Johnella Bird

The Heart's Narrative is an original contribution by an original thinker. The book has been eagerly awaited in New Zealand, where Johnella Bird has a substantial reputation as an innovative therapist and teacher. Johnella has succeeded in doing what many other practitioners have attempted to do. She has provided a way of thinking about therapy and people orientated work which allows for its complexity, fluidity and dignity. She offers insights and tools which do not impose upon people (clients) a predetermined one-size-fits-all model. Instead, she continually opens up the discussion and shows us new ways to explore people's (clients') lived experience. Purchase from www.cybersoul.co.nz.

'Talk that Sings introduces Johnella Bird's Relational Linguistic Practice. Through privileging people's words, experiences and meanings, she demonstrates how subtle shifts in language can create profound change. Journeying into the shrouded metaphoric revelations of the everyday, Johnella illuminates the process of creating a 'living' practice. Throughout the text she vividly illustrates her linguistic means of generating the 'Relational I', where the discounted becomes counted, the partially known becomes known, and the unarticulated is brought to life.' To purchase or find out more please visit: www.cybersoul.co.nz.

Johnella Bird is already well-known for highly creative thinking that challenges the implicit rules governing therapeutic practice. In her new book, Constructing The Narrative In Super-vision, she leaves behind the traditional role of the authoritative expert ‘supervisor’ and presents a fresh approach to super-vision. This method emphasises the use of prismatic dialogue to evoke the voices of all the participants in counselling and super-vision. Johnella guides the reader through these practice-centred techniques, allowing for a genuine exploration of the dynamic interplay between participants’ subjective experiences and their theoretical and life knowledges. As always, Johnella is willing to confront and clarify the experiential nature of the power relation as it occurs within therapeutic and super-vision relationships.

Edge Press is excited to announce the release of our first DVD series featuring Johnella Bird’s teaching ideas and practices.

Constructing Narratives To Make A Difference is a set of three one-hour DVDs and an accompanying 38-page workbook in a lecture style format, in which Johnella answers and speaks to some of the key questions and dilemmas commonly raised by participants at her teaching intensives.

Changing Narratives - Changing Lives is Johnella Bird's second DVD Series. Series 2 consists of 3 DVDs divided into 5 sections which include interview demonstrations, prismatic dialogues, practical exercises and suggested reading.