About Your Speaker
David Newman works in independent practice at Sydney Narrative Therapy, is an honorary clinical fellow at Melbourne University School of Social work and is a member of the Dulwich Centre teaching faculty. Recent teaching assignments have included Brazil, Nepal, Turkey, Hong Kong and Palestine. David has just finished up working part time in a psychiatric unit for young people. David is passionate about effective and respectful ways of working with people around mental health and suicidal experience. He is the author of “How we deal with ‘way out thoughts’: A living document of ways of talking with young people about suicidal thoughts” (2016, Dulwich Centre Publications) and co-author with Marnie Sather of “’Being More Than Just Your Final Act': Elevating the Multiple Storylines of Suicide with Narrative Practice" in the book Critical Suicidology (2015, UW Press) and of the resource “Holding our heads up: sharing stories not stigma when a loved one has suicided” (2016, Dulwich Centre Publications). It is possible to find out more about David’s work by watching this presentation: https://dulwichcentre.com.au/assisting-young-people-to-find-their-language-through-the-language-of-others-knowledge-from-an-inpatient-ward-by-david-newman/
Course Brief
Are you looking for hopeful, effective and respectful ways of working with those who have mental health problems? Have you wondered what Narrative Therapy might look like in a mental health setting or when working with those who have mental health problems? Then this workshop will offer clarity and inspiration for you.
The training will include a combination of lectures, discussions, the presentation of narrative therapeutic work, exercises and “live” demonstrations. There will be an emphasis on skills you can take away and immediately use in your work. The course will cover:
· Ways to externalize mental health problems
· How we can build on the ever present traces of people’s lives that sit outside of mental health problems
· Ways we can sensitively link those who have mental health problems in order to build connections and people’s stories
· Ways we can notice and elevate the skills and knowledge people with mental health concerns possess rather than introduce knowledge from outside their lives and context
· Using group work including collective creative methods such as collective poetry writing
· Finding ways for those with mental health problems to speak for themselves rather than be spoken about
· Finding ways to help people make sense of mental health distress rather than locate what is wrong with them
Learning Outcomes
· Creative ways to externalize mental health problems
· Ways to build on the stories of people’s lives that are outside of their mental health problems
· How to sensitively link those who are experiencing mental health problems
· Ways to uncover and document the skills and knowledge of people with mental health problems
· How to use the concept of the absent but implicit in making sense of mental health suffering
· Creative group work practices to use with those with mental health problems