Bringing together an array of renowned, highly creative contributors, this indispensable book demonstrates how narrative and collaborative work with young people can bridge the gap between the seemingly disparate worlds of adults and children - and can foster unique and imaginative solutions to even the most challenging clinical problems. Through transcripts and compelling case examples, contributors illuminate how drama, art, play and humour can effectively be used to engage children of different ages and to honour their idiosyncratic language, knowledge, and perspectives. Chapters conclude with engaging question-and-answer sessions between the editors and the contributors that further draw out the principles and techniques of each approach.
REVIEWS
“This wide-ranging book features postmodern ideas and innovative interviewing methods….The working contexts range from schools, playrooms, offices, and clinics to family homes and group homes. The book is simply full of creative variations in narrative practice! But other methods like the use of drama, art, home support, and the collaborative language systems approach are also included. A gratifying theme throughout is the consistent commitment to honoring and respecting the actual experiences of the young people with whom we work.”
“In this book readers will find many wonderfully creative expressions of collaborative/narrative approaches to problems experienced in childhood and adolescence. The chapters are framed by a thoughtful and informative introduction that addresses many of the questions that are often asked about the tradition of thought and practice that informs these collaborative/narrative approaches. There is something for everyone in this book.”
–Michael White, BASW, Dulwich Centre, Adelaide, South Australia
“Smith and Nylund have compiled a collection of hopeful, exciting approaches to working with children that is as diverse as the problems that children and their families bring to therapy. Each chapter is unique, but the approaches are joined together by the spirit of possibility, respect, and collaboration that suffuses them all.”
“Chock-full of inventive examples of clinical work….[This book] is ground-breaking in being the first narratively informed collection to focus on countering problems that capture adolescents–anorexia, depression, substance misuse and attentional differences among them–and should stand as a landmark contribution in the years to come.”
About the Authors
Craig Smith, PhD, is a Marriage, Family, and Child Counselor in private practice at the Solana Beach Counseling Center in San Diego, California. He also teaches at San Diego State University and supervises at various local agencies, in addition to co-leading trainings in dialogic narrative therapy.
David Nylund, MSW, is a clinical social worker at Kaiser Permanente in Stockton, California. He is also a consultant to Midtown Family Therapy, where he offers training in narrative therapy, and a lecturer at the Professional School of Psychology in Sacramento.