dominant discourses of masculinity which support violence and abuse towards women and others 're-membering' practices where men's history of witnessing other significant men's ways of respect and non-violence can be more richly described invitations to men to consider acts of reparation

This workshop will also invite participants to reflect on their own parallel ethical and political journeys in working with men who abuse.

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Sonja Baram has extensive experience as a narrative and family therapist working across diverse fields of practice including domestic violence, family and relationship counselling and childhood sexual abuse.